Where are the 34 thousand empty homes on Oahu?

The 2020 US census counted 34,253 vacant housing units out of 376,209 total (9.1%) on Oahu.  Vacant homes are housing units where no one was living in the unit at the time of the census.  There are many reasons for a home to be vacant.  Reasons include keeping a unit vacant while looking for a tenant or during renovation or while the property is for sale but these activities do not explain the very high vacancy numbers.  Oahu real estate is popular with investors who can profitably leave their units empty or visit them for a few weeks during the year.  We have a large and growing amount of under-utilized housing stock which increases the pressure on our local residents who cannot find an affordable place to live.

Let’s dig deeper into where these vacant homes are located using PolicyMap.  PolicyMap is a benefit corporation, a for-profit corporation with a social mission.   Using their mapping tool, we can view the 2020 census data for housing vacancy at the census tract level.  

Below is an overview of Oahu shaded to show the percentage of vacant homes in each census tract.  The darker the area, the higher the percentage.

While the vacant homes are not evenly distributed, we can see that all the most populated parts of the island have areas of high vacancy.  Let’s look closer at a few census tracks to see what is happening to our neighborhoods.  

The urban Honolulu tract we’re looking at below includes housing across from Ala Moana Park and was redeveloped several years ago.  It has a 29% vacancy rate which equates to 693 vacant homes.

It is a misconception that vacant and short-term rentals are predominantly in more resort or visitor-heavy communities.  In fact, we see vacant homes across the island, including Kaneohe.  The census tract shown below has over 10% of its residences not being used for residential use at the time of the census.

A north shore tract including Pupukea, has a 20% vacancy rate and 199 vacant homes. 

Kalihi Valley vacancy shows 7% with 120 vacant homes.

For comparison, we see a 3% rate for central Waipahu with 39 vacancies.

The Empty Homes tax will correct skewed market incentives and prioritize housing for our residents.  Homeowners who choose not to use their property to house local residents will help by funding more housing for local families.  The Empty Homes Tax will provide a strong incentive for existing and new housing built on Oahu to house local residents.  Our County Council members represent the people living on Oahu.  They will certainly hear from opponents of the EHT who want to keep these houses vacant.  Contact your City Council Member and let them know what you think about the EHT. For details on the proposed EHT visit  www.hihousing.org

PolicyMap is a wonderful tool for data-driven public policy.  We are grateful to the Hawaii Data Collaborative and their co-sponsors, the Hawaii Dept of Health, Hawaii Energy and the Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Foundation for our access to Hawaii data on PolicyMap.  Source: www.policymap.com