Research & Economic Analysis

The indicators of Hawai‘i’s construction industry were mixed in the first quarter of 2026. Jobs in the construction sector, Government contracts awarded and State government CIP expenditures increased in the quarter compared to the first quarter of 2025. Conversely, private building authorizations for all counties except Kaua‘i decreased.

In the first quarter of 2026, the number of jobs in the construction sector increased by 3.0 percent or by 1,200 jobs compared with the same quarter of the previous year (Table A-7).

In the first quarter of 2026, private building authorizations in the state of Hawai‘i decreased $471.9 million or 33.5 percent compared with the first quarter of 2025 (Table E-8). At the county level, Honolulu County led the decline with a decrease of $355.6 million or 41.6 percent, followed by Maui County which decreased $110.6 million or 50.9 percent, and Hawai‘i County which decreased $9.5 million or 3.1 percent. In contrast, private building authorizations (residential only) in Kaua‘i County increased $3.7 million or 11.3 percent compared with the same period in 2025.

In the first quarter of 2026, government contracts awarded increased $720.1 million or 202.4 percent, compared with the first quarter of 2025 (Table E-1), largely due to paving contracts awarded by the Hawaii Department of Transportation. State government CIP expenditure increased $39.9 million or 11.8 percent in the first quarter of 2026 compared with the same quarter of 2025 (Table E-2).

The Honolulu Construction Cost Index for Single Family Residence (Table E-6) increased 6.3 percent in the first quarter of 2026 compared to the same quarter of 2025 and 6.1 percent for High-Rise Buildings (Table E-7). In 2025, the index for Single Family Residence increased 4.4 percent and 4.1 percent for High-Rise Building compared to the previous year.

Average home prices increased by 0.5 percent in the first quarter of 2026, with single family home prices decreasing by 3.3 percent and condo prices increasing by 6.7 percent over the same quarter of the previous year (Table E-11). The number of home purchases decreased by 1.2 percent for local buyers, decreased by 13.7 percent for mainland buyers, and decreased by 28.0 percent for foreign buyers over the same quarter of 2025 (Table E-12).

In the first quarter of 2026, Honolulu’s median price for single family resales was $1,180,000, up $30,000 or 2.6 percent over the same quarter of 2025 (Table G-29). The median price for condominium unit resales remained the same compared with the same quarter in 2025 (Table G-33). In first quarter of 2026, the number of single-family unit resales in Honolulu increased 10.9 percent, while the number of condominium unit resales decreased 3.6 percent over the same quarter of 2025 (Tables G-37 and G-41).