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$10,000,000 conforms to tax rates that other cities are <br />assessing to fund their various housing programs. <br />The legislature additionally finds that increases in tax <br />rates on homes over $5,000,000 is unlikely to have any negative <br />impact on local full-time residents as the vast majority of <br />buyers who purchase these homes do so as an investment and not <br />as their full-time residence. The monthly mortgage costs of a <br />$5,000,000 home are approximately $32,600 a month, which would <br />be considered affordable for an individual or a couple earning <br />$81,500 per month, or roughly $978,000 a year. Very few <br />families in Hawaii would fall within these income categories, <br />and those that do most likely already own a home and are not <br />impacted by rising rents or the lack of affordable <br />housing. Accordingly, it is appropriate for out-of-state <br />investors of real estate to assist in mitigating the impacts for <br />residents who are not benefiting from the current market <br />dynamics. Renters, houseless residents, and the local workforce <br />are struggling with the rising cost of housing, thus a tax on <br />real estate at the time of sale to help mitigate those costs is <br />appropriate and fair. <br />The legislature recognizes that the increases in housing <br />prices, residential rent, and the homeless population over the <br />past several years has accelerated the urgent need to <br />sustainably fund affordable housing and homeless services in <br />Hawaii. The 2023 point in time count estimates that there are <br />currently 6,223 individuals living unsheltered in the State, not <br />including the greater number of "hidden homeless" individuals <br />