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Hamakua Coast · Big Island

Hamakua and North Hilo

The Hamakua Coast runs along the island’s wet northeast side, from Honokaa and Paauilo through Laupahoehoe in North Hilo.

Mostly houses

About Hamakua and North Hilo

Sales are mostly single-family homes and former sugar-plantation agricultural land. Hamakua had about 38 single-family sales in the first nine months of 2026, with monthly medians mostly between about $569,000 and $995,000.

What homes sell for

Property typeSales, Jan–Sep 2026Median or range
Single-family homesAbout 40$569K–$995K

North Hilo is reported separately: about 16 single-family sales from January to September 2026, from about $695,000 to $1.5 million.

Source: Title Guaranty monthly Hawaii Island residential sales reports, January–September 2026.

Can you rent to visitors?

HousesResort and commercial zones onlyHawaii County’s 2018 short-term vacation rental law (Ordinance 18-114, from Bill 108) allows unhosted rentals of 30 days or less in resort, hotel and commercial zones. In residential and agricultural zones, a home can be rented that way only if it holds a nonconforming use certificate from the county’s 2019 registration. In 2024 the Hawaii Supreme Court held that farm dwellings in the state agricultural district can’t be used as short-term vacation rentals, and upheld the county’s rule limiting certificates on agricultural land to single-family homes on lots that existed before June 4, 1976. Rentals where the owner lives on site fall under separate rules.

Land, title and what to check

Much of this coast is agricultural land. Check water source (county or catchment), road access across gulches, and farm-dwelling rules.

Hazards, water and access

The Hamakua side sits on Mauna Kea’s flank, in lower lava-flow hazard zones than Kilauea or Mauna Loa. Steep gulches and heavy rain make drainage worth checking.

Check any address for its FEMA flood zone, tsunami evacuation zone, sea level rise exposure, lava zone and wildfire risk with our Hawaii flood zone lookup.

Public schools

The public high school for most addresses here is Honokaa High School (Hamakua); Laupahoehoe Community Public Charter School serves part of North Hilo. Assignments go by address, so confirm with the Hawaii State Department of Education.

Sources: Title Guaranty Hawaii Island sales reports; Hawaii Supreme Court, SCAP-22-0000371 (2024); USGS lava-flow hazard zones; Civil Beat: lava zone insurance (Oct 2024); DHHL awards 200 Panaewa lots (July 2026). Checked October 2026. This guide sticks to public facts about prices, rules, land and hazards. It doesn’t rate neighborhoods or describe who lives in them.