Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, HI Federal Housing Finance Agency Home Price Index (FHFA HPI)

The Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, HI, Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI) is a weighted, repeat-sales index that measures average price changes in repeat sales or refinancings on the same properties. The index was created to provide a more timely and accurate measure of house price trends than other existing indices because it uses data from mortgage transactions.

The Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina HPI value for 2019Q4 was 226.948, which is 6.7 percent higher than the value for 2018Q4 (213.853). The 2019Q4 value represents the 41st consecutive quarter of positive annual growth in the Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina HPI and the fourth consecutive quarter of double-digit annual growth rates. From 2015Q1 through 2019Q4, the Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina HPI increased at an annualized rate of 10.2 percent.

As of 2019Q4, home equity in the Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina metro area was $37.6 billion, an increase of $3.7 billion from 2018Q4 ($33.9 billion). Home equity as a share of homeowners’ total property value increased to 61 percent in 2019Q4 from 58 percent in 2018Q4; this is well above the national average home equity share of 45 percent as measured by Zillow’s Home Value Index for Q4 2019 . In other words, homeowners in this metro area have built up significant equity relative to other homeowners across the country over time – even after accounting for recent strong home price appreciation in this metro area . This may help explain why foreclosure activity has been relatively low here during periods when foreclosures were more common nationally .

One potential reason why home prices have appreciated so rapidly recently could be that there are fewer homes available for sale relative to population and income growth . According to Realtor.com , inventory levels were down 9 percent year over year as of February 2020 while sales were up 4 percent over that same period . This combination can lead to bidding wars and offer prices that exceed asking prices , which can further push up prices . Additionally , interest rates remain near historically low levels , making it cheaper for buyers to purchase a home or refinance their mortgage loan .