The Hawai‘i Housing Factbook 2026

Introduction

Hawai‘i residents face the highest housing costs in the nation. The ongoing housing crisis threatens the state’s economy and social fabric. Without sufficient housing options, residents are confronted with impossible choices: leaving the state, making do with substandard or overcrowded homes, or, in some cases, falling into homelessness. High housing costs also drain the local economy, contributing to a shrinking labor force and reduced consumer spending as households cut back to afford rent and mortgage payments. While the problem can seem intractable, the solution is relatively clear: Hawai‘i must significantly expand its housing supply to reverse its population decline and restore affordability. If demand for housing continues to outpace our ability and willingness to build, high prices and unattainable housing will persist.

Despite enormous challenges, in the past year, the housing market has shown some signs of moving towards improved affordability. The share of households with sufficient income to afford a mortgage on the median-priced home has increased for the second consecutive year. Home prices have leveled off, ending a decade-long appreciation run. Stable prices, combined with gradually rising incomes and falling interest rates, have put more local residents in a position to afford housing. However, these improvements are tempered by a difficult home insurance market and high homeowners association fees. Mortgage interest rates declined in 2025, but they have begun rising in recent weeks amid inflation concerns linked to the war with Iran. Higher interest rates threaten to make mortgages less affordable and could also slow new housing construction as financing becomes more difficult to secure.

Barriers to constructing new housing continue to limit the state’s ability to expand supply. Despite permitting system reforms across the counties, the time required to issue permits has shown little improvement and, in some cases, has worsened. Policy changes have played an important role in the evolving market. Maui’s decision to ban vacation rentals in apartment-zoned areas has led to a sharp decline in condo prices and a large increase in available units, demonstrating the powerful role of public policy in shaping the housing market. In Honolulu, debates over an affordable rental housing program have highlighted the reluctance of some lawmakers to allow new housing construction when confronted with opposition from homeowners.

Hawai‘i’s severe Kona Low storms in March and April 2026 caused catastrophic flooding, landslides, evacuations, and more than $1 billion in estimated damage. Some homes were left temporarily uninhabitable, which is likely to pressure rents, construction labor, and permitting agencies in the short term. In the long term, increased disaster risk represents a growing problem for the housing market. On O‘ahu, updated FEMA flood maps will take effect in June. Some properties placed in high-risk flood zones will be required to carry flood insurance to qualify for federally backed mortgages; the change will raise costs for some owners and may weaken demand for newly mapped areas. Increased flood risk compounds existing threats of wildfires, hurricanes and coastal erosion.

Policies aimed at addressing the housing crisis are most effective when grounded in up-to-date, detailed data. In the pages that follow, we describe current conditions in Hawai‘i’s housing market and discuss key issues affecting housing production and affordability. This fourth edition of The Hawai‘i Housing Factbook includes detailed data pages presenting housing indicators at the state, county, and zip code levels. We hope that making this information widely available will help spur informed discussion about the path forward for housing policy in Hawai‘i.

The High Cost of Housing

Home prices flatten in 2025

Home prices surged in the years following the COVID-19 outbreak but have remained relatively flat for a third consecutive year. In 2025, the gap between the single-family and condominium markets continued to widen. The median price of a single-family home rose 1% statewide, while condo prices declined by 2%. High insurance costs and HOA fees continue to reduce demand in the condo market. While condo prices have fallen, putting ownership within reach to marginally more households, any improvements in overall affordability are undercut by higher carrying costs. On the supply side, new condominium inventory in Honolulu’s urban core, much of it priced below market through affordability programs, has contributed to some meaningful affordability gains.

Median Sale Price–Statewide

The UHERO Repeat Sales Index

Annual changes in the median sale price of a home can come from two sources (1) the value of the homes have changed or (2) the types of homes sold have changed. The UHERO Repeat Sales Index pulls apart these two components. The Index uses data from homes that have sold multiple times, calculates the appreciation experienced between sales, and then averages appreciation across years for those homes only. For 2025, the UHERO Repeat Sales Index sits at 440. A home worth $1 million in 2000 (our baseline year) is currently valued at $4.40 million, on average. The index is more reflective of the actual increase in housing costs compared to median prices. The rise in median sales price has been lower because newer homes tend to be smaller, both in square footage and lot size, and tend to be located in less central locations. While the median price paid for a home in 2025 was less than in 2024, the prices of existing homes were perfectly flat, averaging 0.0% price appreciation.

The UHERO Repeat Sales Index

Highest priced neighborhoods on Kaua’i

Among single-family homes sold in 2025, Maui County recorded the highest median price at nearly $1.2 million. Median prices in Honolulu and Kaua’i were close behind at $1.1 million. While median prices in Hawai’i County are significantly lower, the median disguises significant variation between expensive Kona side neighborhoods and lower priced neighborhoods around Hilo and on the south of the island. The most expensive zip code in the state in 2025 was Princeville, Kaua’i (96722), where the 45 single-family homes sold commanded a median price of $2.3 million, and 84 condos sold at a median of $1.1 million. The lowest priced neighborhoods are found in Hawai’i County and include relatively remote communities on both the east and south sections of the island.

Single-family Home Sales in 2025
	Median Sales Price	Transactions
State	$950,000	6,573
Maui County	$1,175,000	827
Honolulu County	$1,110,000	3,103
Kaua‘i County	$1,100,000	423
Hawai‘i County	$465,000	2,214
Top Priced Zip Codes
Princeville (96722), Kaua‘i	$2,300,000	45
Kōloa (96756), Kaua‘i	$1,822,500	84
Pūpūkea (96712), Honolulu	$1,785,000	59
Bottom Priced Zip Codes
Mountain View (96771), Hawai‘i	$302,500	90
Discovery Harbour (96772), Hawai‘i	$292,500	74
Hawai‘ian Beaches (96778), Hawai‘i	$250,000	504

Median Single-family Home Prices in 2025

Rents continue to rise, but slowly

Rents have continued to grow slowly but consistently across the state. According to the most recent data from the Census Bureau, the median rent statewide in 2024 was only 0.1% above the 2023 level. Honolulu commanded the highest median rent at $2,083 while Hawai’i County had the lowest at $1,510. Data from rental ads posted on Craigslist in 2025 showed a median asking price of $2,128, down slightly from the 2024 median of $2,200. As discussed below, flat rents combined with gradually rising incomes amount to an improvement in rental affordability. The six most expensive zip codes for renters are all on O’ahu, with the top three being Hawai’i Kai ($3,501), Kailua ($3,316) and Salt Lake ($3,190). Among Neighbor Island zip codes, Maui’s Ha‘ikū-Pa‘uwela zip code recorded the highest 2024 median rent at $2,513.

Median Rent by County

Housing affordability improves modestly, but remains out of reach for most

After peaking in 2023, the share of median income required to afford the median-priced home in Hawai‘i has fallen for the second consecutive year. Here, we define “afford” as spending no more than 30% of household income on mortgage payments, under a conventional 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. While this measure of affordability has improved, housing remains costly. Affording a single-family home requires a household to earn just over 180% of the state median income. Analysis of the state’s income distribution shows that roughly one-in-five households earn this much. Condominium affordability has improved more sharply over the past two years. The income required to afford the median condo has fallen to about 110% of the state’s median income from a high of 140%, making ownership feasible for nearly half of households. However, the recent increases in HOA fees and insurance costs may at least partially offset these affordability gains in the condominium market. While household incomes increased last year, the improvement in affordability was driven primarily by lower interest rates, which at their lowest point declined by nearly two percentage points from their previous peak.

Share of State Median Income Required to Afford the Median Priced Home

Percentage of Local Households who Can Afford the Median Priced Home

New data show how home owner association fees add to affordability pressures

The US Census Bureau began asking survey respondents about Home Owner Association (HOA) and Association of Apartment Owners (AOAO) fees for the first time in 2024. The estimates are meant to capture scheduled and mandatory association fees regularly assessed to homeowners. To date, national data on this topic has been scarce. The results confirm what many have long suspected. First, HOA fees are more common in Hawai’i than elsewhere. Among all owner-occupied housing units in the US, 25% of homeowners report paying monthly HOA fees, while in Hawai’i the figure is 42%. Second, Hawai’i has among the highest HOA fees in the nation. New York State reported the highest median fee ($739) but Hawai‘i ranked second in the nation with a median monthly fee of $470. The figure was highest in Honolulu, where the median fee was $526 and lowest in Hawai‘i County, with a median fee of $135.

While the costs are high by national standards, the above numbers may still look low to prospective buyers. Homes listed for sale often advertise much higher fees. An analysis of O’ahu real estate listings from February 2026 found the median listing had an advertised HOA/AOAO fee of $882. Newly built condominiums will be overrepresented in listing data and have high fees. While new buildings tend to have uniformly high fees, the highest fees can be found among a subset of old buildings where contingency funds have failed to cover accumulating maintenance costs, necessitating large, sudden increases when maintenance comes due. The numbers here do not capture one-off “special assessment” fees, which have also become common among aging condominium buildings.

Median Home Owner Association Fee by State

Property insurance premiums accelerate relative to national market

Insurance is one of the fastest-growing components of housing costs in the U.S., and Hawai‘i has been hit especially hard in the wake of the Maui wildfires. Costs to insure condominium developments, in particular, have risen sharply, with reports of some policies facing rate increases in excess of 1,000%. Using data from the Annual Reports of the Insurance Commissioner of Hawai‘i, we document how the property insurance market has evolved over the past decade.

Aggregate Property Insurance Premiums Collected, Year-over-year Change

Aggregate premiums collected statewide grew at roughly 3% per year from 2015, closely following the national trend before diverging upward. In 2024, total premiums paid in Hawai‘i increased 13.4% (the largest increase in at least a decade), and well above the 9.7% increase recorded nationally. Because these figures reflect aggregate premiums paid across the entire market, they likely understate the rate increases individual policyholders face. Homeowners who drop coverage as costs become unaffordable would not be picked up in the aggregate, pulling the total down even as rates climb for those who keep the policies. Given that premiums have increased significantly after the Maui wildfires, a non-trivial share of homeowners have almost certainly dropped coverage, making 13.4% a lower bound on the true rate increase. Recent disasters are likely to put additional upward pressure on insurance premiums going forward as insurers continue to recalibrate for climate risk.

Home transactions remain below pre-pandemic level

Across the state, 6,573 single-family homes and 8,194 condominiums changed hands in 2025, down marginally from the year before. Rapidly changing housing preferences during the pandemic led to a surge in sales in 2021 for both single-family homes and condominiums. Single-family home sales in 2025 were at their lowest point since 2009. Since the 2021 peak, transactions have fallen most sharply in Maui and Kaua‘i, where single-family home sales declined 49% and 45% respectively.

State Housing Transactions

Homes are spending more time on the market, pointing towards softer housing market conditions

The median number of days homes spend on the market has increased, pointing to a softening housing market. This trend is especially pronounced in the condominium market. Since 2022, median days on market for condominiums have increased fivefold in both Kaua‘i and Hawai‘i County. Maui County has seen particularly long listing times, with condominiums spending an average of more than 100 days on the market. In Honolulu, median days on market for condominiums rose to 43 days in the first quarter of 2026, a 17% increase from the previous year.

Days on market for single-family homes remained relatively stable in 2025. While Maui, Honolulu, and Hawai‘i counties experienced a marginal increase in median days on market, the rise has been much smaller than in the condominium market. In contrast, single-family homes on Kaua‘i have spent fewer days on the market in 2025 compared to the previous year.

Median Days on Market

Building New Housing Supply

Permit Delays Remain High, with Mixed Evidence of Improvement

Long processing times remain a significant barrier to new housing construction. As shown in past UHERO reports, Hawai‘i’s average permit processing time is more than triple the national average, posing a huge barrier to development. Historically, patchy record keeping has made clear comparisons across counties and over time difficult. All four counties have recently rolled out new permitting systems aimed at speeding up processing and improving record keeping. More time is needed to evaluate whether these reforms will effectively speed permitting times, but early evidence is mixed.

Hawai‘i County has consistently recorded the fastest processing times. For single-family home permits issued in 2025 in Hawai‘i County, the median processing time was 127 days, down 27% from the year prior. For single-family permits issued in Maui County in 2025, the median processing time was 186 days, down 33% from 2024 issued permits. The decrease in Maui County was driven by expedited permits related to fire recovery. Nearly half of single-family permits issued in 2025 were disaster permits, and the median processing time for these permits was 83 days, compared to 379 days for standard permits. Kaua‘i permit data shows increasing delays, with single-family home permits issued in 2025 taking 309 days, up 37% from 2024.

Honolulu introduced new permitting software in summer 2025, but UHERO was unable to obtain records from the new system. Based on permits issued in the first half of 2025, prior to the introduction of the new system, median processing times were 394 days for single-family homes and 585 days for multifamily units. Whether times have improved since the new system launched remains to be seen, but prior to its introduction, processing times for both housing types had continued to trend upward.

Cross-county comparisons give only limited insight. For example, while Honolulu takes the longest to process multifamily projects, they approve by far the most projects and the most complex projects. Few multifamily developments are considered on the Neighbor Islands. Differences in record keeping across counties may also contribute to differences in estimated permitting times.

Processing Times of Permits Issued in 2025

Median Processing Time for a Permit in Honolulu

Rebuilding activity in Lahaina advances furthest for single-family homes

The 2023 Maui wildfires devastated Lahaina, destroying more than 5,500 housing units. Two and a half years later, Maui County reports a total of 991 permits to rebuild permanent structures: 634 issued and 357 in progress, with 192 of the issued permits completed and ready for habitation. Permit data shows disparities in the pace of rebuilding for different property types. Owners of single-family homes destroyed by the wildfires, including vacation homes, are filing for and receiving permits significantly faster than other property owners.

Matching fire damaged properties to permit data also reveal cases where recovery has yet to begin. 57% of lots damaged by the wildfires show no permit activity, meaning those owners have not yet applied to rebuild. These include a large majority of former long-term rentals, apartments, and businesses. The aggregate value of fire-related building permits totals 21% of the pre-fire assessed building valuation, adjusted for inflation. Full recovery could therefore take many more years, as demonstrated by the experience of Paradise, California.

Permit Activity on Fire-damaged Properties, by Pre-fire Tax Class

Why new construction helps improve local affordability

Housing filtering occurs when new housing kicks off a chain of local moves and vacancies. When a local family moves into a newly constructed unit, they typically vacate their old home, freeing it up for someone else. When a new family moves into that vacancy, they in turn vacate their prior home, and so on. Through these vacancy chains, new construction can expand housing opportunities across the market, including for older and lower-priced homes.

A UHERO research paper, recently published in the journal Real Estate Economics, examines this process in detail by tracing the market effects of a single condominium tower in Honolulu. The project, The Central, is a 512-unit mixed-income condominium completed in 2021, next to the Ala Moana Center mall. Developed under Hawai‘i’s state-level 201H program, the building includes 202 market-rate units and 310 income-restricted units reserved for low- or middle-income families.

The paper makes use of data on the address histories of local residents. The analysis estimates that the construction of The Central kicked off moving chains that led to over 500 units on O‘ahu becoming vacant and available for other local families. Importantly, these vacated units were about 40% less expensive than the units in The Central, and tended to be significantly larger, including many single-family homes.

Vacated homes were concentrated in central Honolulu, but extended to neighborhoods across the island. Among movers where a prior US residence can be identified, the study finds 88% were moving within the state, with the remaining 12% moving to Hawai’i from another state, most commonly California. The finding shows that the large majority of filtered housing vacancies are a benefit to the local housing market.

The analysis implies that blocking new development, including market rate development, can be detrimental to the ability of locals to obtain housing, and these effects extend far beyond the new building itself.

The Demand For Housing

Mortgage rates fell slightly in 2025 but could rise again in 2026

Prospective homebuyers saw modest affordability gains in 2025 as mortgage rates trended downward. After peaking at 7.8% in October 2023, the average interest rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage fell below 6% in February 2025, its lowest level since 2022. The outbreak of the Iran war has reversed this trend. Disruptions to the global oil supply have stoked inflation concerns and dampened expectations of near-term Federal Reserve rate cuts. Higher interest rate expectations have already flowed through to the mortgage market, pushing rates back up to 6.4% by the end of March, 2026. Even a half-percentage-point rise meaningfully affects affordability, and further increases could erase recent gains entirely.

On the supply side, higher rates could also lead to a reduction in new housing production. Higher borrowing costs for developers raise the costs of new projects, which could discourage new development.

Average Rate for 30-Year Fixed Rate Mortgage

Number of vacation rentals grew on Maui and Kaua’i in 2025

Despite policy changes across the counties, the number of active vacation rentals in Hawai‘i has continued to gradually increase following the pandemic-era decline. In 2025, there were approximately 34,500 advertised vacation rental properties statewide, up from 33,600 in 2024, with growth concentrated on Maui and Kaua’i. Maui has the largest absolute number of listings at 11,000, but Kaua‘i has the highest concentration relative to its housing stock. Vacation rentals account for 20% of all housing units in Kaua‘i, compared to 15% in Maui County, 9% in Hawai‘i, and just 2.5% in Honolulu. Maui’s Bill 9 is set to convert roughly half of the county’s vacation rentals to residential housing, with wide-ranging implications for both housing supply and the local economy.

Total Active Vacation Rental Listings by County

Shifts in Housing Policy

Bill 9 cools Maui’s condo market, further price reductions likely

Maui County took an unprecedented step in December with the passage of Bill 9, which sets a timetable to phase out roughly 7,000 short-term vacation rentals in apartment-zoned (“Minatoya List”) buildings. The phase out is set to begin in West Maui in 2029 and countywide by 2031. Converting these units to long-term housing could grow Maui’s housing stock by up to 13%. The bill has already cooled the Maui condo market: UHERO estimates a full phase-out could reduce condo prices by 20–40%, and deed transfer data show price declines are already happening. Comparing Maui condo prices to 2023, before the policy change was being seriously considered, is informative. While statewide condo prices in 2025 were 4% below 2023 levels, Maui prices were down 11%, while sales prices for condos listed on the Minatoya list were down 16%.

The policy’s ultimate impact, however, remains uncertain. A rezoning proposal that would allow some properties to continue operating as vacation rentals was considered but has been deferred. Legal challenges from condo owners in resort areas like Kā‘anapali, who argue the phase-out violates their property rights, add further uncertainty. If Bill 9 survives legal scrutiny and exemptions remain limited, condo prices will likely fall further. A full phase-out would also carry broader economic consequences, including an estimated 15% drop in overall tourist spending.

Change in Median Condominium Price, 2023-2025

Extreme weather and flood insurance changes spotlight disaster risk

Insurance premiums may rise again following a series of Kona Low storms that struck Hawai’i in March and April 2026. The storms brought catastrophic flooding and landslides leading to many residents being temporarily displaced from their homes. According to the state, these storms led to over $1 billion in estimated damages. Residents temporarily displaced from flooded homes could put upward pressure on rents in the short term as they search for alternative housing.

The timing of these storms coincides with an upcoming federal policy change. In June 2026, FEMA will update its flood maps to include 3,700 net new parcels (+25%) on O’ahu in Special Flood Hazard zones, mostly near streams. Flood insurance is required for homes in flood zones to qualify for federal mortgage programs. For a typical Hawai‘i single-family homeowner, flood insurance currently costs $1,023 per year, according to FEMA data. For years, FEMA charged many policyholders less than the full cost of their flood risk, leaving taxpayers to cover the gap. Under recent federal policy changes, that bill will rise by up to 18% each year until it reaches an accurate risk-based price. For the typical home, that target price is $3,258 per year. The cost a specific property pays will depend on its projected exposure to inland flooding, storm surge, tsunamis, and coastal erosion.

Owners in newly designated zones can expect  higher carrying costs, tighter financing conditions, and additional permitting hurdles. These changes could weigh on both housing supply and demand, slowing price growth in affected areas while also contributing to broader shifts in the private insurance market.

SPEED Task Force offers recommendations to accelerate permits

Last year, the State Legislature established the Simplifying Permitting for Enhanced Economic Development (SPEED) Task Force. The lawmaker-led body will bring together state and county officials, business leaders, and community members to “facilitate, expedite, and coordinate state and intergovernmental development permit processes”. The need is acute: it takes more than three times as long to get a permit in Hawai‘i as it does nationally.

The completed first phase focused on building permits, historic preservation, and individual wastewater systems. The Task Force suggested 22 bills to address bottlenecks in these areas, for example, developing a statewide permitting data standard, clarifying the process and deadlines for historic preservation review, and expanding subsidies for cesspool conversion. As of late April, the following 9 measures were still under consideration.

Bill 7 has created affordable units in convenient locations, but production is slowing

Honolulu’s “Bill 7” program was enacted in 2019 to promote affordable rentals on small lots in apartment zones. To qualify, projects must reserve at least 80% of the units for households earning at or below 100% Area Median Income (AMI) for at least 15 years. In exchange, they receive height and density bonuses, waived parking and public hearing requirements, and financial incentives. To date, the program has produced 189 units, with another 550 under construction. About 2,000 total units have been proposed across 65 buildings, each typically containing 25 to 30 studios and one-bedrooms and rising 4 to 5 stories. As the map shows, developments are concentrated along the H-1 between Diamond Head and Kalihi, in neighborhoods with relatively convenient access to transit, jobs, and other amenities.

Bill 7 Affordable Housing Projects

Elevated interest rates, difficulties securing land and financing, and administrative challenges like permitting delays have curbed the program’s effectiveness, leaving it far short of its policy goal of 500 units constructed annually. Moreover, the program will expire June 1, 2030 without legislation to extend it. Because development timelines can last 5 years or longer, applications have already tapered off since a 2023 peak, despite improving interest rates.

Bill 7 Rental Housing Pipeline

Ongoing debates at Honolulu City Council over the program’s future illustrate how regulatory uncertainty damages housing production by leaving developers without a predictable environment for planning investments. Housing advocates and developers have testified that certain changes being considered, such as requiring parking or elevators, would effectively end the program by increasing development costs beyond what regulated rents could cover. Other testifiers, including neighbors of Bill 7 projects, have voiced concerns related to parking, property management, and noise. The Honolulu Department of Housing and Land Management (DHLM) has engaged UHERO to provide policy analysis and evaluation in support of further deliberations.

Active Bills Based on SPEED Task Force Recommendations

The second phase of the task force is slated to begin its review this summer of building codes, land use district boundary amendments, and water resource management. UHERO released research in 2025 on the difficulties and tradeoffs of water management and on litigation related to the building code. The focus areas of the final phase have yet to be determined, but the task force will end its work by June 30, 2027.

Technical notes

A note on “zip code” geographies: This report provides data at the zip code level. However, the zip code boundaries are defined using current Zip Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs), which are defined by the US Census Bureau. The boundaries of ZCTAs approximate areas with the same zip code, where zip codes are defined by the US Postal Service. In some cases, the boundaries between ZCTAs and zip codes may differ. The map icon in the top left of each page represents the ZCTA boundaries. All data conforms to ZCTA boundaries, except for Craigslist rental estimates which are classified based on the zip code address of the property.

A note on missing data and sample size: Some zip codes are small, meaning some of the data points are unavailable or based on a small number of observations. This reference book does not include every zip code. Some very small zip codes are omitted entirely. Generally, we choose to report data when it is available. For zip codes with small populations or a small number of housing transactions, the data points will be more volatile and may be driven by outliers. When insufficient data is available for a single data point, we represent that data point with a “-” symbol.

A note on rankings: County and zip code pages include rankings for each data point (eg 1/65). A rank of one indicates the highest value. For counties, the ranking is among the four counties included. For zip codes, the ranking is among all other zip codes for which data is available.