Honolulu City Council bill aimed at taxing empty homes advances

The Honolulu City Council Budget committee narrowly advanced a measure that would tax properties left vacant by up to 3 percent.

A study by Hawaiʻi Appleseed estimated that 35,000 units are sitting vacant on Oʻahu.

The median sales price of a single-family home on Oʻahu was $1.1 million in October, according to data from real estate company Locations. Under this measure, if it was left vacant, the owner would have to pay up to $33,000 in property taxes.

Council Chair Tommy Waters pushed members and the city administration to support the measure which he thinks will help with Oʻahu’s housing shortage.

“It’s not going to be the silver bullet everybody. It’s not. But it’s one tool that we can use to fill these empty homes. By the way, people want to invest their money here because we have the lowest property tax rate in the country,” he said.

“Can you imagine rich people coming in, they buy these houses, they don’t care if people are renting it out or not. They don’t care. They’re parking it here for a couple years, they’re going to sell them and make money. And guess what happens to the local people?”