Hawaii Island— Q3 Remains a Seller’s Market: Inventory at All-time Lows, Prices Rise to Meet Demand

Hawaii Island residents can see firsthand how swiftly homes are selling and how few homes are coming on the market. It’s definitely a seller’s market on the Big island!

We’ve compiled the real estate sales data for the robust 3rd quarter of 2021. The number show that the real estate market is booming statewide, but especially on the Big Island where extremely high demand for Hawaii Island properties is driving prices up. If you’re a homeowner looking to sell, Hawaii Island remains a strong seller’s market. It’s a good time to put your home on the marketing as prices continue to rise, and inventory contracts sharply.

Hawaii Island property inventory has decreased by more than 38.2% in the past 12 months, while the volume of sales has increased more than 9.1% over the same period. As inventory continues its dramatic downward trend, demand for homes on the Big Island is driving home prices up.

The average sales price of single-family homes on Hawai‘i Island was $799,000, an increase of +29.7%  in the third quarter over the same period in 2020, when the average sales price was  $616,000.

Each of the last 12 months have seen fewer and fewer active listings, making it increasing difficult for Hawaii Island residents to take advantage of today’s low interest rates and get into a home. Competition for existing lisitngs is fierce!

Current available inventory is 1.4 months, down 55.4% from the third quarter of  2020. The pace of sales is brisk — Hawaii Island properties spent an average of just 48 days on the market in the third quarter, while they spent an average of 95 days on the market during the same period in 2020. For home sellers, this is great news since there’s little lag time and they move forward to closing, and to buying their next home.

West Hawaii

Demand for properties in West Hawaii has been particularly high, even though the price tags are higher here.  The average sales price in the West Hawaii market was $1.289 million in the third quarter, up 37.7% over the same period in 2020.

Higher price tags are driven by the many luxury resort communities situated along the Kohala Coast. West Hawaii is a unique area where ranches and resorts live harmoniously together in a gorgeous landscape that climbs from the Kohala coastline to 2,600 feet about sea level, where the charming town of Waimea/Kamuela sit, and where our newest Hawaii Life office recently opened.

While demand is extraordinarily high, sales in this area were more or less flat to the third quarter of 2020 — largely due to a 46% decline in available inventory. At this time last year, there 302 listings in Hawaii compared to just 162 active listings this year. With fewer homes available, there’s a lot of buyers looking at each listing that comes on the market, and you may find yourself competing with other bidders.

Buyers are snatching up available inventory in this highly desirable coastal area, and the average property spends an average of 42 days on the market. Given the average price of a property on the Kohala Coast, that’s an incredibly short period of time.

If you’d like to explore Hawaii Island real estate, we invite you to meet our team at our Waimea office on the Big Island. Located in upcountry Waimea, you’ll find us in Parker Square or at one of our seven office locations on the Big Island.

Check out our recent stories about Waimea and contact our newest Hawaii Island real estate office today for more information about properties for sale or purchase along the Kohala Coast. From Waimea to Mauna Kea and Mauna Lani, from Hawi to Kailua-Kona, and from the Hamakua Coast to Hilo — our Hawaii Island team is here to help you.

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