Key Takeaways
- The Honolulu housing market 2026 runs in two directions: the Oahu single-family median rose 12.2% year over year in August 2026 while the condo median fell 1.0% to $510,000 (Honolulu Board of Realtors, August 2026).
- Houses clear fast: 17 median days on market at a median 100% of original asking price, against 37 days and 97.1% for condos.
- Inventory shows the split: 794 active single-family listings against 2,512 active condo listings that same month.
- Carrying costs drag the condo side: 42% of Hawaii homeowners pay an association fee against 25% nationally, and Honolulu's median fee is $526 a month (UHERO, May 2026).
- Zillow measures something else: its index put the typical Honolulu house at $765,367 as of July 31, 2026, up 1.4%. Never blend it with a board median.
Ask what the Honolulu housing market 2026 looks like and the honest answer is that there are two of them. Single-family houses and condos are moving in opposite directions, and which one applies to you depends on what you own.
This guide keeps every source separate and labeled. The Honolulu Board of Realtors reports what closed on Oahu, Zillow models a typical value across all houses, and UHERO measures what households can afford.
What is the Honolulu housing market doing in 2026?
Oahu is running as two separate markets: single-family houses are scarce and selling at full asking price, while condos accumulate and soften. The August 2026 resale figures from the Honolulu Board of Realtors show the gap.
Single-family: the median sale price rose 12.2% year over year, closed sales were up 1.9% to 264, and houses spent a median of 17 days on market, down from 22. Sellers received a median of 100% of original asking price, and active inventory held nearly flat at 794 listings.
Condos: the median fell 1.0% to $510,000 on 365 closed sales, down 6.6%. They spent a median of 37 days, improved from 48, at 97.1% of original asking, and active inventory rose 4.1% to 2,512 listings (Honolulu Board of Realtors, August 2026 Oahu report).
The August release gives the single-family median only as a percentage change, so this guide does not invent a dollar figure. The July release does give one.
Oahu Home Prices 2026: What Each Number Measures
Oahu home prices in 2026 come from three different measurements, and each counts a different set of houses.
The Honolulu Board of Realtors reports closed MLS resales. In July 2026 the Oahu single-family median was $1,224,500, up 13.9% from $1,075,000 a year earlier, on 300 transactions. The condo median was $504,500, up 3.0% from $490,000, on 416 transactions (Honolulu Board of Realtors, July 2026 market report).
Board president Aaron Tangonan cautioned that a monthly median is the midpoint of what sold, not a price tag on anyone's house. July's jump came largely because sales above $1.3 million nearly doubled.
Zillow's Home Value Index models a typical value across every qualifying house, sold or not. That is why its Honolulu figure sits below the island's single-family median and above the condo median.
| Source | Metric | Value | As of |
|---|---|---|---|
| Honolulu Board of Realtors | Oahu single-family median sale price | $1,224,500 (+13.9% YoY) | July 2026 |
| Honolulu Board of Realtors | Oahu condo median sale price | $510,000 (-1.0% YoY) | August 2026 |
| Honolulu Board of Realtors | Active listings, single-family vs condo | 794 vs 2,512 | August 2026 |
| Zillow ZHVI | Typical value, Honolulu | $765,367 (+1.4% YoY) | July 31, 2026 |
| Zillow ZHVI | Typical value, Kailua | $1,532,217 (+1.6% YoY) | July 31, 2026 |
| Zillow ZHVI | Typical value, Kaneohe | $1,089,620 (+2.5% YoY) | July 31, 2026 |
| Zillow ZHVI | Typical value, Pearl City | $939,530 (+2.6% YoY) | July 31, 2026 |
| Zillow ZHVI | Typical value, Kapolei | $845,690 (+1.2% YoY) | July 31, 2026 |
| Zillow ZHVI | Typical value, Ewa Beach | $834,449 (+1.1% YoY) | July 31, 2026 |
| Zillow ZHVI | Typical value, Hawaii statewide | $833,877 (+0.5% YoY) | July 31, 2026 |
| UHERO | Honolulu County single-family median, full year | $1,110,000 on 3,103 sales | 2025 |
| ATTOM | Hawaii foreclosure rate, 41st among states | 1 in 7,999 housing units (71 filings) | July 2026 |
Zillow figures come from the public city and state files (Zillow Research, ZHVI, July 31, 2026). Kailua, Kaneohe, Pearl City, Kapolei, and Ewa Beach are separate Oahu communities, not Honolulu neighborhoods.
The board median is the midpoint price of houses that closed in one month, by property type. The Zillow index estimates a typical value across every qualifying house, sold or not. Averaging the two answers no question anyone asked.
Why do Oahu condos sit while houses sell in 17 days?
Oahu condos sit longer because of what they cost to hold, not what they cost to buy. The buyer is underwriting a monthly association bill on top of the mortgage, and in Hawaii that bill is large.
UHERO's 2026 Housing Factbook put numbers on it. Nationally, 25% of homeowners report paying a monthly association fee; in Hawaii the figure is 42%. Hawaii's median monthly fee of $470 ranked second in the nation, and Honolulu's median of $526 was the highest of any Hawaii county (UHERO, Hawaii Housing Factbook 2026, May 2026).
Advertised fees run higher. UHERO's analysis of Oahu listings in February 2026 found a median advertised fee of $882 a month, excluding the one-time special assessments it notes have become common in aging buildings.
Supply is moving the other way
Condo sellers also compete with far more listings. August 2026 brought 684 new condo listings, up 6.4%, against 364 new single-family listings, up 14.5%. Pending sales fell on both sides: single-family down 7.6% to 279, condos down 3.2% to 393 (Honolulu Board of Realtors, August 2026).
Leasehold is the Oahu-specific friction
Roughly one in ten Oahu condos sits on leasehold land, concentrated in Waikiki, downtown, Makiki, and the University area (Honolulu Board of Realtors). The owner holds the building and leases the ground, with scheduled rent step-ups and an eventual expiration.
Financed buyers price that carefully, and some lenders decline a short remaining term outright. A cash buyer can take a leasehold unit as-is.
What Oahu Home Prices 2026 Ask of a Local Household
Affording the median single-family house in Hawaii takes just over 180% of the state median income, which roughly one in five households earn (UHERO, May 2026). That fact explains why the two sides behave so differently.
The condo side reaches further down. UHERO found the income needed for the median condo has fallen to about 110% of state median income, from a peak of 140%, within reach of nearly half of households. Rising fees and insurance may offset part of that.
Honolulu County recorded a 2025 single-family median of $1,110,000 across 3,103 transactions, against a statewide median of $950,000 on 6,573 transactions (UHERO, May 2026).
In August 2026, 71 Oahu single-family sales, 27% of the month's total, closed under $1 million, and 176 condo sales, 48% of that market, closed under $500,000.
Residential A and the Empty Homes Tax That Died
A Honolulu house assessed at $1,000,000 or more with no home exemption falls into the Residential A tax class, which taxes value above $1,000,000 at a higher rate than the first $1,000,000. That threshold now catches many ordinary Oahu houses.
The class covers a parcel with no more than two single-family dwelling units, assessed at $1,000,000 or more, without a home exemption, in a listed residential zone. A condominium unit at that value without a home exemption also qualifies. Ordinance 13-33 created the class in 2013, and Ordinance 17-12 split it into two tiers effective July 1, 2017 (City and County of Honolulu Real Property Assessment Division).
The trigger is the home exemption, not the house. An inherited house nobody occupies, a second house, or an off-island owner's property can land in Residential A while a neighbor's identical house does not. Civil Beat reported in August 2026 that non-owner-occupied residences under $1 million are taxed at 0.4%, and those above pay 0.4% on the first $1 million and 1.14% above it.
Bill 46 died on August 1, 2026
Honolulu's proposed empty homes tax is no longer pending. Civil Beat reported that Bill 46 automatically died on August 1, 2026, two years after introduction. The City Council never held the final vote its chair had said he would schedule (Honolulu Civil Beat, August 3, 2026).
A parallel attempt to reach voters failed that summer. The Honolulu Charter Commission voted 8 to 5 in favor, one short of the nine-vote supermajority needed for the November ballot (Honolulu Civil Beat, July 21, 2026). For an owner of an empty Oahu unit, the near-term picture is the existing Residential A structure.
Where the Split Falls Across Honolulu Neighborhoods
Which side of the split your house sits on is mostly a function of housing stock and build decade. Kaimuki, above Waikiki along Waialae Avenue, grew from the 1920s through the 1940s as a district of small single-wall bungalows. Kalihi, behind the harbor and the airport, holds plantation-era cottages and small multifamily buildings. Manoa is a rainy university valley where rainfall drives rot, mold, and termite pressure, and the 2004 Manoa flood damaged the campus and nearby houses.
All three sit on the strong side of the market with condition that can still stop a financed contract. Waikiki is the clearest example of the other side: high-rise towers, many leasehold or carrying heavy association budgets, in aging 1960s and 1970s buildings with many off-island and inherited owners. Hawaii Kai, the Kaiser-built marina community of the same era, sits back on the single-family side.
What does the split mean if you need to sell?
The honest answer depends on your house, not on the island average. A clean, financeable single-family house is in a strong position. A dated house or a fee-heavy condo is in a different market.
Financed buyers price what Honolulu's older stock carries: single-wall construction, dated wiring, termite and rot damage, and a cesspool awaiting conversion under Hawaii's 2050 mandate. A condo adds dues, reserve health, special assessments, and lease term. Our guide to Hawaii seller disclosure requirements covers what has to be written down.
| Your situation | The listing path | Where a direct cash sale fits |
|---|---|---|
| Move-in-ready single-family house | Strongest option. Houses cleared in a median of 17 days at full original asking price in August 2026. | Rarely better economics. Worth a look only when the date matters more than price. |
| Dated single-wall house | Workable but slower. Wiring, rot, termites, and an unconverted cesspool can end a financed contract at inspection. | Often the practical route. Sold as-is, no repairs, no lender to satisfy. |
| Condo with rising AOAO fees | Hard. Competing with 2,512 active listings, and a high fee or pending assessment narrows the buyer pool. | Worth comparing. Dues stop at closing instead of running for months. |
| Leasehold or short-lease condo | Very hard. Many lenders decline a short remaining term outright. | Often the only realistic path. A cash buyer can take the lease as it stands. |
| Inherited house | Possible once the estate has authority, but taxes, insurance, and a possible Residential A bill keep running. | Common for out-of-state heirs. No cleanout, and the date can suit the probate calendar. |
Heirs face an extra step. Hawaii's small-estate affidavit reaches personal property only and cannot transfer title to real estate, so an inherited Honolulu house opens probate first. See our guide to selling an inherited house in Hawaii.
Propcash is a direct cash homebuyer, founded in 2026 and based in Nashville. We buy the house ourselves, so you work with the decision-maker from first call to closing, and cash transactions can close in as few as 7 days. If a search for sell my house for cash Honolulu brought you here, you can get a cash offer on your Honolulu house and compare it with what a listing might net.
Certainty matters most on a fixed date. Military moves, off-island relocations, and estate deadlines do not wait for a lender's underwriting. Propcash will say plainly when listing looks like the stronger move.
What Could Change the Honolulu Housing Market Next
Three variables could move the Honolulu housing market off its current split. Mortgage rates are the first. Freddie Mac put the 30-year fixed average at 6.76% for the week of September 10, 2026, up from 6.35% a year earlier (Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey, September 10, 2026). Higher rates would pressure both sides, and the condo side has less cushion.
Condo carrying costs are the second. UHERO flagged insurance costs and association fees as the forces most likely to offset condo affordability gains (UHERO, May 2026). Whether reserve shortfalls keep spreading through aging Oahu buildings is an open question.
Policy is the third. Civil Beat reported that some version of an empty homes tax has been proposed and killed at least four times in eight years, so a future council could revisit it.
Distress stays low statewide. Hawaii recorded 71 foreclosure filings in July 2026, one in every 7,999 housing units, the 41st highest rate among the states (ATTOM, July 2026). Our guide to stopping a foreclosure in Hawaii covers the mostly judicial timeline.
For how a direct cash sale works locally, see our Honolulu cash home buyer page or the Hawaii cash buyer overview.
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Let's chatFrequently Asked Questions
What is the Honolulu housing market doing in 2026?
Oahu is running as two separate markets. The Honolulu Board of Realtors reported the single-family median sale price up 12.2% year over year in August 2026 on 264 closed sales, at 17 median days on market and 100% of original asking price. The condo median fell 1.0% to $510,000 on 365 closed sales, at 37 median days and 97.1% of original asking, with 2,512 active condo listings against 794 single-family.
Why are Oahu condo prices falling while house prices rise?
Carrying costs are the main reason. UHERO found that 42% of Hawaii homeowners pay an association fee against 25% nationally, and that Honolulu's median monthly fee of $526 is the highest in the state. An analysis of Oahu listings in February 2026 found a median advertised fee of $882, excluding special assessments. Condo inventory also rose 4.1% in August 2026 while single-family inventory stayed nearly flat.
How long does it take to sell a house on Oahu right now?
Single-family houses on Oahu spent a median of 17 days on market in August 2026, down from 22 a year earlier, according to the Honolulu Board of Realtors. Condos spent a median of 37 days, improved from 48. Those medians cover the listing period only, so they exclude the preparation, inspection, and underwriting around a financed sale.
What is Honolulu's Residential A property tax classification?
Residential A is a City and County of Honolulu tax class. It covers a parcel with no more than two single-family dwelling units, assessed at $1,000,000 or more, with no home exemption, in a listed residential zone. A condominium unit at that value without a home exemption also falls in the class. Ordinance 13-33 created it in 2013, and Ordinance 17-12 split it into two tiers in 2017, so value above $1,000,000 is taxed at a higher rate.
Did Honolulu pass an empty homes tax in 2026?
No. Honolulu Civil Beat reported that Bill 46 automatically died on August 1, 2026, two years after introduction, because the City Council never held a final vote. A separate effort to reach voters failed when the Honolulu Charter Commission voted 8 to 5, one short of the nine-vote supermajority needed for the ballot.
Does a cash sale make sense in the Honolulu housing market in 2026?
It depends far more on the individual house than on the island average. A financeable single-family house in good condition is selling fast and at full asking price on Oahu, and Propcash will say so when listing looks like the stronger move. A direct cash sale tends to fit a house a lender's inspector would balk at, a leasehold or short-lease condo, an inherited house in probate, or a move on a fixed date.
Data Sources: Honolulu Board of Realtors monthly Oahu market reports, Zillow Research (ZHVI), UHERO Hawaii Housing Factbook 2026, City and County of Honolulu Real Property Assessment Division, Honolulu Civil Beat, ATTOM, Freddie Mac. Propcash is a direct cash homebuyer, not a law firm or a tax adviser.