Our Homes - Ending the Housing Crisis: Hawaii’s Need for Affordable Housing

Our Homes: Ending the Housing Crisis

Edward Pinto and Tobias Peter discuss their research on housing and the housing crisis in Hawaii. Hawaii has the highest median home price in the country, second highest cost of rent, and second highest rate of homelessness per capita. The plunge in Hawaii’s housing market began in the early 1970s when the state passed environmental and land usage policies causing a housing shortage and increase in housing prices. There is dire need for affordable housing in Hawaii but the state is predicted to face a shortage of 60,000 housing units by 2025.

Edward Pinto is a senior fellow and the director of the Housing Center at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). He is currently researching ways of increasing the entry-level housing supply for first-time buyers and renters who earn hourly wages, as well as examining the current house price boom that began in 2012. Tobias Peter is a research fellow and the assistant director of the AEI’s Housing Center, where he focuses on housing risk and mortgage markets. Peter wrote a variety of reports on housing policy, specifically on the impact of federal policy on housing demand and homeownership, housing finance risks, and first-time home buyers. His pieces have been published in policy journals and in the popular press, including in The Wall Street Journal, American Banker, and Business Insider. This episode of Our Homes is hosted by Senator Stanley Chang.