Honolulu appreciation rates and housing market information

Honolulu housing market information

With 371,619 people, 158,659 houses or apartments, and a median cost of homes of $832,900, Honolulu house prices are not only among the most expensive in Hawaii, Honolulu real estate also is some of the most expensive in all of America.

large apartment complexes or high rise apartments are the single most common housing type in Honolulu, accounting for 53.87% of the town's housing units. Other types of housing that are prevalent in Honolulu include single-family detached homes (31.93%), row houses and other attached homes (7.27%), and a few duplexes, homes converted to apartments, or other small apartment buildings (6.71%). Towns that are predominantly high-density buildings are relatively uncommon in the US. Because of the density, these types of towns are often walkable and compact, and often have a lively downtown.

People in Honolulu primarily live in small (one, two, or no bedroom) units, chiefly found in large apartment complexes or high rise apartments. Honolulu has a mixture of owner-occupied and renter-occupied housing.

At the end of World War II, American soldiers returned home triumphant and, with the help of the GI Bill, built homes by the millions on the edges of America's cities. These homes were predominantly capes and ranches, modest in size, but built to house a growing middle-class as the 20th century became the American century. Honolulu's housing was primarily built during this period, from the '40s through the '60s. A full 45.73% of the town's housing hails from this era. Other housing ages represented in Honolulu include homes built between 1970-1994 (43.29%), and housing constructed from 1939 and earlier (6.14%). There's also some housing in Honolulu built between 1995 and later (4.84%).

Vacant housing appears to be an issue in Honolulu. Fully 11.55% of the housing stock is classified as vacant. Left unchecked, vacant Honolulu homes and apartments can be a drag on the real estate market, holding Honolulu real estate prices below levels they could achieve if vacant housing was absorbed into the market and became occupied. Housing vacancy rates are a useful measure to consider, along with other things, if you are a home buyer or a real estate investor.

Honolulu home appreciation rates

In the last 10 years, Honolulu has experienced some of the highest home appreciation rates of any community in the nation. Honolulu real estate appreciated 133.97% over the last ten years, which is an average annual home appreciation rate of 13.39%, putting Honolulu in the top 10% nationally for real estate appreciation. If you are a home buyer or real estate investor, Honolulu definitely has a track record of being one of the best long term real estate investments in America through the last ten years.

Over the last year, Honolulu appreciation rates have trailed the rest of the nation. In the last twelve months, Honolulu's appreciation rate has been 0.53%, which is lower than appreciation rates in most communities in America. In the latest quarter, NeighborhoodScout's data show that house appreciation rates in Honolulu were at -1.02%, which equates to an annual appreciation rate of -4.08%.

Relative to Hawaii, our data show that Honolulu's latest annual appreciation rate is higher than 66% of the other cities and towns in Hawaii.

One very important thing to keep in mind is that these are average appreciation rates for the town. Individual neighborhoods within Honolulu differ in their investment potential, sometimes by a great deal. Fortunately, you can use NeighborhoodScout to pinpoint the exact neighborhoods in Honolulu - or in any city or town - that have the best track record of real estate appreciation, by the latest quarter, the last year, 2 years, 5 years, 10 years, or even since 1990, to assist you in making the best Honolulu real estate investment or home purchase decisions.