$500,000 Bargains And 5 Other Quirks Of Hawaiʻi’s Insane Housing Market

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The latest Hawaiʻi Housing Factbook released by the University of Hawaiʻi Economic Research Organization has some surprising findings and even a few encouraging signs about the state’s housing crisis.

UHERO researchers reinforced what is commonly understood: Hawaiʻi remains in a severe housing crisis, with three-quarters of households now unable to afford a median-priced home. 

They note some promising signs that the housing supply will be increased down the road — such as a plan to build 10,000 public housing units by 2026 and incentives to increase housing around Skyline rail stations. But other initiatives, such as proposals to build 2,000 workforce housing units and convert 6,000 vacation rentals to long-term housing, have been stymied by political or public opposition.

So while noting “indications of moderate improvements,” researchers concluded that the situation is largely unchanged. 

“The data and analysis in this report show that low housing supply, coupled with strong demand, has fueled the state’s deep and persistent housing crisis,” they wrote.

Here are some of the ways that the supply and demand of housing has played out in different ways across the islands.

Relative Bargains On The Big island

Yes, Hawaiʻi still has the highest home prices in the nation. The median price of a single-family home hit $950,000 in 2024, a 6% bump from 2023.

But prices on the Big Island aren’t quite as high. Median prices in the Puna and Ka’u districts are under $500,000, researchers wrote.

A two-bedroom, two-bath, 900-square-foot cottage in Pāhoa, set up for off-the-grid living with homeowner’s association fees of just $10 a month, is listed for $398,000.   

Condo Prices Dropped, But For An Unwelcome Reason

The median price for condominiums went in the opposite direction as single-family homes, dropping 6% in 2024 to $600,000.

That’s partly because the rising cost of condominium insurance made condo mortgages more difficult to obtain, researchers wrote. But it’s also because in Honolulu, more condos were available, with many selling at below-market rates through government programs.

Rising insurance premiums across the country, driven by natural disasters including the Maui wildfires, have driven up average condominium association fees, which already were the highest in the nation. UHERO researchers monitored 1,680 condos and found nearly 40% of them experienced an average increase of $135 between 2024 and 2025. 

Lawmakers are hopeful that legislation passed this session to provide alternative insurance through state programs will provide some relief for condo owners and others. 

Sky-High Rents Aren’t Rising As Fast As Elsewhere

Hawaiʻi’s notoriously tight rental market eased a fraction, with modest rent growth compared to elsewhere in the country. California edged out Hawaiʻi for the highest median rent in the nation: $1,956 compared to $1,938.

Relative to the national average, Hawaiʻi’s median rent dropped 9 percentage points, to 44% above the national average, between 2013 and 2023, researchers wrote. “This indicates that while Hawai‘i remains expensive, rental affordability has worsened more quickly elsewhere,” they wrote.

Still, all counties have experienced increases in rent over the past five years, with rents on Kauaʻi and Maui growing faster than the state average. But researchers found one bright spot: Median rents for one- and two-bedroom units on Maui dropped between 10% and 20% in the first quarter of this year. 

Rents have grown more slowly on Oʻahu and the Big Island, where there’s been some expansion of the housing supply. 

More Expensive, But Less Desirable

Using a tool that tracks repeat sales and home value appreciation, researchers found that the average home sold in Hawaiʻi is “smaller, less central, or otherwise less desirable” than in the past.

There’s also evidence that buyers are getting over mortgage rate sticker shock, with a slight uptick in condo and single-family home transactions in 2024 compared to 2023. Still, the number of sales is low by recent standards.

Number of Vacation Rentals Is Flat

While vacation rentals have emerged as a political hot potato, the number of short-term rentals across the state has been stable over the past couple of years, researchers said. 

Those 34,000 rentals make up 6% of all the housing stock in the state. 

But they’re not evenly distributed. Nearly a third of all short-term rentals are on Maui. In Princeville on Kauaʻi, 80% of the housing stock is vacation rentals. 

Slowest Housing Growth In 80 Years

New housing units are coming online at the lowest rate since the 1940s, according to preliminary data. 

Because of that, the state’s housing stock is aging more quickly than any other state’s. The median age of a house in Hawaiʻi in 2023 was 44 years, up from 39 years in 2018. In Texas, where many more homes have been built, it went from 32 to 33 years in the same period. 

“As older structures reach the end of their usable life,” researchers wrote, “high land, regulatory, and construction costs imply that what replaces them will be less affordable unless redeveloped at higher densities.”

“Hawaiʻi’s Changing Economy” is supported by a grant from the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation as part of its work to build equity for all through the CHANGE Framework.”