Senator Ige Has No New Solutions For Affordable Housing
David Ige Offers The Same Policies Of The Last Four Years While Housing Costs Soar
News Release from Hawaii Republican Party
HONOLULU (October 22, 2014) -- Throughout the campaign, Senator David Ige has made it clear he simply offers the same policies of the past four years on the most pressing issues facing Hawaii voters, including the desperate need for more affordable housing. In fact, during a recent debate, Senator Ige bragged about his work on affordable housing, despite the fact that the problem is worse than ever.
"Four more years of Senator Ige's same policies will only continue to make the cost of living worse. Only Duke Aiona has demonstrated a detailed plan to tackle the lack of affordable housing that has been crushing middle-class families in Hawaii for far too long." --Hawaii Republican Party Communications Advisor Ted Kwong
BACKGROUND:
When Asked Recently About His Affordable Housing Solution, Senator Ige Bragged About His Past Work On Affordable Housing. "I have already taken action to increase the amount of funds going to the rental housing assistance fund. This past session, we increased to $33 million per year the funds that would be available in the rental housing assistance fund." (Senator David Ige, KHON2/AARP Debate, Honolulu, HI, 10/7/14)
But Housing Prices Recently Hit An All-Time High In Honolulu. “The median price of a single-family home in Honolulu leapt to an all-time high of $700,000 in the month of June, according to new data from the Honolulu Board of Realtors. Meanwhile, the median price of a condo jumped by more than 9 percent compared with June last year, hitting a record $360,000.”(Anita Hofschneider, “Honolulu Median Home Price Reaches a Record $700,000,” Honolulu Civil Beat, 7/7/14)
Hawaii Families Still Face The Highest Housing Costs In The Nation. “We spend more on housing. Based on U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development data, the National Low Income Housing Coalition says the median cost of renting a two-bedroom apartment in Hawaii is $1,671 a month. That’s not just the highest nationally, it is about 71 percent more than the national average of $977.” (Kery Murakami, “Living Hawaii: Why Is the Price of Paradise So High?” Honolulu Civil Beat, 9/4/13)
- “Based on the HUD standard that families shouldn’t spend more than a third of their income on housing, the coalition calculated what hourly wage people around the country would have to earn to afford such an apartment. Hawaii again earned the dubious rank of No. 1. A resident here would have to earn the most: $32.14, compared with a national average of $25.25 per hour.” (Kery Murakami, “Living Hawaii: Why Is the Price of Paradise So High?”Honolulu Civil Beat, 9/4/13)
Family Housing Money Buys The Least In Hawaii. “Last week, an infographic from the Tax Foundation went viral showing the relative value of $100 in each state. As I wrote then: ‘The above data doesn't tell the full story. ... A large portion of the differences in price parity is based on the cost of rent or the comparable mortgage payments.’ I calculated the relative value of housing dollars using data on regional price parities from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The $100 level is based on the national average; each state's data is then relative to that level. When you include everything, the relative value of $100 in each state varied from $84.60 to $114.74.”(Dan Dzombak, “The Real Value of Housing Money in Each State,” The Motley Fool, 9/3/14)
- “By state, in terms of housing, your dollars go the furthest in Mississippi, where the relative value of $100 is $161.03. Your dollars get you the least in Hawaii, with a relative value of $62.89. That means the same amount of money for housing is worth 150% more in Mississippi than in Hawaii. Even in less extreme cases, the differences can be high.”(Dan Dzombak, “The Real Value of Housing Money in Each State,” The Motley Fool, 9/3/14)
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