Last updated: October 2026. I refresh this page every quarter when new sales data closes, so the numbers below reflect the most recent Oahu figures I can stand behind. If you're reading this months later and want live numbers for a specific building or neighborhood, send me a note and I'll pull them.
I've been selling on Oahu for 20+ years, with $1B+ in Oahu sales. The luxury end of this island doesn't move like the rest of the market, and it doesn't move like luxury on the mainland. So instead of one median price and a headline, here's what's actually happening at the top of the Oahu market right now, segment by segment, with the sources so you can check my work.
The Oahu luxury market in one snapshot
First, the baseline. In September 2026 the islandwide single-family median was $1,110,000, down 3.9% from a year earlier, after a record $1,242,500 in June. Homes went under contract in a median of 16 days, and 31% sold over asking. The condo median was $523,000, up 2.8% year over year, at a median of 41 days on market. (Source: Honolulu Board of REALTORS, September 2026 Oahu report.) Financing got more expensive too: Freddie Mac's 30-year average reached 7.40% the week of October 15, 2026, the highest since late 2023.
That islandwide median is not the luxury market. It's the floor the luxury market sits on top of. Once you cross roughly $2M for a house or $2.5M for a condo, you're in a different pool of buyers, a different inventory picture, and a very different pace. Here's how that pool breaks down.
Luxury single-family homes: strong at $2M, choppy above $3M
The clearest way I can describe the high end is that demand is deep right where most luxury buyers actually shop, and thin and lumpy once you get into trophy territory. The most recent full segment data is the List Sotheby's Q2 2026 luxury report, based on MLS numbers.
- $2M to $3M: 67 homes sold in the quarter, up about 17.5% year over year, with roughly 8.3 months of inventory. This is the busiest, healthiest slice of the luxury market.
- $3M to $5M: 19 homes sold, down about 42% from the same quarter a year earlier, with inventory stretching to around 15.3 months. Fewer buyers here, and more choice for the ones who show up.
- $5M to $10M: 9 homes sold, up about 28.6%, with inventory tightening to roughly 11.9 months.
- $10M and up: 1 sale in the quarter, at $10.5M on the Kailua beachside. At this level a single transaction swings the whole percentage, so don't read much into the year-over-year number. Think in individual deals, not trends.
What this tells me on the ground matches what I see writing offers. A well-priced house in the $2M to $3M band in a proven area moves fast, sometimes with competition. Get into the $3M to $5M range and you can find a seller who has been sitting a while and is ready to make a deal. That gap is one of the more useful things to understand before you set a budget.
Luxury condos: Kakaako towers set the ceiling
The condo picture is its own animal. Islandwide condo prices have been flat to slightly down, but the ultra-luxury towers are a separate market driven by new inventory in Kakaako and a handful of resort addresses.
In Q2 2026, condos priced $2.5M and above logged 23 sales, up about 15% year over year. Ten of those were $5M or more, and they clustered in the names you'd expect: Park Lane, Waiea, Victoria Place, the Ritz-Carlton Residences, and Ocean Villas at Turtle Bay. The top condo sale in the quarter was a Waiea residence at $10.8M.
If you're weighing a luxury condo, the building matters more than almost anything else, because the AOAO, the amenities, the rental rules, and the resale pool are all set at the building level. I always pull a specific building's own sales history and maintenance-fee trend before I let a client fall in love with a floor plan.
Where Oahu's luxury buyers are actually shopping
Luxury on this island is geographic, and the addresses have long memories. On the single-family side, the established high-end pockets run through Kahala, Diamond Head, the Kailua and Lanikai beachside, Portlock and the marina-front streets of Hawaii Kai, plus the view ridges like Waialae Iki and Wilhelmina Rise. Oceanfront and true whitewater-view properties command their own premium and trade on their own timeline, sometimes quietly, off the public market entirely.
On the condo side, the luxury center of gravity has shifted to Kakaako over the last decade, with Ala Moana and Waikiki oceanfront lines filling in the rest. I cover these areas in depth on my Oahu luxury homes and Honolulu luxury homes pages, and you can see how the high end fits into the wider island picture on my Oahu real estate market overview.
What I'd tell you before you buy or sell at this level
If you're buying, the single most valuable habit is to price by segment, not by island median. A $2.4M house and a $4M house are competing for very different numbers of buyers, and your negotiating leverage changes completely across that line. Cash is common at the top here, and financing a high-priced purchase usually means a jumbo loan with its own underwriting, so line that up early.
If you're selling, honest pricing is everything above $3M, because inventory runs long in the upper bands and an overpriced trophy listing can sit for a year and go stale. Staging and photography earn their keep at this level, and for oceanfront and view homes I often recommend a quiet, targeted launch before any public marketing. There can also be tax consequences when you sell a high-value or investment property in Hawaii, including capital gains and the HARPTA withholding rules for non-resident sellers, so talk to a licensed tax professional about your specific situation before you list.
Frequently asked questions
What counts as a luxury home on Oahu?
There's no official line, but in practice I treat roughly $2M and up for single-family homes and $2.5M and up for condos as the luxury market, because that's where the buyer pool, the inventory pace, and the negotiation dynamics clearly change. Plenty of reports draw it at $3M. It depends who you ask.
Is the Oahu luxury market a buyer's or seller's market right now?
Depends entirely on the band. The $2M to $3M single-family segment still favors sellers, with under 9 months of inventory as of Q2 2026. Once you get into $3M to $5M, inventory stretches past a year in some quarters and buyers have real room to negotiate. I'd never answer this question without knowing your price point first.
Do luxury homes on Oahu sell off-market?
A fair number do, especially oceanfront and trophy properties where sellers want privacy. That's one reason the public stats undercount the very top of the market, and one reason working with someone plugged into the local broker network matters up here.
How often is this report updated?
I refresh the islandwide figures monthly as the Honolulu Board of REALTORS data closes, and the luxury segment breakdown quarterly. The date at the top tells you how current you're reading.
Where do these numbers come from?
Honolulu Board of REALTORS MLS data, plus List Sotheby's quarterly luxury breakdown. I cite the primary sources rather than asking you to take my word for it, and I'll flag it anytime a figure is a single-sale outlier rather than a real trend.
This is general information from a licensed real estate broker, not legal, tax, insurance or financial advice. Rules and figures change, so confirm anything that affects your decision with the right licensed professional.
Sources: Honolulu Board of REALTORS, September 2026 Oahu market report, HBR June 2026 report, List Sotheby's International Realty, Luxury Market Report Q2 2026, Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey
Tony Kawaguchi, R(B), The Kawaguchi Group, eXp Realty. Hawaii broker, license RB-21841, 20+ years and $1B+ in Oahu sales, leading a team of 20+ agents.
Let's talk about your price point
If you're buying or selling anywhere above the $2M line on Oahu, the island median won't tell you much. What helps is real numbers for your exact neighborhood, building, or view corridor, and a clear read on where the leverage sits today. I'm happy to pull that for you. Reach out to me here, or start with a search of current Oahu luxury listings and tell me what catches your eye.