#housing crisis

The eight-bedroom, 12.5-bathroom home, which for years spurred community criticism over its size and potential use as a vacation rental, is offering 25% shares for $3.55 million apiece.

For a decade, the organization has helped more than 1,000 families and saved 1,000 pounds of belongings each month from entering the landfill.

Hawai’i Community Lending (HCL), a nonprofit mortgage lender, announced the date for its second annual Hui Waiwai, to be held at the Bishop Museum in Honolulu on Thursday, Jan. 22, from 5 to 8 p.m. Tickets and sponsorships are now available for this inspirational event celebrating HCL’s accomplishments from the past year and looking ahead to next year, as HCL furthers its goal to solve Hawai‘i’s housing crisis.

Advocates for houseless people say sweeps are not the long-term solution, with some residents kicked out of Maui Lani on Wednesday the same people who were booted out of Amala Place in Kahului during a previous sweep three months earlier.

George Dacuycuy and his grandson, 21, are among the first applicants to get the go-ahead from the Ho‘okumu Hou first-time homebuyers program.

The Maui Chamber of Commerce announced the launch of an initiative, the “Maui Housing Future Survey: Assessing Resident Needs,” a community-wide effort to gather essential, real-time data to “directly combat Maui’s deepening housing crisis.”

“More affordable housing is necessary to reduce Hawai‘i’s cost of living,” said Green in a news release. “My administration has been working hard to break down obstacles that can impede affordable housing development. The Supreme Court’s decision is another step forward as we continue this crucial work for the people of Hawaiʻi.”

The state says there will be a transition period to allow residents of Pu‘uhonua o Nēnē, the temporary shelter set up for houseless Lahaina fire survivors, to move into the kauhale or find alternate housing.

Maui County said that of the 46 people living there, 21 went into shelter and two entered recovery programs. On Thursday, 10 truckloads of trash were removed and two truckloads of personal items were put into storage, where residents have 30 days to claim them.

The governor has until July 9 to issue final vetoes from the list, to sign them into law, or to allow them to become law without his signature.

A novel approach to Maui’s severe housing crisis emerged during a third round of emotional public testimony Monday on the hotly debated vacation rental phase-out bill: leveraging short-term rental profits to finance affordable housing for local families. Jonavan Asato, senior pastor at Grace Bible Church in Kahului, proposed this alternative while testifying on Bill 9 […]

In actuality, the typical household can comfortably afford a $379,000 house. But in 2024, there were zero homes sold within that price range, and only a half dozen single-family transactions under $500,000, according to the LCLT report.

The Realtors Association of Maui (RAM) formally announced its opposition on Friday to Mayor Richard Bissen’s proposed Bill 9, which seeks to eliminate approximately 7,000 short-term rentals (STRs) in apartment-zoned areas by 2026. Mayor Richard Bissen responded to a request for comment from Maui Now saying, Bill 9 is “one part of a collective strategy” to address Maui’s severe housing crisis.

“Building homes and making renovations to existing ones — and even wildfire recovery — will soon be easier throughout Maui County, now that Mayor Richard Bissen has signed a bill that was unanimously approved earlier this month by the Maui County Council,” according to Jonathan Helton policy analyst at the Grassroot Institute of Hawaiʻi.

Hawaiʻi Community Lending announced that HPM Building Supply and American Savings Bank will sponsor the nonprofit’s annual Hui Waiwai on Jan. 23, 2025, at Bishop Museum from 5 to 8 p.m.

Habitat for Humanity Maui announced it is the recipient of a $3 million donation from Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez. This contribution, one of the largest in the organization’s history, will directly support Habitat Maui’s ongoing efforts to address Maui’s urgent need for affordable housing, especially in light of the recent wildfires and the worsening housing crisis on the island, organization leaders said.

The Maui Planning Commission heard more than seven hours of often impassioned testimony Tuesday, then deliberated nearly three hours before recommending that the Maui County Council approve a bill to phase-out of thousands of short-term rentals in apartment districts, mostly in South and West Maui.

Second Circuit Court Judge Peter T. Cahill issued judgment in favor of Gov. Josh Green, M.D., and the Hawaiʻi Housing Finance and Development Corporation, in a lawsuit that sought to, among other things, invalidate the governor’s emergency proclamation on affordable housing. With this decision, the current proclamation—the Sixth Proclamation Relating to Affordable Housing—remains in full effect.

In a step toward addressing the housing challenges in Hawai‘i, Gov. Josh Green, M.D., signed a series of bills today aimed at benefiting condominium owners, associations, and residents throughout the state. This legislative package is designed to streamline processes, enhance management practices, and increase accessibility to clean energy programs for condominium communities.

Gov. Josh Green, M.D., highlighted the achievements of the 2024 legislative session to unlock more affordable housing across the state in a ceremony at the State Capitol. Green underscored the collaborative efforts behind several significant bills aimed at addressing the state’s housing crisis.