Runzheimer International, a Wisconsin-based consulting firm specializing in cost-of-living studies, said that the average cost for a four-bedroom, 21/2 bathroom home in Honolulu was $407,100 during the first quarter of 1996.
Residents in San Francisco, the second costliest market in the survey, paid an average of $308,100 for a four-bedroom home, 24 percent less than the average Honolulu price.
By contrast, Dallas residents paid less than a third, or $122,800, for a like-sized home while Los Angeles homeowners paid an average of $238,900 and Seattle residents paid $228,600.
Average prices for four-bedroom homes in Atlanta, Phoenix and Kansas City, Kan., all were below $150,000.
The quarterly study compared housing costs in more than 300 metropolitan areas in North America. The costs represent the average price paid for a 2,000-square-
foot home with eight rooms, including four bedrooms and 21/2 bathrooms. The costs exclude what homeowners would have paid for their garages.
The study's findings underscore the gap between local housing prices and those on the mainland - a gap which some economists believe is narrowing.
Paul Brewbaker, chief economist at the Bank of Hawaii, said that the mainland economy has recovered, national housing prices have picked up. At the same time, local housing prices has been sluggish due to the weak island economy, he said.
"Prices here have been soft (here) while they have been rising in other areas," he said. "I think the gap is narrowing."