2011 Housing Planning Study - Inventory Report

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2006 and 2011 was about 1.3 percent per year. Historically, although Kauai's housing stock growth pattern has been similar to the other islands; its growth rate has been consistently the lowest among the Neighbor Island Counties. Like the other counties, Kauai's inventory growth rate remains relatively constant over time. The county has had relatively stable rates of supply regardless of how demand might change. The County of Kauai's housing inventory rose by 1,408 housing units in the four years since the last Housing Policy Study. The number of single-family units went up by 3,209 but the multi- family inventory (specifically condominium units) decreased by about 1,800 units. In Hawaii, a decrease in housing units can be caused by diversion of residential units to the visitor industry. This often happens when multifamily condominium units are converted to use for housing visitors. The inventory does not provide a mechanism for determining whether this is the case, but additional work can be applied to that effort. Other Stock Characteristics For such a small market, and one generally thought of as rural in nature, Kauai housing units have relatively high assessed values. The median assessed value for single-family dwellings was $453,000 in 2010. Multi-family units were valued at $341,000. Many Kauai units are new, relative to those in other Counties. There are fewer multi-family units, very low multi-family homeownership, and production (measured by inventory growth rates) has been relatively low for more than ten years. These and other market forces are consistent with higher prices on the Garden Isle. Fully 64 percent of single-family housing units in the County of Kauai were owner-occupied and 45 percent of residents in condominium units were homeowners. The overall homeownership rate was 53 percent. The Island's housing units the youngest in the State, with an average age of 32 years for single-family dwellings and 22 years for condominiums. Single-family units were moderate in size with an average of about 1,452 square feet under roof. Lot sizes were larger than Oahu's, but smaller than those on other Neighbor Islands. The average lot size in 2011 was about 17,140 square feet. Kauai County also has high rates of out-of-state ownership of its housing units. In 2010, 22 percent of its inventory was owned by persons outside the State. Unlike Maui County, Kauai County's has very low rates of foreign ownership. Only about two percent of its out-of-state owners are located in other countries. Hawaii Housing Planning Study,2011 —Inventory Report Page 13 0 SMS, Inc. November,2011