Report: out-of-state buyers, vacation rentals squeeze local housing market

Not only does Hawaiʻi build only half of the homes needed to keep up with its demand, but more than one-fourth of homes sold between 2008 and 2015 went to non-residents, according to a report released Thursday by a local nonprofit advocacy group.

Many non-residents also own vacation rental units, which further limits the pool of available housing for locals, according to the report by the Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice.

“Speculators and investors have been eager to take advantage of the tremendously profitable vacation rental industry at the expense of our residents,” Co-Executive Director Victor Geminiani said in a press release. “We need to establish controls to protect our communities from fragmentation.”