Cost of Living

... The median price of a home on Oʻahu has just reached $950,000 ....

... the income limit for a household of four at the median level (100 percent) in 2021 is $120,800, down from last year’s $125,850. The maximum monthly rent for this household is $2,720 for a two-bedroom unit, according to DPP calculations, down from last year’s maximum rent of $2,975 ....

... The revelation that the Kapolei Energy Storage Facility will be powered with oil caused an uproar at a recent meeting, but the project is slated to continue ....

... Maui County policyholders save an estimated $1.4 million annually ....

... We want a Hawaii where everyone who wants to buy a home can buy one in their price range ....

"... to increase rooftop solar and similar customer energy resources to the scale needed to reach the state’s clean energy benchmarks ...."

... why housing prices have soared statewide and why affordability mandates won’t have the desired results ....

"... In theory, Bill 10 would require more affordable housing to be built, but in reality, history has shown that such additional restrictions have the opposite effect ....”

... Kahului, Hawaii, is the most expensive U.S. destination in which to rent a car this spring ....

... Maui County Councilmember Yuki Lei Sugimura discusses with Grassroot Institute president Keli’i Akina the detrimental impact such a well-intentioned but wrong-headed policy might have on affordable housing ....

... How to make housing affordable and help stop the exodus .... 

... Under FEMA's Risk Rating 2.0 system, the cost of flood insurance will increase ....

... the average monthly energy bill comes to $321 ....

... The cost of bills in Hawaii totals an average of $2,731 per month, 44.6% higher than the national average ....

“...When the government inserts itself into markets, taxpayers often foot the bill....”

... This would give Maui the second most restrictive affordable-housing law in the country ....

... 11 of 16 Hawaii towns are in the top 10% of most overextended mortgage borrowers ....

... Hawaii has the 5th lowest Avg. Annual Wage for Physicians (adj for cost of living) ....

... I have a 5,000-square-foot, five-bedroom house on half an acre with a view that stretches to a river, and that house costs me $539,000 ....

... Hawaii is down by more than 1,000 physicians, with no prospect of the situation improving ....

... A Maui bill to increase affordability requirements is the backdrop for a discussion on how current housing policy can be improved ....

... the ALOHA homes program as currently envisioned in SB1 likely would result in an expensive, non-sustainable government project that would fail ....

... Instead of creating more affordable homes, they reduce development and cause prices to go up ....

... in Full-Service Restaurants, most workers who earn minimum wage receive significantly more compensation in tips ....

... Where They Moved To: California, Texas and Washington ....

... lift zoning restrictions that hamper creative solutions to the lack of affordable housing ....

... ILWU, Teamsters, IATSE, UFCW ....

... UHERO second quarterly survey of rental property owners and managers ....

... gas prices to rush-hour traffic congestion to road quality ....

... Honolulu is the only city where mortgages have taken up more than 40% of homeowners’ incomes in 2010, as well as in 2015 and 2020 ....

... 33 Hours worked to afford median rent for nurses -- Hawaii ranks 43rd ....

... Hawaii Cost of Living Index is 196.3--the US Average is 100 ....

... potential monetary losses — including both the lifetime and annual cost of a cigarette pack per day, health care expenditures, income losses and other costs .... 

... “the carbon tax” is most likely the “barrel tax” ....

... 8 of 16 Hawaii towns are among the worst 10% credit card debtors in USA ....

... Ratepayer money will be shoveled to Elon Musk to buy batteries ....

... DPP has released its Annual Report on the status of land use on O‘ahu for fiscal year ending 2019 ....

... an initiative that will provide applicants on the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) Waiting List with down payment assistance for a fee-simple residential purchase off Hawaiian Home Lands on Oʻahu ....

... Increase in Long Term Care Costs in Hawaii Surpass National Trends; COVID-19 Pressures Future Costs ....

...for every dollar the University saves with on-campus (solar) investments, other customers will pay $1.15 more -- UHERO.....

...in Urban Honolulu it is 48.1% ....

... groceries +69.3%, transportation +46.6%, utilities +99.4% ....

...Hawaii’s negative migration of the past several years in a row is going to accelerate....

...well-connected people often found their way to the tops of housing waiting lists while the names of people who really needed affordable housing disappeared....

...When your state lacks sufficient housing, the last thing you should do is make building a difficult, risky and lengthy process. But that’s exactly what Hawaii has done....

...Hawaii’s residents need more housing that they can afford. And one of the simplest ways to provide it would be to reform a mysterious organization called the Land Use Commission....

...The average monthly Medicare Advantage premium changed from $63.86 in 2020 to $57.28 in 2021. This represents a -10.30 percent change in average premium....

...The state Land Use Commission has strayed from its core mission, leading to fewer homes and higher home prices for Hawaii residents....

...This purchase adds ZERO new affordable units because these units were already affordable in the private sector....

... Oahu projects run as high as $0.13 pkwh even as competitors offer $0.089 pkwh ....