Molokai Market Snapshot – August 2026

As we keep an eye on Molokai real estate, this monthly snapshot breaks down the latest MLS data across the three segments that matter most: single-family homes, condominiums, and vacant land. The goal is a straight read on what’s actually happening, not just the headline numbers.

August’s numbers flipped July’s script in the home segment. Last month’s report flagged five homes under contract, the most of any month this year. Three of those closed in August, and they closed fast: an average of 10 days on market at 97% of original asking price. Condos went the other way, cooling from four sales down to one. And land went quiet with zero.

Underneath all three segments, though, is the same lesson, and it’s worth saying plainly up front. Properties priced where transactions are actually happening are finding a buyer, sometimes in a matter of days. Anything out of step with the market is just sitting. That gap is the whole story of August, and it shows up three different ways below.

Let’s break it down.

Single-Family Homes

On paper, August was a Buyer’s Market for homes at 8.3 months of inventory. But the sales that actually happened tell a much faster story.

Inventory and Activity

• 25 homes for sale, up 19% from July and up 13.6% year over year
• 3 homes sold, up from 0 in July and up 50% from 2 in August 2025
• 0 homes pended, down from 4 in July and down from 3 a year ago
• 8.3 months of inventory based on closed sales, down from 21 in July and down 24.5% year over year, the healthiest reading of the three segments

The three closings are July’s pending column coming through, right on cue. The number to watch now is the flip side: zero homes went under contract in August. Just as July’s jump in pendings set up this month’s sales, an empty pending column heading into September suggests next month’s closings could be thin again.

Pricing

• Median sold price: $550,000
• Average sold price: $539,000
• Average price per square foot: $546, up 27% year over year
• Days on market: 10
• Sold-to-original-list ratio: 97%
• Average active listing price: $1,110,000, essentially flat with July and down 12.9% year over year
• Median active listing price: $699,000

Two things stand out. First, the pace. Correctly priced homes sold on average in a week and a half, close to full asking price. Second, the gap. The median home that sold went for $550,000, while the median home still on the market is asking $699,000 and the average asking price is $1.11 million. That distance, between what’s selling and what’s sitting, is where most of the frustration in this market lives. One note on the year-over-year price jumps: they’re built on three sales this August against two a year ago, so read them as direction, not precision.

What This Means

If you’re selling, August is the clearest proof yet that price sets the pace. Three homes priced to match the market sold in an average of 10 days at 97% of original ask. The 25 homes still listed, asking a median of $699,000 against a median sold price of $550,000, are the other side of that same coin. If you want to know where your home realistically sits against what’s actually transacting, that’s exactly the kind of breakdown I can put together. That’s not theory for us this month: Hawaii Life and I represented the sellers on one of the three homes that closed.

If you’re buying, watch September closely. With zero homes under contract right now, closings next month will likely be light, which can mean less competition on the well-priced listings that do come up. Inventory is also up 19% from July, so there’s more to choose from than there’s been in a while.

Condominiums

August was a Buyer’s Market for condos, and a softer one than July’s rebound.

Inventory and Activity

• 41 condos for sale, flat with July and down 8.9% year over year
• 1 condo sold, down from 4 in July and down from 3 in August 2025
• 1 condo pended, down from 2 in July
• Months of inventory based on closed sales reads as 41. With a single closing, that figure is essentially the for-sale count rather than a true inventory-to-sales ratio, so treat it as “41 condos on the market,” not a market health score.

After July’s four-sale rebound, condos gave most of that momentum back. One closing is the slowest month since spring.

Pricing

• Sold price: $160,000
• Average price per square foot: $285, up 14.9% from July and up 35.1% year over year
• Days on market: 55
• Sold-to-original-list ratio: 80%
• Average active listing price: $280,000, up 1.4% from July and down 6.7% year over year
• Median active listing price: $249,000

The single sale tells the whole story of the theme this month. It took 55 days to sell and closed at 80% of its original list price. In plain terms: the seller started too high, carried the unit for nearly two months, then came down about 20% to find the buyer. Set that next to the homes that priced right and cleared, on average, in 10 days at 97%. Same island, same month, two very different outcomes, driven mostly by the starting price. With only one sale, the price figures here are noise. The 55 days and the 80% ratio are the signal.

What This Means

If you own a condo, that 80% sale is a warning, not a verdict. Look past the one sale: 41 units are on the market and only one sold. That’s oversupply, and a lot of those units are priced above what buyers will pay. You can find the market’s real number now by pricing to it, or find it later after months of carrying costs at a similar discount.

If you’re buying, there’s time and selection. 41 units on the market against a trickle of sales means you can afford to be patient and picky. The units that are priced right are still the ones that move, though, so when the right one shows up correctly priced, don’t assume it will wait around.

Vacant Land

August was a Buyer’s Market for land, with no sales at all.

Inventory and Activity

• 35 parcels for sale, down 5.4% from July and down 16.7% year over year
• 0 parcels sold, down from 1 in July and down from 1 a year ago
• 0 parcels pended, flat with July and down from 1 a year ago
• 35 months of inventory by default, again just the for-sale count with no closings to measure against

Nothing changed hands in August. That by itself isn’t unusual for land, which trades in fits and starts. What’s worth flagging is the direction of asking prices against that silence.

Pricing

With no sales, the usual stats are empty this month. The meaningful number is on the listing side.

• Average active listing price: $343,000, up 6.9% from July and up 2.7% year over year
• Median active listing price: $245,000

Here’s the tell. Sellers raised their average asking price by nearly 7% from July while zero parcels sold. That’s the exact mismatch this whole report is about, in its purest form: price reaching up while the market says not yet. When the ask and the market are that far apart, nothing happens, and the holding costs quietly stack up in the background.

What This Means

If you’re selling land, the market is not going to rise to meet an asking price it isn’t supporting. Land priced at what someone will actually pay, moves. Land that isn’t, sits, sometimes for a year or more, while taxes and opportunity cost run the whole time.

If you’re buying land, patience pays. 35 parcels and no sales this month means no pressure to rush. The exception is anything freshly and correctly priced, which can move quickly in a segment where most listings don’t.

Overall Takeaway – August 2026

Four total closings across the three segments in August, down from five in July. But the count buries the real lesson, which is about how those sales happened, not how many.

The homes that sold did it in 10 days at 97% of original list, on average. The one condo that sold took 55 days and settled at 80%. Land, where asking prices are actually climbing, sold nothing at all. Line those three up and the pattern is clear: properties priced where transactions are actually happening find a buyer, often fast. Anything out of step with the market sits.

That stagnation carries a real cost, and it’s an easy one to underestimate. Every month a property stays on the market, the meter runs: property taxes, insurance, maintenance, and interest if there’s a loan on it. Holding out for a higher number feels like protecting value, but the arithmetic can run the other way. Resisting a price adjustment for months may end up actually costing more in carrying costs.

There’s a second cost that’s easier to miss. Capital locked in a property that doesn’t sell is capital that can’t go to work anywhere else. In today’s higher interest rate environment, that opportunity cost is real. Money parked in a stale listing is money not earning a return somewhere it could be. None of this is advocating for giving a property away. Rather, it’s an opportunity to look at the big picture, weigh what the asset is really doing, and decide from arithmetic rather than hope.

Let’s Connect

Transactions are the easy part. Navigating the nuances of Molokai’s market with wisdom and experience is where the real value lies.

Whether you’re thinking about buying, selling, or just want to understand how the current market applies to a property you own or have your eye on, I’m always happy to talk story. On Molokai, the data matters most when it’s paired with local knowledge.

Aloha,
Rob Stephenson
Hawaii Life Real Estate Advisor
Molokai