65 Years as the 50th State
I can't believe a week ago, August 16th, 2024 marked 65 years of Hawaii being the 50th State in the United States, which is officially called "Admissions Day". Here we are 65 years later and I thought it would be fun to talk about what kind of homes were being built here on Oahu back in 1959, the year of statehood. I did an article 5 years ago on the 50th Anniversary of Hawaii being a state. However, now that we're in the year 2024 celebrating 65 years, let's talk about 13 listings that are here on Oahu that are available (there are several more that are under contract). They are going to range from a home in Nuuanu for $828,000 all the way up to an oceanfront home in Black Point for just over $6 million.
Where Homes Were Built in 1959
Active MLS Listings, Homes Under Contract and Sold in MLS Built in 1959
You'll notice homes were built in certain neighborhoods and didn't in others. For instance, if you look at the map here you'll see a lot of that construction congregated around Honolulu (in the main urban core) as well as along the Windward Coast closer to Kaneohe and Kailua. Then, you have some pockets, like one up on the North Shore, one in Ewa Beach. You might have one or two near Wahiawa, however when you think about it, places like Mililani weren't building homes yet. All the new homes you see in Ewa Beach and Kapolei, that wasn't even a thought at the time. That was all Ag land.
13 Oahu Homes For Sale Built in 1959
1. Nuuanu Home (MLS # 202408574) for $828,000
The first home we're going to start with is in Nuuanu on Henry Street. It's $828,000 for a 3 bedroom, 2 bath single family home with 1,272 sq. ft. of living area. It was built in 1959 with a remodel in 1985.
2. Waipio Acres Home (MLS # 202418399) for $875,000
The next home we're going to discuss is in Waipio Acres/Waikalani Woodlands, which is close to Mililani that we talked about earlier, but not technically in Mililani. This 1959 build is a 4 bed, 2 bath with 1,368 sq. ft. of living area and they also had a remodel in 2018. One common theme you'll see as we go through these homes is a lot of the construction back then had open beam ceilings that gave a lot of these homes a mid century modern feel. It was literally the "mid century". We'll also see some plantation homes we'll come to in a bit.
3. Kapalama Home (MLS # 202415185) for $949,000
The next home is a home in Kapalama in Metro Honolulu. This is a 5 bedroom, 2 bath with 1,896 sq. ft. and this one is on the market for $949,000. That's home #3.
4.Coconut Grove Home (MLS # 202410861) for $1,125,000
Next up, we have a home in Kailua's Coconut Grove neighborhood. This one is a 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom. It's only got 968 square feet of interior living and it's priced at $1,125,000.
5. Liliha Home (MLS # 202410716) for $1,200,000
The next home we have up is in Liliha in Metro Honolulu and the irony is that this is the exact same square footage and a similar price to the one we just discussed in Kailua. This one is available for $1.2 million and it's a 3 bedroom, 2 bath at 968 square feet. Once again, notice this open beam ceiling. My gut feel is this is going to be obviously a different architecture than the one in Kailua, but the irony is that homes of this era have homes under 1,000 square feet.
6. Lower Waialae Nui Home (MLS # 202412370) for $1,300,000
The next one we have is a home in Lower Waialae Nui, which is also going to have that high pitched ceiling with open beam ceiling and this one is going to have a great view. This one is a 3 bedroom, 1.5 bath for $1.3 million. Now, that's a great price in east Honolulu in my opinion. The "catch" which you don't see is there's a bunch of stairs to get to the house. So, that's probably why they priced it accordingly. Once again, great view and a great location in Waialae Nui on the lower part of the hill.
7. Keolu Hills Home (MLS # 202412046) for $1,395,000
The next one we have is back to Kailua in Keolu Hills and for $1,395,000, this is a 4 bedroom, 2 bath with 1,817 square feet of living area. Now, that's number 7 of 13 (homes for sale built in 1959).
8. Aiea Heights Home (MLS # 202417499) for $1,425,000
Next up, once again you're going to notice this common theme. We're now in Aiea Heights and this is one that just hit the market. It's $1,425,000 and it's a 4 bedroom, 2 bath with ample living area of 2,8599 sq. ft. under roof. They also did a remodel back in 2020. So, you have great bones of a mid century 1959 styled home. However, you've got some fresh upgrades from just 4 years ago.
9. Puohala Village Home (MLS # 202406954) for $1,599,000
Next up, we have Puohala Village in Kaneohe. This is a 6 bedroom, 3.5 bath home with 2,742 sq. ft. of living area. This is going to be more of a traditional style vs. the mid century style. This one is priced at $1,599,000.
10. Ala Moana Home (MLS # 202324282) for $1,750,000
Next up, this one is going to be near Ala Moana and it's a single family home with 3 bedroom, 2 baths and it's got 1,222 sq. ft. of living area. It's priced at $1,750,000. Now, this one has been on the market over 300 days. They started at $2 million. You might ask yourself "wow, why is it so expensive"? It's because of the location, location, location. Because of the zoning here, it's zoned apartment zoning, so you could probably build like a small apartment building on this property. So, that's why it's price accordingly. In my opinion, it probably could have been marketed better. This is the primary photo in MLS. That'll be property 10 of 13.
11. Kalaheo Hillside Home (MLS # 202415318) for $1,795,000
Next up, we've got one of my favorites on this list. Probably my favorite, or 2nd favorite after the final property. This one is a Kalaheo Hillside mid century single family home with 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, with 1,842 of interior living area. This is priced at $1,795,000. They've already come down $30,000. I think this is a good value on Windward Oahu.
12. Enchanted Lake Home (MLS # 202409160) for $1,999,888
While we're on the theme of mid century modern homes and being in Kailua, this is another one in Enchanted Lake. Priced just under $2 million, the current asking price is $1,999,888. They started several hundred thousand dollars higher at $2,220,000. But, this is a generous 7 bedroom, 5 bathroom home with 3,612 of living area. This is a nice mid century remodel. They kept with those nice lines that were done back in 1959, however this one was remodeled in 2022. So, you've got that cool architectural feel, yet have more of that modern lifestyle and living area with your finishes.
13. Black Point Home (MLS # 202302012) for $6,480,000
Last, but not least, this is my favorite. Just because of location, it's on the ocean at Black Point. This is a 3 bedroom, 3 full bath, 2 half bath just under 3,000 sq. ft. of living area, 2,997 sq. ft. to be exact. This one is now priced at $6,480,000. They originally started at $7.2 million and this same property sold for just over $5 million 3 years ago. So, this owner is kind of keen to make a little bit of money here. It's been on the market for over a year, so it's going to be right for the right person. I had a client look at it in the past. It does have some stairs and it's not for everyone, but living on the ocean at Black Point is really hard to beat. Now, that's a recap of the 13 homes that are for sale on Oahu built in 1959.
2 Additional 1959 Housing Topics on Oahu
Now that we're on the topic of 1959, I'm going to throw 2 more things at you. The first of which is I did a video earlier this year on the 65 year anniversary of Hawaii Kai. That was right around the same time as when they announced the development of Hawaii Kai, it was back in 1959.
Another key point around this era of 1959 is we have a number of what most people refer to as "condos" on the island that were built in 1959. However statehood was in 1959 and the only option for developers at that time were co-ops. So, most of the construction you saw at that time to this day will still be co-ops. When you see them in MLS, a lot of the major mainland websites will refer to them as condos, but technically they're co-ops because condo law in Hawaii did not start until 1961, which was 2 years after statehood.
I hope you appreciate the recap we have here on statehood and celebrating 65 years as the 50th state. If there's anything we can help with regarding real estate here on Oahu, feel free to reach out and give us a shout. Mahalo!