HONOLULU — Oahu’s population is growing much faster than its housing supply.
Eugene Tian, a Hawaii economist, tells the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that to catch up with demand, developers would have to build about 2,000 more homes each year than they do now.
His calculations assume 1 percent population growth on the island.
Oahu issued about 7,000 housing permits a year in the 1960s and about 6,500 a year in the ’70s. During the past three years the island has issued only about 1,600 permits a year.
Developments such as the 5,000 planned condominiums in Honolulu’s Kakaako neighborhood are a start. But because towers take years to complete, Oahu’s housing deficit will endure in the near future.
The housing supply on the neighbor islands is more balanced.