Honolulu is really two markets, and which one you are shopping determines whether any assistance program is usable at all. The Oahu single-family median is about $1,207,000. The condominium median is about $507,500. Every program below has a price ceiling that sits between those two numbers.
In practice, that makes these condo and leasehold programs. Here is what exists, and the local rules — leasehold terms, shared appreciation, buyback rights — that mainland guides never explain.
The two-market split
July 2026 figures from Honolulu Board of REALTORS data:
- Single-family: median $1,207,000, up 12% year over year. 16 days on market, 36% sold above asking, sales up 19%, inventory down 7% — the tightest buyer competition in three years.
- Condominium: median $507,500, up 4%. 40 days on market, 13.5% above asking, and 2,666 units available — about 7.3 months of supply.
The state’s purchase price cap for Honolulu is $809,458 in non-targeted areas. That is $400,000 below the single-family median and comfortably above the condo median. If you are using assistance, you are almost certainly buying a condo.
The condo market is also where the negotiating room is. Forty days on market and seven months of supply is a very different experience from bidding on a single-family home.
The City and County of Honolulu loan
Honolulu is a consolidated city and county, so this is both your city and your county program.
Down Payment Loan Program (DPL)
- Up to $40,000, 0% interest, no loan fees.
- Structure: an amortizing second mortgage with monthly payments based on a 20-year amortization. Lower minimum payments may be allowed for certain credit-qualified borrowers.
- You must not currently own a primary residence — note this is a no-current-ownership test rather than a strict first-time buyer rule.
- City-approved homebuyer education must be completed before applying.
- Property must be on Oahu and meet building codes and HUD Housing Quality Standards. Owner-occupancy required. No purchase price limit — only the $40,000 loan cap.
An important correction. At least one local real estate blog claims that each year you make payments, an additional year’s worth of payments is forgiven — implying half your balance disappears after ten years. No forgiveness provision of any kind appears in the city’s own program brochure. Treat that claim as incorrect and confirm directly with the Rehabilitation Loan Branch before relying on it.
Two practical cautions. The published income limits — $67,700 for one person up to $143,042 for ten — come from a brochure marked revised in 2021 and are almost certainly stale. And the program’s current open, closed or waitlist status is not published anywhere on honolulu.gov. Given that the Rehabilitation Loan Branch has an interim chief and a vacant inspector role, and its sister rehab program cites processing times over a year, call before counting on this: (808) 768-7076, or DCS main at (808) 768-7762.
Hale Kamaʻāina — the state’s flagship
Launched around the turn of 2026 by the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation, this is the main state program.
- First mortgage: 30-year fixed. Rates shown recently at 5.62% government and 5.87% conventional, with a 0.25% rate premium if you also take the down payment assistance.
- Assistance: a 4% second mortgage. You must still contribute a minimum 5% of the sales price from your own funds.
- Structure: deferred and repayable, with interest. It accrues simple interest at 1% per year and requires no periodic payments. The full balance is due at maturity, sale, refinance or other qualifying events. No prepayment penalty.
That 1% accrual is a meaningful distinction from a plain 0% deferred loan, and it gets flattened in most third-party coverage. It is not a grant and it is not forgivable.
Eligibility
- U.S. citizen or resident alien, bona fide Hawaii resident, 18 or older.
- First-time buyer — no principal residence owned and occupied in the past three years — with exceptions for veterans and targeted-area purchases.
- Homeownership counseling through a HUD-certified agency required.
Honolulu County limits (updated January 2026)
- Income, non-targeted: $152,000 for one or two people, $174,800 for three or more.
- Income, targeted: $182,400 / $212,800.
- Purchase price: $809,458 non-targeted, $989,337 targeted.
Leasehold is eligible — and this matters enormously here
Hale Kamaʻāina permits leasehold property if the remaining lease term is at least 35 years with fixed rent for a minimum of 10 years from the loan date. A large share of Oahu’s affordable condo inventory is leasehold, so this rule often decides whether a specific unit is financeable at all. Use it as your screening test: a short remaining term or near-term rent reset makes a unit unmortgageable regardless of price.
HHFDC can be reached at (808) 587-0620.
Hawaii-specific rules that change the math
These are not benefits — they are restrictions attached to affordable units, and mainland buyers routinely misunderstand them.
Shared Appreciation Equity
Owners of certain HHFDC units must share a fixed percentage of net appreciation with HHFDC on sale or unauthorized transfer. HHFDC describes this as applying in perpetuity, not for a fixed term. If you buy an HHFDC affordable unit, understand this before signing — it permanently changes your equity outcome.
Buyback rights
HHFDC-restricted units carry a 10-year deed restriction giving HHFDC the right to repurchase if owner-occupancy lapses.
Leasehold generally
On a leasehold property you own the building but lease the land, with rent subject to renegotiation and a fixed expiration. You pay less up front and hold a wasting asset. Apply the 35-year / 10-year-fixed-rent test before you fall in love with a unit.
Department of Hawaiian Home Lands
DHHL offers homestead leases to applicants 18 or older with at least 50% native Hawaiian blood quantum, verified through birth certificates and genealogical records. Waitlist position is assigned by application date. The waitlist runs into the tens of thousands and waits are measured in decades — this is worth applying for if you are eligible, but it is not a path to a purchase on any normal timeline. Applications: (808) 730-0279.
The largest amounts available
HHOC Mortgage, run by the Hawaii HomeOwnership Center, offers the biggest dollar figures a Honolulu buyer will find — but HHOC must originate your first mortgage, and these are first-time buyers only.
- Mortgage Booster — up to $50,000 at a fixed 3% over 30 years, minimum 3% down, income at or below 120% AMI.
- Down Payment Assistance Loan — up to $125,000 at 4.5% or your first-mortgage rate, whichever is lower, 30-year term, minimum 3% down, income at or below 130% AMI, no mortgage insurance.
- Max HLPR — 0% interest with no monthly payments, deferred 20 years or until sale or cash-out refinance, with a shared appreciation equity agreement attached.
- Deferred Closing Cost Assistance Loan — up to $10,000 in Honolulu County, requiring up to $5,000 in matched savings; 0% interest, no payments, forgivable over a 15-year deferral period, income at or below 80% AMI.
That last one is the only forgivable product in this guide. Confirm individual terms with HHOC before relying on them.
One closed program to ignore: Hawaii’s Mortgage Credit Certificate is closed to new applications, with reissuance only for existing holders. Aggregator sites still list it. The older Hula Mae Single Family program also no longer appears among HHFDC’s offerings, having been effectively superseded by Hale Kamaʻāina.
A realistic plan
- Accept the condo market as your realistic target unless your income is well above the program limits. Seven months of supply means you can negotiate.
- Screen every leasehold unit against the 35-year remaining term and 10-year fixed rent test before touring it.
- Talk to HHOC Mortgage early — its Down Payment Assistance Loan at up to $125,000 dwarfs everything else available, and it must originate your first mortgage.
- If you are considering an HHFDC affordable unit, ask specifically about shared appreciation equity and the 10-year buyback restriction, in writing.
- Call the city’s Rehabilitation Loan Branch to confirm the DPL is open and to get current income limits, since the published table is years out of date.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Honolulu Down Payment Loan forgivable?
No. The City and County of Honolulu’s DPL provides up to $40,000 at 0% interest, but it is an amortizing second mortgage with monthly payments based on a 20-year amortization. No forgiveness provision appears in the city’s own brochure, despite claims to the contrary on some local blogs.
What can I actually afford in Honolulu as a first-time buyer?
Realistically a condominium. The Oahu single-family median was about $1,207,000 in July 2026 while the condo median was $507,500, and the state purchase price cap for Honolulu is $809,458 — between the two. Condos also have about 7.3 months of supply, giving you negotiating room.
Is Hale Kamaʻāina assistance interest-free?
No. The 4% second mortgage accrues simple interest at 1% per year with no periodic payments, and the full balance including accrued interest is due at maturity, sale or refinance. It is neither a grant nor forgivable.
Can I use down payment assistance on a leasehold property in Honolulu?
Yes, if the lease qualifies. Hale Kamaʻāina requires at least 35 years remaining on the lease with fixed rent for a minimum of 10 years from the loan date. This is a useful screening test generally, since a short remaining term makes a unit unmortgageable.
What is shared appreciation equity on a Hawaii affordable unit?
Owners of certain HHFDC units must share a fixed percentage of net appreciation with HHFDC when they sell or transfer the property, and HHFDC describes this as applying in perpetuity rather than for a fixed term. HHFDC units also carry a 10-year buyback right if owner-occupancy lapses.
What is the largest down payment assistance available in Honolulu?
HHOC Mortgage’s Down Payment Assistance Loan, at up to $125,000 for buyers at or below 130% of area median income. HHOC must originate your first mortgage to access it, and it is restricted to first-time buyers.