Report: vacation rentals’ impact on Maui

Over the last few years, Maui’s housing inventory has dropped to record lows and prices have reached near-record highs, for buyers and renters. A recent report by the Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice states that vacation rental units put pressure on Hawaiʻi’s already-stressed housing market by reducing homes for Hawaiʻi residents and driving up rents.

The report adds that one in 7 housing units on Maui is a vacation rental unit. In Lahaina, it is one in three.

The report, titled “Hawaiʻi Vacation Rentals: Impact on Housing & Hawai‘i’s Economy,“ provides details on the proliferation of vacation rental units (VRUs) and the negative impact it has on Hawaiʻi residents.

“With almost 9,000 estimated VRUs taking up 13.6 percent of its housing stock, Maui is an example of unfettered VRU proliferation. Maui is an example of what the state of Hawaiʻi could become if we do not enact stricter regulations,” the report states.

Hawaiʻi’s housing costs are among the highest in the nation with workers earning the lowest wages in the country after accounting for cost of living.