HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-04-17 Bill 121 Harry M. Pritikin From: trustharrvCcbaloha.net
To: LPCtestimonv
Subject: ILL CONCEIVED NOTION Concerns Over Bill 121"s Impact on Local Economy and Housing
Date: Wednesday,April 17,2024 1:22:02 PM
Importance: High
Chairperson Barbara Defranco Leeward Planning Commission County of Hawaii
25 Aupuni St. Unit 1502 Hilo, HI 96720
Aloha Chairperson Lin & Commission Members,
My question is, who do the sponsors of this bill think it will help?
Renters? That's what you said when you passed the last bill regulating
vacation rentals. And since it's inception rents have doubled. The price
of homes & condos has doubled too. That means the common folk must
vacation rent a portion of their home to defray the cost of the additional
property taxes they must pay. On the Big Island most vacation rentals
are owned by kamaaina folks who need the extra income just to make
ends meet. Some are owned by mainlanders, but the majority of those
bought their homes thinking they'd get them before the prices and
interest rates got any higher, then vacation rent them to help with the
mortgage and property taxes, until they are ready to retire and move
over to Hawaii full time.
If this bill passes, both kamaaina and mainlander alike will have to sell
out because they cannot afford to keep a house on the Big Island
without the extra vacation rental income. When this happens, hundreds
of homes will hit the market all at once. For the first time in 15 years
the supply will outstrip the demand. What happens when supply
outstrips demand? Prices come down, that's what. As happened during
the last real estate downturn, there will be hundreds of foreclosures.
Mostly mainlanders who have been waiting in the wings for bargains
will snap up these foreclosures. But these will be people looking to live
in Hawaii, not manage a rental from the mainland. Nobody who lives
here is going to be able to afford to buy another house and keep it as a
rental. All the houses that get sold will become permanent residences
for mainlanders who have been planning to move to Hawaii for years. If
this bill passes it will create the chance those mainlanders have been
waiting for. The number of homes available for rent will not increase
and, therefore, rents will remain high. More mainlanders will be moving
over and more kamaaina will be moving to the mainland.
To add injury to insult, because home prices will go down, the amount
of property tax the County collects will go down. Because there are no
more vacation rentals, the amount of excise tax and TAT will go down.
After the people realize what this county council has caused, they will
be voted out, nowhere to be found to take the blame for all the
businesses that will have to close because of the reduction in tourism
when there are no more vacation rentals. More local people will be out
of jobs and therefore, more local people will have to move to the
mainland. The more locals who move back to the mainland, the more
mainlanders who will be moving over. The un-intended consequences
of this bill 121 will be a catastrophic blow to our Big Island way of life
and economy. But this current council will be nowhere to be found so
someone can say '"I told you so".
Mahalo, Harry
Harry M. Pritikin (PB) Hawaii Real Estate Professor, LLC
Big Island Real Estate UPdates
74-5090 Old Palani Road, Kailua-Kona, HI 96740
Website: www.konarealestateaaent.com
24 HOUR CELL: 808-989-3491
EMAIL: trusthar[y@31oha.net
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