If you were watching O'ahu's luxury market from the outside last year, you might have thought things had slowed down. With more homes sitting on the market and longer wait times before offers came in, on the surface, it looked like hesitation. But having been in the middle of it all, I can tell you that the right properties were absolutely still moving.

The clearest proof is the record-breaking home sales across their respective categories. These weren't "buy anything" kind of sales. These homes sold because they were new, one-of-a-kind, and in an ideal location. 

We saw that same energy show up at Ward Village, where presales continued to draw serious buyers willing to commit before a building is even finished. Why? Because when something is beautifully designed, move-in ready, and genuinely special, people don't wait around.

The flip side of that story is that older homes that hadn't been updated had a much harder time. Buyers in 2025 were savvy; they knew what they wanted and weren't willing to settle. If a home had design issues, needed work, or just didn't feel livable at that price point, it sat.

Overall, demand on O'ahu never really went away. What changed is that buyers got more selective. Quality became the deciding factor, and the homes that had it sold.

You can read more in the 2025 Hawai‘i Luxury Market Report, which offers a perspective on what’s happening across Hawai‘i’s luxury real estate market, with island-level data and broader market insight.

While the report looks back at 2025, much of what it covers speaks directly to what we’re seeing in the market right now.

If you have questions about how the market relates to your own plans, I'm happy to connect!