Mayor Kirk Caldwell hosted a town hall meeting Thursday night on his new islandwide housing strategy, and more are in the works. Here’s a quick look at Honolulu’s housing crisis in five graphs:

Rents just keep going up…

 

But wages aren’t keeping up with rising inflation and rent increases:

 

In fact, the most popular job in Hawaii earns less than $11 per hour.

 

Meanwhile, home prices are rising…

 

And not much low-income housing is being built. A 2011 state housing study found that 70 percent of Hawaii’s housing need comes from low-income residents — individuals earning less than $53,700 and families of four earning less than $76,650 — but little has been built to meet that need:

 

In fact, the city loses more affordable units each year than it produces because of condo conversions and expiring deed restrictions, according to Charles Wathen from the Hawaii Housing Alliance.

About the Author