🏠 AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR LOCAL FAMILIES

“Families who grew up here are being forced to leave because rent keeps rising faster than paychecks.”

Hawaiiʻs housing market continues to outpace wages, making it increasingly difficult for local working families, young professionals, essential workers, and kūpuna to remain in the communities they call home. Too many residents are spending a significant portion of their income on housing, delaying major life decisions, or leaving Hawaiʻi altogether in search of affordability.

The housing crisis affects more than homeownership. It impacts workforce retention, economic growth, public safety, transportation, and the long-term stability of our communities. If we want future generations to thrive in Hawaiʻi, we must increase housing opportunities while preserving the character of our neighborhoods.

Why this matters:

The Cost of Delay: A Decade Without Housing Solutions

Hawaiʻi's housing crisis requires urgency, innovation, and a willingness to learn from successful policies implemented in other states. While no single solution will solve the crisis overnight, I support exploring proven legislative approaches that have helped expand housing opportunities, stabilize rents, and protect working families.

MY PRIORITIES INCLUDE:

Strengthening tenant protections to provide greater housing stability for families facing displacement, redevelopment, or rapidly rising housing costs while ensuring fairness for responsible property owners.
Accelerating housing approvals and permitting processes by reducing unnecessary bureaucracy and streamlining state and county coordination so affordable housing projects can move from proposal to construction more quickly.
Expanding large-scale affordable and workforce housing development through public-private partnerships, strategic use of state lands, and investments that increase housing supply for local residents.
Increasing public investment in permanently affordable housing to ensure future generations of Hawaiʻi residents have access to homes that remain affordable over the long term rather than being lost to market pressures.
Exploring housing stabilization measures, including targeted rent protections and affordability agreements for publicly supported housing developments, to provide residents with greater predictability and protection from sudden rent increases.

PROPOSALS:

Strengthening tenant protections to provide greater housing stability for families facing displacement, redevelopment, or rapidly rising housing costs while ensuring fairness for responsible property owners.
Accelerating housing approvals and permitting processes by reducing unnecessary bureaucracy and streamlining state and county coordination so affordable housing projects can move from proposal to construction more quickly.
Expanding large-scale affordable and workforce housing development through public-private partnerships, strategic use of state lands, and investments that increase housing supply for local residents.
Increasing public investment in permanently affordable housing to ensure future generations of Hawaiʻi residents have access to homes that remain affordable over the long term rather than being lost to market pressures.
Exploring housing stabilization measures, including targeted rent protections and affordability agreements for publicly supported housing developments, to provide residents with greater predictability and protection from sudden rent increases.

FACTS ABOUT HAWAIʻI'S HOUSING CRISIS:

The median price of a single-family home on Oʻahu remains approximately $1.1 million, placing homeownership beyond the reach of many working families.
Nearly 40% of Hawaiʻi households are cost-burdened, spending more than 30% of their income on housing expenses.
Housing affordability consistently ranks among Hawaiʻi residents' top concerns, with many identifying it as the state's most pressing challenge.
Nearly half of young adults surveyed have considered leaving Hawaiʻi due to housing costs and limited opportunities for affordable homeownership.
Despite years of discussion, numerous housing reform measures, tenant protection proposals, and housing supply initiatives have stalled before becoming law, contributing to ongoing shortages and rising costs.

LEARNING FROM OTHER STATES:

States such as New York have recently pursued comprehensive housing strategies that combine tenant protections, streamlined development approvals, affordable housing construction, and public investment. While Hawaiʻi faces unique geographic and economic challenges, we should be willing to examine successful ideas from across the country and adapt the best solutions to meet the needs of our local communities.

The goal is simple: create more housing, protect local families, and ensure that future generations can afford to live, work, and raise a family in Hawaiʻi.