“It’s a huge problem,” said Gavin Thornton, with Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice. “Our housing prices are completely disconnected from our local wages. And that means that local residents are suffering.”

Housing advocates want to change how we view housing. Instead of an investment, it should be seen as a necessity.

“So we need to be making progress as a state, making big time infrastructure investments and ensuring that those infrastructure investments are targeted toward building housing that’s affordable to local people,” Thornton said.