2nd Quarter 2026 Market Update

How we love a good data set! The charts [above] offer some quick summaries of the 2025 Hāmākua Coast real estate market. Some additional observations:
 
● While the dollar sales volume in each of the general areas was pretty uniform, Honokaʻa-Paʻauilo-ʻŌʻōkala (H-P-O) saw the greatest number of large parcels, while Honomū-Hakalau stood out with a higher average sales price — $1.8 million compared to less than $1 million for H-P-O.
 
● Properties between one and five acres made up nearly a third of sales volume. And the vast majority of those properties were located between Laupāhoehoe and Hilo. Just eight properties fell into the 50-acre-plus XXL size. While the XXL sticker price was impressive, the price per acre was at the low end. The highest sales price per acre for vacant land was $500,000 for a cliffside lot near the Pāpaʻaloa Country Store. The lowest was $7,000 per acre for 41 undeveloped acres above Ninole.
 
● Local Hāmākua residents were the number one buyers of real estate in the area, while Californians led in sales. The large number of Hilo-bound sellers are mostly retiring from farm life, while the buyers from Puna are escaping the standstill commute on Highway 130. And there were many more buyers originating from Waimea than Hāmākua sellers going there. It’s about affordability.
 
● In the broadest terms, the more expensive properties were bought with cash in 2025; the less expensive ones involved a mortgage, many guaranteed by the US Department of Veterans Affairs; the ones that were difficult to sell required seller financing (known as a purchase money mortgage). There were exceptions. For example, one of the biggest sales —a $5 million cliffside hacienda— was snagged with a 70% mortgage.