As an island, the state of Hawaii has a housing market with attributes that some mainlanders might find peculiar. The housing industry in Hawaii must deal with very limited land for development, conservation laws, and the difficulty of importing many of the materials. This accounts for the noticeable departure of the statistics for the housing market in Hawaii from the national average. For example, the state of Hawaii had less than half a million total housing units listed on the 2002 US census information. A total of 470,512 total units shows the size of the housing market on the island state. Of those living on the island, a good number are renting. The home ownership rate in Hawaii in 2000 is listed as 56.5%, compared to the higher national average that year of 66.2%. This can be explained by the cost of housing in Hawaii. The median value of owner occupied units in 2000 was $272,700, one of the highest in the nation. Compared with the national average median value of $119,600, it is easy to see why there are a greater proportion of renters in Hawaii. The median household income in Hawaii is well above the national average, perched at $49,820. The national average for the median household income for the census year 1999 was $41,994.
Hawaiian Governor Linda Lingle has recently signed several bills aimed at easing Hawaii’s housing crunch. The housing market has become a situation in which most homes cost more than prospective buyers can afford.
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This is the reason for house Bill 2176, which modifies the state’s rent supplement program. It increases from 30 percent to 50 percent the conveyance tax amounts deposited in the Rental Housing Trust Fund. The bill also appropriates funds to renovate and modernize emergency and transition oriented shelters. Furthermore, the bill makes grants available to groups that are working on the housing problem.
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The revised law also provides the use of state rent supplement funds for project based operating subsidies. These subsidies are used for state low-income housing units that are transferred to private organizations for the purpose of managing and operating the units. This also requires that 50 per cent of the units are rented to persons or families whose income does not exceed 50 per cent of median family income.
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