Honolulu
home prices 2nd
highest in U.S.

The local market is twice
as expensive as the
U.S. median

From staff and wire reports

Honolulu home prices may have fallen off their early-1990s peak but they still rank as the second-most expensive market in the country, according to a recent survey.

A home value analysis by Rochester, Wis.-based Runzheimer International found that San Francisco, Honolulu, Boston, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles were the most expensive areas to buy housing.

The consulting firm last year looked at market values in 300 population centers in North America, analyzing costs of a typical 2,000-square-foot, four-bedroom, 2.5 bathroom home in suburban communities. The house cost more than $400,000 in San Francisco; nearly $350,000 in Honolulu; $304,200 in Boston, $291,000 in Washington, D.C.; and $239,500 in Los Angeles, the survey found.

At the other end of the scale, the same home could be had for $127,000 in Dallas and $146,000 in Omaha.

Runzheimer found that the median price for all 300 locations was $173,000 for their sample four-bedroom home. Cities that had prices close to that national median included Cleveland, St. Louis, Phoenix, and Anchorage, Alaska.

Honolulu home prices have dropped substantially from the early 1990s when the median resale price topped $350,000. The median resale price for all Honolulu single-family homes was $293,800 last month while the median price for 1998 was $297,000, according to recent reports from the Honolulu Board of Realtors.