Maui’s housing market is pulling a strange trick in early 2026. The island’s median single-family home price jumped to $1,445,000 in January, a 20.4% leap from the same month a year earlier, even as fewer deals closed and listings sat longer. Meanwhile, the median condominium price slipped to $629,950, a reminder that different corners of the market are marching to very different beats. Put simply, a handful of expensive sales are yanking the headline numbers higher while the overall market cools its heels.
Numbers at a glance
Data from Maui Now, based on Realtors Association of Maui MLS figures, show that 52 single-family homes sold in January, an 11.9% year-over-year decline. Condominium sales were softer too, with 44 units changing hands, down 20% from a year earlier.
Even with fewer buyers crossing the finish line, the dollars were still hefty. Total single-family sales volume hit $100.5 million, up 18.3% year over year, while condominium volume fell to $40.7 million, a 28.9% drop from a year prior. Homes took a lot longer to move, with median days on market climbing to 186 for single-family properties and 166 for condos, signaling a slower pace and more patience on both sides of the deal.
Luxury deals push the headline
Local brokers say January’s spike in the median single-family price was less about a broad surge across all price points and more about a cluster of big-ticket sales at the top. In its January report, Coldwell Banker Island Properties noted that luxury closings helped push the islandwide median to roughly $1.4 million, matching highs last seen in September 2024.
With a relatively small number of transactions in play, it does not take many beachfront stunners to move the stats. A few very expensive closings can easily tug the median higher even as the total number of deals slides.
Market in transition, RAM president says
"January’s stats point to a market in transition," RAM President Georgie Tamayose told Maui Now, noting that buyers are taking their time and sellers are learning to adjust. Homes are spending more days on the market, and buyers are moving more deliberately, testing just how far prices can stretch.
The combination of longer marketing times and fewer closings suggests that both sides are feeling out where the new normal should land ahead of the typically busier spring season.
How Maui fits the national picture
On the mainland, the broader housing story is also one of cooling activity paired with firm prices. The National Association of Realtors reported an 8.4% monthly drop in existing-home sales in January and a national median price near $396,800, according to Realtor.com. That backdrop, layered on top of Maui’s unique inventory mix and post-recovery dynamics, helps explain why the island’s headline medians can zig while national trends zag.
Whether those hefty medians stick through spring will hinge on what hits the market next. If more mid-priced homes list, the buyer pool could widen and the median could ease back from its luxury-fueled perch. Shoppers and sellers can track current inventory and open houses through the Realtors Association of Maui.
