3 factors shift Hawaiʻi’s real estate into overdrive

A recent report by the Hawaiʻi Budget & Policy Center found that more than 70 percent of houses and condos purchased in Maui County in 2020 went to non-owner occupants, continuing an upward trend seen over the last several years. The report’s author, Kenna StormoGipson, director of housing policy at the center, says many investor-owners probably sought to take advantage of low mortgage rates. While there’s nothing wrong with an individual owning a second or third home, she says, it’s a concerning trend from a housing policy perspective.

“If we want to promote homeownership for local residents, then it would be disturbing if more and more of all the homes for sale are not owner-occupied,” she says. “Because that means if you want to own your own home, you’re going to either give up on that dream or you’re going to move to the Mainland.”