The news about affordable housing in Hawaii has been bad for decades, and that situation hasn’t substantially changed to this point.
However, there are indications that condominiums are inching toward affordability, as well as signs on the horizon of ways to narrow the housing gap. And even these few green shoots of hope should compel the state, and especially the City and County of Honolulu, to seize these opportunities.
The latest assessment comes in a report from the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization (UHERO). “Hawaii Housing Factbook 2025,” released last week, concluded that the amount of income required to buy a median-priced single-family home rose last year. The last time that a median-priced single-family home was affordable to a family earning the median income was 2012, so the problem is a long way from fixed.
The report did include a single bright spot in Hawaii’s residential real estate market: In 2024, it required 126% of a median Hawaii household income to buy a median-priced condo.
That does not sound very rosy, but things had been even worse the previous year, when that purchase would have taken 138% of the median income. This trend still bears monitoring, because the drop only brings the cost roughly even with 2022 levels.
Nevertheless, government should hear the more positive message in the data, a clear call to capitalizing on openings to increase housing.
Not surprisingly, Maui currently faces the greatest housing challenges, according to the report, given the devastation of wildfires that all but destroyed Lahaina, killed 101 people and left thousands houseless.
The demand for rentals across Maui skyrocketed, and that caused a statistical impact statewide: In 2024, median rental rates were less affordable to those earning in the median range.
The housing deficit is more long-term on Oahu, where land is scarce and the shortage of affordable units has culminated in a pervasive homelessness crisis.
Without a doubt, increased density in Oahu’s population centers represents the clearest means of increasing housing inventory, something that policies such as transit-oriented development (TOD) were meant to achieve.
There is another problem, said Justin Tyndall, an associate professor and an author of the UHERO report. In addition to land and building costs, the pace of house construction is slowed by delays in permitting.
The encouraging progress being made on this front concerns the backlogs in permit applications filed with the city Department of Planning and Permitting, a priority issue for Mayor Rick Blangiardi’s administration. Some gains have been made in reducing review times, transitioning to new software and purging old, inactive applications.
While those efficiency initiatives continue, the city must ramp up TOD projects along the Skyline elevated rail route.
In one recent advance of this agenda, the city is activating the TOD plan around the Kuwili Station in Iwilei. As part of this plan, the city has acquired two properties, including the former First Hawaiian Bank parcel on North King Street and the Iwilei Center property at Iwilei Road and Kaaahi Street.
Further, a request for qualifications has been issued to find a development partner to build a master- planned, mixed-use complex of affordable housing and amenities.
This needs to happen throughout the full length of the rail alignment if the city, and the state, are to make significant housing gains.
The shortage of housing can only be solved if impediments to building units are held at bay. On Oahu, concentrating more development in its most urbanized zones just makes good sense.
