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 diverse communities, to objective evaluations of proposed policy solutions.
November Rental Market: Troubling Signs Remain As State Prepares for an Uncertain 2021
By Philip ME Garboden This month, UHERO completed its second quarterly survey of rental property owners and managers (the first from August 2020 can be found here). Our primary goal is to understand how the rental market is fairing during the extended COVID-19 crisis. Are tenants increasingly struggling to make rent? Are rental property owners […]
Read MoreEstimating COVID-19 Induced Rental Housing Hardship in 2021
By Philip ME Garboden and Isabelle Picciotto Several months ago, UHERO estimated the impact of the COVID-19 induced economic downturn on renters in 2020. Much has changed since then, and generally not for the better. New outbreaks, both in Hawai’i and on the mainland, have worked against our hope for a steady and predictable economic […]
Read MoreThe August Rental Market: Struggling Tenants and Rising Vacancies
By Philip Garboden Last month, UHERO partnered with real estate groups across the state to launch a monthly survey of Hawaii’s rental property owners and managers. Our primary goal is to understand how the rental market is faring during the extended COVID-19 crisis. Are tenants increasingly struggling to make rent? Are rental property owners seeing […]
Read MoreHCRC Annual Report of Activities – Year 2
Due to the generosity of the Hawaii Community Reinvestment Corporation (HCRC), I was able to begin service as the HCRC Professor in Affordable Housing Economics, Policy, and Planning in the fall of 2018. Since that time, I have been able to maintain a vigorous national research agenda, while simultaneously working to inform housing policy in […]
Read MoreUHERO Survey on the Impacts of COVID-19 on Hawaii’s Rental Properties
UHERO has partnered with landlord and property management organizations to initiate a statewide data collection effort related to the impacts of the COVID-19 crises on our state’s rental housing. Our goal is to gather representative empirical data each month on 1) the number of rental households struggling to pay rent and 2) the number of […]
Read MoreEvent: The Coming Covid Eviction Crisis and How to Stop It
The Coming Covid Eviction Crisis and How to Stop It Tuesday, July 28, 2020, 9:00 am Hawai‘i time Register and submit questions in advance HERE. Hawai‘i residents have long struggled with the elevated cost of housing and high rates of homelessness. Now the covid-19 recession is pressing more households to the edge. Join us to explore […]
Read MoreEstimating the Need for Rental Assistance in Hawaii
By Philip ME Garboden and Isabelle Picciotto Renters in Hawaii are at significant risk due to the economic downturn. Roughly 40% of all households in Hawaii rent their homes. They have significantly lower income than homeowners, with a median household income of $57,000 compared with $100,000 for homeowners. Their housing tenure is by nature less […]
Read MoreCoastal armoring and sinking property values: the case of seawalls in California
Rising sea levels necessitate careful consideration of different forms of coastal protection but cost-benefit analysis is limited when important non-market social costs have not been measured. Seawalls protect individual properties but can potentially impose negative externalities on neighboring properties via accelerated beach loss. We conduct a hedonic valuation of seawalls in two coastal California counties: […]
Read MorePreserving Housing Stability During Hawaii’s COVID Crisis
By Philip Garboden Last week, the Eviction Lab released a scorecard for COVID-19 Housing Policy. Hawaii scored fairly well comparatively: 15th out of the 50 states. Unfortunately, this only put us near the top of a fairly rotten pile. With the exception of two or three states, the vast majority of the country currently has […]
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