Off-Grid Acre in Ohia Forest on the Big Island — $119,000

An acre of land in Hawaii for $119,000 is the thing that stops you. Add a two-story house already on it, and the math starts to feel strange in a good way. This is Ocean View on the Big Island, and the property sits inside an ohia forest, which means the lot has actual trees around it rather than just open lava field.

The house is 1,136 square feet, built in 2012, and has two bedrooms and two bathrooms. The two-story layout has separate entrances on each level, which is a practical detail that changes how you can use the place. Live on one floor, rent the other. Use the whole thing yourself. Have family stay without anyone sharing a door. The previous owner ran it as a seasonal place, a winter getaway he'd close up when he left, and the utilities are set up with that kind of low-maintenance use in mind. Off-grid means solar or rainwater catchment or some combination, which is standard for this part of the island.

At $119,000, you're just under $105 per square foot, which is a number worth sitting with. Hawaii real estate at that price per square foot is not something you see often. Ocean View is a large subdivision in the Ka'u district on the south end of the Big Island. It's not Kona or Hilo, and that's part of why the price is what it is. The town center is five minutes away with groceries, gas, hardware, and food.

The listing agent's description is thin on specifics about the condition of the structure, what the off-grid system actually consists of, and what the lot looks like beyond calling it an ohia forest. Those are questions worth asking before you get serious. But the basic picture is a livable two-bedroom house with a full acre of land on the Big Island of Hawaii for well under $150,000, with a layout that gives you some flexibility on how you use it.

That's a straightforward case to look at this one.