The gap between median home prices and household income in Hawaiʻi? It’s ‘scary’

Homeownership is a dream for many people. But experts and the federal government say you shouldn’t be spending more than 30 percent or your income to buy a home.

In urban Honolulu, it costs way more than that, according to the Cost of Housing Index from the National Association of Homebuilders and Wells Fargo.

Based on Honolulu’s median home price of $1,085,800 and median family income of $120,100, the index said a mortgage requires 73 percent of the median paycheck.

The same home would cost 147 percent of a low-income paycheck, based on half the median income.

The Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center supports efforts to living out-of-state buyers, which the governor has suggested.

“About 75 percent of the homes were sold as investment homes in Hawaiʻi. That’s a problem for anybody that calls Hawaiʻi home,” said Hawaiʻi Appleseed Executive Director Gavin Thornton.

“We need to stop thinking about housing as an investment and start thinking about it as housing,” he added.