The capital of the island state of Hawaii, the city of Honolulu is one of the largest cities on the islands and is a major hub for visitors and vacationers on the islands. Because of its importance, Honolulu real estate is generally in a high demand, although demand has dropped off in the past few years amid the financial crisis. Though the market initially experienced turbulence and broad declines after the global crisis set in, lately things have begun to show signs of improvement.

According to the Honolulu Board of Realtors statistics from August, there were 450 new listings in August, fewer than in the two months prior, but more 17% more than the previous year, when there were just 384 listings in the month. There were 360 sales pending in August, up from both July and June's figures and a more than 45% improvement annually. Meanwhile, closed sales numbered 224 in the month, a slight 6% decline from the previous year, and a decline from June and July figures, both of which were over 265. Homes for sale in Honolulu spent an average of just 32 days on the market before selling during August, improved slightly from July's 39-day average and down from a year ago, when the figure was 49 days.

The median sales price for homes in Honolulu in August was $645,239, up from July's price of $604,500 and up even further from June's $582,500. The median increased more than 15% annually, from a clip of just $560,000, an encouraging sign that the market is on its way back to normalcy.  The average sales price came in at over $806,000, up more than 17% annually and up more than $70,000 from the previous month and more than $100,000 higher than in June.

There were 1,526 active listings available at the end of August, including foreclosures in Honolulu. This figure was down 17.5% annually. Homes sold on the Honolulu market were fetching 94.8% of their original listing price in August, down slightly from July's 95.8% but improved from a year ago's 93.6%. At the end of the month, there was a 6.5-month supply of inventory still for sale on the market, a more than 28% improvement from supply in August 2009, when inventory stood at more than 9 months' supply.