The photo is of a listing I had several years ago, when interest rates were low and the market was red hot. There was far more inventory, but property was selling very quickly.

At the moment, inventory is extremely low. If you take a glance at what’s on the market at the moment, you can see that while there are a number of luxury properties available, there is almost nothing under $1 million, and there is very little in the town of Waimea.

Waimea is a perfect example of the problem so many places are facing: our housing stock does not meet the needs of the population. In our case, the available properties tend to be too expensive and many are located in resort areas and used as second homes and vacation rentals. The unmet demand for housing in Waimea itself has driven prices up and kept them so high as to make home ownership unattainable for most residents.

Unfortunately, this has led to many locals giving up and moving to the mainland, where they have some chance of homeownership. But that’s a very tough decision for them to make – to give up family, friends, and this place that they love.

Since there is less profit to be made building a simple and affordable house (if it is even possible with the materials costs these days), we are unlikely to see a shift toward construction of affordable housing without some serious government subsidies. The Governor is talking the talk, but he relies upon the legislature to appropriate the funds, and the legislature doesn’t seem to be able to accomplish much.