UHERO Analytics
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 would significantly reduce the number of TVRs by withdrawing permission to operate for over 7,000 properties. Below, we briefly summarize the policy proposal and discuss the characteristics of the units […]
Read MoreThe Hawaii Housing Dashboard
The high cost of housing in Hawaiʻi imposes significant financial and emotional burdens on residents, making it a pressing concern across the islands. Comprehensive data and analysis serve as critical tools to inform discussions and policy decisions. In response to this need, UHERO launched the Hawaiʻi Housing Factbook project. The first edition of the Factbook, […]
Read MoreShort-term Vacation Rentals and Housing Costs in Hawaiʻi
By Rachel Inafuku and Justin Tyndall Of the state’s 565,000 total housing units, 30,000 are listed as Short-term Vacation Rentals (STRs), meaning roughly 5% of local housing units operate as tourist accommodations. In a tight housing market with high prices and barriers to creating new supply, removing supply from the long-term housing market could harm […]
Read MoreThe Rising Cost of Climate Change on Home Values
By Justin Tyndall Climate change poses a clear threat to coastal real estate assets. As sea level rises and coastal weather events become more severe, exposed properties will experience recurring damage and some will become uninhabitable. Homebuyers may fail to fully appreciate the threat of sea level rise, causing homes in coastal areas to be […]
Read MoreBlog: Improving Pedestrian Safety in Hawaiʻi
By Justin Tyndall Over 2,500 people have been killed in motor vehicle crashes in Hawaiʻi since 2000, averaging a person every three days. Car crashes are a leading cause of accidental death, particularly for younger people. In a different setting, this scale of mortality might be treated as a public health emergency, but we have […]
Read MoreTraffic in Honolulu: How to Make Transitory Pandemic Gains Permanent
By Justin Tyndall and Sumner La Croix During the COVID-19 pandemic, Honolulu traffic became much less congested. Local and state governments could help residents keep the social benefits from traffic control by providing incentives to private firms to stagger hours and/or keep more employees working at home. A congestion zone fee to drive within the downtown-to-Waikiki corridor […]
Read MoreCOVID-19 infections, vaccines, and economic recovery
By Carl Bonham, Peter Fuleky, Byron Gangnes, and Justin Tyndall A year ago Hawaii was operating under its first COVID-19 Stay at Home Order. As business activity contracted, the state quickly shed more than 150,000 jobs, and the unemployment rate jumped from 2% to 22%. Today there is hope that the devastation brought by the […]
Read MoreMobility Data Shows Fewer Residents Staying at Home
By Joshua Hu and Justin Tyndall Hawaii has steadily moved forward with its vaccination initiative. Currently, the CDC reports that 26% of Hawai’i residents are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, slightly above the national rate of 24%. Despite progress in vaccinations, during the period from mid-February to early April, Hawai’i has undergone a rise in new […]
Read MoreAre Hawai’i Residents Staying at Home?
By Justin Tyndall and Joshua Hu Staying at home and avoiding crowded spaces is an important way for residents to help contain the spread of COVID-19. Measuring the ability and willingness of Hawai’i’s residents to stay at home is difficult. Having more information on resident movements can help gauge the frequency of in-person interactions and […]
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