2011 Housing Planning Study - State of Hawaii

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However, Census figures only identify units Our smaller housing units are also more without suitable plumbing and kitchen facilities. crowded than in other places. Nationally, the Statewide less than one percent of our units average Census crowding rate was 3.2 percent have incomplete plumbing facilities and only 1.6 in 2009. ACS reported that 8.5 percent of percent had incomplete kitchen facilities in 2009. Hawaii housing units were crowded by the The figures differed very little across the Census definition of more than one person per counties. Those figures get steadily better over room. For the counties, the figures were 8.7 time, and describe a housing stock in good percent on Oahu, 7.6 percent in Hawaii County, condition. In the Housing Demand Survey 9.0 percent in the County of Maui, and 7.9 conducted this year, about 76 percent of all percent on Kauai. Among the markets we household respondents rated the condition of reviewed, only Orange County had a higher their units excellent (32%) or satisfactory (45%). crowding rate at 9.4 percent. As usual, renters were more likely than owners to be critical of the condition of their units. Housing Production Ratings did not differ significantly across counties. Measuring the annual production of new housing units has been a problem for HHPS from the There are some areas where housing is getting beginning. This year we have new information quite old and its condition is deteriorating. on the subject. Several stakeholders we interviewed mentioned the Mo'ili'ili area in Honolulu as a candidate for Building Permits and Housing Starts redevelopment in the near future. That was true, they told us because the type of residential The number of authorized building permits in housing in the area was inappropriate for the each county has been part of HHPS since 1992. location, zoning, and land values in the area, and The actual number of units added to the housing not because of the condition of the units. stock each year has been more difficult to Our housing units are smaller than in most other estimate. This year SMS used the Hawaii American housing markets. For the State as a Housing Model and new information from the whole, the average number of rooms for housing Census and ACS to upgrade this analysis. units in 2009 was 4.6. It differed little across the The number of housing units added each year is State: 4.7 in the City & County of Honolulu, 4.6 a function of the number of building permits in Hawaii and Kauai Counties, and 4.0 in Maui authorized by county planning departments each County. Nationally, the average housing unit year. Not surprisingly, authorized permits rise had 5.5 rooms in 2009 (ACS), making Hawaii's and fall with the local housing market. In times units some of the smallest in the nation. Some of high market activity, landowners and of the larger and more expensive markets in the developers respond to higher demand and country also had lower room counts -- New York higher prices by supplying new units. (4.0), San Francisco (4.2), Boston (4.5) and Seattle (4.5). Housing units have been getting smaller over time, but some say they are better constructed as building codes get stronger. As one of our stakeholders put it, "On Oahu you have major redevelopment efforts and in the other counties you have a lot of new construction." Hawaii Housing Planning Study,2011 Page 5 0 SMS, Inc. November,2011