2006 Housing Policy Study by SMS Research & Marketing Services, Inc.

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Table 8. Shelter -to- Income Ratios by County, 2006 "No shelter cost" includes those renting without payment of cash rent and homeowners with paid -up mortgages. In 2006, just over 40 percent of Hawaii residents were paying less than 30 percent of their monthly income for shelter. That level is considered to be the norm for homeowners. It would be an asset for a family applying for a home loan. But nearly one in four households across the State was paying more than 40 percent of the monthly income for shelter. The market has affected the ratio over time. The percent of households paying more than 40 percent of their income for shelter dropped steadily between 1992 and 2003. The depressed housing market of the nineties held prices and rents in check while the burgeoning economy raised household incomes. Between 2003 and 2006, however, rapidly rising housing costs pushed the shelter -to- income ratio back to its 1997 level. High rents in the County of Maui have clearly had a negative impact on county residents. Fully 30 percent of Maui residents live with shelter payments taking up more than 40 percent of their income. Nearly half of all Maui households (46 %) are spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing. Conditions within Hawaii households have not changed significantly as a result of the rising prices for housing. Residents rate the condition of their units about the same as they did in 2003. About 78 percent reported that their units were in excellent or satisfactory condition 12. As usual, renters were more likely than owners to be critical of their unit condition. Ratings did not differ significantly across counties. Crowding and doubling up, which had fallen steadily since 1992, were a bit lower than in 2003. Fifteen percent of all households were either living in crowded units or living with more people in the household than they would choose. We note, however, that it was the crowding index that caused the drop. The new units built since 2000 are generally larger than those built during the nineties, and that reduced the number of persons per -room overall. Doubling -up, either living with several generations in the household or living with non - family members, increased since 2003. That suggests that the higher prices and lower availability between 2004 and 2006 slowed the rate of household formation. 12 These were the top two categories in a four -point scale used by Demand Survey respondents to describe their relative satisfaction with the condition of their current unit. Hawaii Housing Policy Study, 2006 Page 18 © SMS, Inc. February, 2007 State of Hawaii County of Honolulu County of Hawaii County of Maui County of Kauai Less than 30% household Income 40.7 40.6 43.4 36.5 43.0 30 to 40% of household income 12.8 12.4 12.4 15.8 12.0 More than 40% household income 25.7 25.1 26.1 30.0 24.0 No shelter cost 20.8 21.9 18.1 17.7 20.9 "No shelter cost" includes those renting without payment of cash rent and homeowners with paid -up mortgages. In 2006, just over 40 percent of Hawaii residents were paying less than 30 percent of their monthly income for shelter. That level is considered to be the norm for homeowners. It would be an asset for a family applying for a home loan. But nearly one in four households across the State was paying more than 40 percent of the monthly income for shelter. The market has affected the ratio over time. The percent of households paying more than 40 percent of their income for shelter dropped steadily between 1992 and 2003. The depressed housing market of the nineties held prices and rents in check while the burgeoning economy raised household incomes. Between 2003 and 2006, however, rapidly rising housing costs pushed the shelter -to- income ratio back to its 1997 level. High rents in the County of Maui have clearly had a negative impact on county residents. Fully 30 percent of Maui residents live with shelter payments taking up more than 40 percent of their income. Nearly half of all Maui households (46 %) are spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing. Conditions within Hawaii households have not changed significantly as a result of the rising prices for housing. Residents rate the condition of their units about the same as they did in 2003. About 78 percent reported that their units were in excellent or satisfactory condition 12. As usual, renters were more likely than owners to be critical of their unit condition. Ratings did not differ significantly across counties. Crowding and doubling up, which had fallen steadily since 1992, were a bit lower than in 2003. Fifteen percent of all households were either living in crowded units or living with more people in the household than they would choose. We note, however, that it was the crowding index that caused the drop. The new units built since 2000 are generally larger than those built during the nineties, and that reduced the number of persons per -room overall. Doubling -up, either living with several generations in the household or living with non - family members, increased since 2003. That suggests that the higher prices and lower availability between 2004 and 2006 slowed the rate of household formation. 12 These were the top two categories in a four -point scale used by Demand Survey respondents to describe their relative satisfaction with the condition of their current unit. Hawaii Housing Policy Study, 2006 Page 18 © SMS, Inc. February, 2007