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From: trustharrvCcbaloha.net <br /> To: LPCtestimonv <br /> Subject: ILL CONCEIVED NOTION Concerns Over Bill 121"s Impact on Local Economy and Housing <br /> Date: Wednesday,April 17,2024 1:22:02 PM <br /> Importance: High <br /> Chairperson Barbara Defranco Leeward Planning Commission County of Hawaii <br /> 25 Aupuni St. Unit 1502 Hilo, HI 96720 <br /> Aloha Chairperson Lin & Commission Members, <br /> My question is, who do the sponsors of this bill think it will help? <br /> Renters? That's what you said when you passed the last bill regulating <br /> vacation rentals. And since it's inception rents have doubled. The price <br /> of homes & condos has doubled too. That means the common folk must <br /> vacation rent a portion of their home to defray the cost of the additional <br /> property taxes they must pay. On the Big Island most vacation rentals <br /> are owned by kamaaina folks who need the extra income just to make <br /> ends meet. Some are owned by mainlanders, but the majority of those <br /> bought their homes thinking they'd get them before the prices and <br /> interest rates got any higher, then vacation rent them to help with the <br /> mortgage and property taxes, until they are ready to retire and move <br /> over to Hawaii full time. <br /> If this bill passes, both kamaaina and mainlander alike will have to sell <br /> out because they cannot afford to keep a house on the Big Island <br /> without the extra vacation rental income. When this happens, hundreds <br /> of homes will hit the market all at once. For the first time in 15 years <br /> the supply will outstrip the demand. What happens when supply <br /> outstrips demand? Prices come down, that's what. As happened during <br /> the last real estate downturn, there will be hundreds of foreclosures. <br /> Mostly mainlanders who have been waiting in the wings for bargains <br /> will snap up these foreclosures. But these will be people looking to live <br /> in Hawaii, not manage a rental from the mainland. Nobody who lives <br /> here is going to be able to afford to buy another house and keep it as a <br /> rental. All the houses that get sold will become permanent residences <br /> for mainlanders who have been planning to move to Hawaii for years. If <br /> this bill passes it will create the chance those mainlanders have been <br /> waiting for. The number of homes available for rent will not increase <br /> and, therefore, rents will remain high. More mainlanders will be moving <br /> over and more kamaaina will be moving to the mainland. <br />