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Puna · Big Island

Puna

Puna is the Big Island’s highest-volume and lowest-priced market, a district of large 1950s and 1960s subdivisions between Keaau, Pahoa and Volcano.

Mostly houses

About Puna

Puna had about 640 single-family sales from January to September 2026, more than any other district in the state, with monthly medians between about $365,000 and $423,000.

Subdivisions such as Hawaiian Paradise Park, Hawaiian Beaches and Leilani Estates were laid out decades ago on land in high lava-hazard zones.

What homes sell for

Property typeSales, Jan–Sep 2026Median or range
Single-family homesAbout 645$365K–$423K

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

Many Puna lots rely on rainwater catchment, and many subdivision roads are private and maintained by owners. Ask who maintains the road and how the water system works.

Hazards, water and access

Kilauea’s summit and East Rift Zone run through Puna. Leilani Estates is in USGS lava-flow hazard zone 1, and the 2018 eruption destroyed more than 600 homes in lower Puna.

Private insurers have largely left lava zones 1 and 2, leaving many owners with the state-backed Hawaii Property Insurance Association. Lenders require insurance, so price coverage before you make an offer.

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 Keaau High School or Pahoa High and Intermediate School, depending on address. 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.