Monthly vs. Year-to-Date Hawaii Island Market Data

A median depends on which properties closed

The median is the middle sale in an ordered group. It does not track the value of the same home from one year to the next. If a month contains a different mix of locations, sizes, conditions or price ranges, the median can move even when individual property values do not move by the same percentage.

August included 153 single-family sales and 32 condominium sales across Hawaii Island. The year-to-date totals were 1,335 and 347. The longer period includes many more transactions and is less exposed to the mix in one month.

The year-to-date picture was steadier

Through August, the single-family median was $564,000, up 0.71%, while the condominium median was $625,000, down 0.79%. Sales counts were down 1.33% for single-family homes and 2.80% for condominiums.

That does not cancel the August result. It tells us that the sharp monthly divergence should not be treated as proof of island-wide appreciation or depreciation at the same rates.

Choose the period that matches the question

• Use the latest month to see what just closed, while retaining the small-window caveat.
• Use year-to-date figures to reduce one-month mix effects and compare the current year with the same elapsed period.
• Use matched local sales for a specific property, neighborhood, resort or price band.
• Keep single-family and condominium results separate because their markets and ownership costs differ.

Island-wide context is the starting point

Hawaii REALTORS reports Hawaii County totals. A Kailua-Kona condo buyer should not use the island condominium median as a substitute for current complex-level documents, comparable sales and competing listings. A seller on the Kohala Coast should not convert the single-family island median into a resort valuation.

Broad data can tell us which questions deserve attention. It cannot answer the property-specific questions by itself.