UHERO
Housing
The UHERO Housing Policy Group provides rigorous analyses to inform debates regarding housing in Hawaiʻi, with a focus on the high housing cost burdens experienced by the State’s residents. This problem is multiscalar in its origins and thus requires a bundle of analyses ranging from longitudinal portraits of the State’s housing market, to estimates of the impact of housing costs on local populations, to objective evaluations of proposed policy solutions.
An Economic Analysis of the Proposal to Phase Out Transient Vacation Rentals in Maui County Apartment Districts
This report examines the Maui County proposal to phase out transient vacation rentals (TVRs) in Apartment districts, including removing long-standing exceptions for pre-1989 properties widely…
Construction Defect Litigation, Housing Affordability, and Homeownership in Hawai‘i
Hawai‘i faces a severe housing shortage, driven by high costs and regulatory barriers that hinder new development. One emerging factor is the rise of construction…
City partners with UHERO to launch Subsidized Housing Tracker
Addressing Oʻahu’s housing shortage and its impact on affordability, the City and County of Honolulu’s Office of Housing, in partnership with the University of Hawaiʻi…
A Honolulu Empty Homes Tax: Impacts on Housing Supply and County Revenue
By Justin Tyndall Honolulu faces an acute housing shortage, yet tens of thousands of homes sit empty. Bill 46 would create a new property tax…
Maui Short-Term Rentals, the Minatoya List, and Housing Supply
By Justin Tyndall and Emi Kim Recent state legislation has given counties new powers to regulate Transient Vacation Rental (TVR) properties. A proposal on Maui…
The Hawaii Housing Factbook 2024
The past year has brought significant shocks to the housing market in Hawai‘i. In 2023, only one in five local households could afford a mortgage…
Wealth by Association? How Social Networks Drive Inequality in Hawaii
Studies show that economic connectedness, a poor individual’s share of wealthy friends, significantly impacts economic mobility. Hawaii ranks highly in this metric compared to other…
UHERO’s Justin Tyndall cited in the 2024 Economic Report of the President
Congratulations to UHERO’s Justin Tyndall whose recent article (co-authored with Limin Fang and Nathan Stewart)” Homeowner Politics and Housing Supply” was cited in the 2024 Economic Report…
Delinquencies have spiked in the aftermath of the Maui wildfires
By Daniela Bond-Smith The devastating Maui wildfires destroyed most of Lahaina and displaced thousands of residents. But many Lahaina homeowners still have mortgages on their…