Hawaii mortgages: loan limits, payments and state help

#Hawaii prices against Hawaii incomes

Hawaii’s median home value is the highest of the 50 states and DC, and its median household income of $100,745 is above the national figure. Incomes do not close the gap: the median home costs 8.7 times the median income, against 4.4 for the US — the widest ratio in the country.

Fewer households own here than in most states — Hawaii’s owner share is the 6th-lowest in the country — and the median rent is the 2nd-highest.

#Property tax and the Hawaii payment

Hawaii’s effective property tax rate is the lowest in the country. At the national ratio of 0.89%, the same home would carry $650 a month in tax instead of $197. With principal and interest at 85% of the payment, the price and the rate do most of the work. Each $10,000 borrowed adds about $68 a month at today’s average rate. The insurance line uses Freddie Mac’s national figure; Hawaii quotes depend on the island, the building and hazards such as hurricanes and lava zones. Test your own price in the payment calculator.

#Hawaii’s higher conforming and FHA loan limits

Federal law sets special loan limits for Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the US Virgin Islands. For 2026 they look like this for a one-unit home:

With 10% down, a conforming loan stretches to a price of about $1,387,917 on Oahu, Kauai and Hawaii Island and $1,443,889 in Maui County, against $925,278 at the mainland baseline. Even with the minimum 3% down, the median Hawaii home needs a loan of $849,623 — more than the mainland baseline, so it would be a jumbo loan in most of the country, but well inside Hawaii’s limit. Above these limits you are in jumbo loan territory, with stricter rules. Check your county’s FHA figure on HUD’s limits lookup before choosing an FHA loan.

#What a Hawaii median income can buy

Freddie Mac suggests keeping housing costs under 30% of gross income. On Hawaii’s median household income that is $2,519 a month, which supports a home of about $349,000 with 10% down at today’s average rate — $526,900 below the median value. Owning the median home on those terms takes an income of roughly $252,800.

Buyers bridge that gap with two incomes, family help, a smaller home or condo, or a leasehold property, where you buy the building but lease the land. The affordability calculator shows what your own income supports.

#HHFDC’s Hale Kamaʻāina Mortgage Program

The Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation (HHFDC) funds 30-year fixed-rate loans through participating lenders, using tax-exempt bonds to price them below the market. The main rules:

• First-time buyers. You and your spouse must not have owned or held an interest in a principal residence in the past 3 years; exceptions may apply for veterans and targeted areas.
• Income and price limits by county. In Honolulu County the limits are $154,805 for a household of one or two and a price of $866,346 outside targeted areas. Price limits are lower on Hawaii Island and higher on Kauai and Maui. The statewide median value is above the Honolulu limit.
• Counseling. Every borrower completes homeownership counseling with a HUD-approved agency — see the homebuyer education guide.

HHFDC also lists a second mortgage for down payment help, but says its terms are waiting on rule changes under a 2026 state law, so don’t plan around it until HHFDC publishes them. Loans financed with tax-exempt bonds can carry a federal recapture tax if you sell within the first years at a gain while your income has risen; ask the lender for the recapture notice.

#Hawaii’s conveyance tax and closing costs

Hawaii’s conveyance tax is a single rate applied to the whole price, picked by price band, and the legal default is that the seller pays it. The rates are higher when the buyer can’t claim a homeowner exemption — typically investment and second-home purchases.

On the median $875,900 home the tax is about $1,752. Total closing costs usually run 2%–5% of the price according to the CFPB, or $17,518–$43,795 here. Estimate yours with the closing cost calculator.

#Renting vs owning in Hawaii

The median Hawaii renter pays $1,942 a month, $4,379 less than the full monthly cost of owning the median home with 10% down. Owning catches up only through principal paydown and price growth over time, so the number of years you plan to stay matters. Run your own numbers in the rent vs buy calculator.