Honolulu Condos Price / Ft² & Maintenance Fees (2024)

Background
Understanding how price / ft² and maintenance fees / ft² compare across condos in Honolulu, has helped many of our clients get a better sense of how their 'favorite' condo(s) fits in the mix. We therefore decided to put this guide together, to benefit the general public, organizing condos by price / ft² and including each condo’s maintenance fees / ft².

The data is meant to give a general sense as to how expensive a given building is vs other buildings, but not meant to help in determining a fair market value of a specific unit. Why? Because there can be significant spreads in price / ft² for different units within the same building. For instance, units with spectacular ocean views or significant upgrades may sell for steep premiums relative to units without ocean views or upgrades.

3 Lists

1. Newer Honolulu Condos: Condos built year 2005 onwards.
   Note: There may also be to be built condos on this list, if any such units are uploaded to the MLS.
   
2. Honolulu Condo Hotels: Condos that allow short-term vacation renting.
   Note: A few condos on this list will also show on the ‘Newer Honolulu Condos’ list, since they fit both categories (e.g. Ritz-Carlton).
   
3. Other Honolulu Condos: Condos not on the ‘Newer Honolulu Condos’ or ‘Honolulu Condo Hotels' list.

Price / Ft² Formula

1. We take the average price / ft² of all units sold in a condo over the past 1 year (365 days).
   
2. We take the median price / ft² of all listings in a given condo that are active and in escrow (under contract).
   Median is the middle point of a sample size and it reduces the impact an overpriced unit can have on skewing results. Example
   A condo has 5 listings that are either active or in escrow, with the following listing prices: $1M, 1.1M, 1.3M, $1.6M, $3.4M.
   The median listing price is $1,300,000(the middle point) whereas the average listing price is $1,680,000.
   
3. We place ⅔ weight on sold data and ⅓ weight on active and in escrow data.
   In other words, we believe, in more cases than not, sold prices do a 'better job' at depicting current market values than active and in escrow listings. Example
   1 year of sold condos, average price / ft² = $1,000.
   Current active & in escrow listings, median price / ft² = $1,100.
   Price / ft² = $1,033. Calculated as {(2 x $1,000) + $1,100} / 3.
   
4. We only use fee simple data.
   If a condo has a mix of leasehold and fee simple units, the leasehold units are excluded (e.g.Waikiki Beach Tower). If a condo only has leasehold units, the condo is not included in this guide (e.g.Discovery Bay).

Note: If there is not at least 1 unit that is either active, in escrow or sold (within the past 1 year) in a given building, we have no data points - based on our formula - and such condo will not show on this page, until we have 1 data point for such condo again, at which point the condo will show on this page again. This is the main reason why the number of condos displayed on this page frequently changes a bit.

Calculation Limitations
No matter the approach, there are limitations in calculating the most reasonable or ‘fair’ price / ft² for any given building:

• Sold data:Is prices actually paid, great! However, if the market has moved since such sales - up or down - the data becomes less relevant.
  
• Active & in escrow listings: If condos are listed at prices higher than market values, which is not uncommon, the data becomes less relevant.
  
• Limited data points: If a condo only has a few data points or even a total lack or either active listings or sold data, the significance of our results may become less relevant.

Maint. Fees / Ft² Formula

1. We calculate the maintenance fees / ft² of all units in a given condo that are listed as active and in escrow, and use the median (middle) figure as the maintenance fees / ft² for such given condo. If there are no listings - active or in escrow - then we calculate maintenance fees / ft² based on the maintenance fees of the most recently sold unit, assuming there is 1 sold unit within the past 1 year.
   
2. Sometimes there are additional monthly charges listed as “Association Fees” or "Other Fees", which may be a reserve contribution, special assessments, internet, cable or something else. When calculating maintenance fees, we add any possible association fees and other fees to the listed maintenance fees.

Note: Condos with higher maintenance fees (e.g. Ritz-Carlton) may sometimes rank lower than expected, since higher carry costs - such as high maintenance fees - sometimes puts a 'breaker' on prices buyers are willing to pay.

Calculation Limitations
Getting maintenance fees 'right' should be easy, but, unfortunately, there are limitations to the data, sometimes causing inaccuracies:

• Maintenance fees uploaded online - in the MLS- are not always accurate. Agents sometimes upload inaccurate figures, they forget to upload 'Other Fees'or may not update the maintenance fee figures when there is an increase.
  
• In some buildings, maintenance fees / ft² are not the same across all units. For instance, in Park Lane Ala Moana, some units have a private outdoor yard, jacuzzi or pool. Owners of such units, pay extra for such maintenance. Hence, maintenance fees / Ft² in such units are likely higher than in units without such yard, jacuzzi or pool. There are also buildings where maintenance fees / Ft² differ among stacks, without certain units having any particular 'benefits'. As an example to this isThe Watermark, where the 3 bedroom units pay more in maintenance fees / ft² than the 2 bedroom units.
  
• Some buildings have a separate variable component, which isn't listed as maintenance fees, other fees or association fees, making the maintenance fees look lower than they really are, since such component - for most condos - is part of maintenance fees. For instance, in Waiea, each unit pays a variable common area electricity component, which makes maintenance fees look lower than they would be, if such common area electricity component was simply included as part of the maintenance fees (as is the case for the vast majority of condos).

Note: When comparing maintenance fees / ft² across buildings, we don't always have a perfect 'apples to apples' comparison, since buildings do not always include the same items in their maintenance fees (e.g. the vast majority of condos include water and sewer, a large number of condos also include internet and / or cable, and a few older condos even include electricity).

Condo Size Formula
Each condo has a line called "Size" and that represents the median size of units in such condo. Our results are derived from using all listings that are active and in escrow and if the total is less than 50, then we include sold units too, until we have a total of 50 data points. We do, however, go back a maximum of 10 years, even if we don't reach a total of 50 data points.

Example
A condo has 17 active listings and 15 in escrow, for a total of 32 units. We will include the 18 most recently sold units so we can reach 50 data points (17+ 15+ 18), since all 18 units were sold within 10 years.

Why do we include the median unit size for each building?
Besides it possibly being kind of fun / interesting to know, it is also because the rankings do not perfectly reflect the order of luxury and knowing a typical unit size in a given building, can help put perspective on things.

Let's illustrate our point with a theoretical case: Building A and Building B are identical in terms of location, view channels, level of luxury etc. There is just 1 difference: Building A units average 800 ft² in size and Building B units average 1,600 ft² in size. Building B units will likely cost more, have higher maintenance fees & higher property taxes and such units will typically sell for less per ft² than smaller (comparable) units with lower prices and lower running costs. In other words, there is a high chance Building A will appear more expensive than Building B, on a per ft² basis, making one think Building A must be more luxurious than Building B - not always so!