Isle rents ranked highest in nation

Hawaii apartments average $1,509, new report says

A new report by an affordable-housing advocacy group says Hawaii is the nation's most expensive state for renters.

The study by the National Low Income Housing Coalition says workers in the state must earn a little more than $29 per hour to afford the average apartment.

Hawaii is followed by California, New York, Massachusetts and New Jersey on the group's list.

According to the report, the average national rent for a two-bedroom unit is $900 a month, up 7 percent from last year.

On Oahu the average rent is $1,630, higher than the state average of $1,509.

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A new report by an affordable-housing advocacy group says Hawaii is the nation's most expensive state for renters.

The study by the National Low Income Housing Coalition says workers in the state must earn a little more than $29 per hour to afford the average two-bedroom apartment, which goes for $1,509 a month. That comes to $60,355 annually, about $16,000 more than the median income of renters in the state, according to the report.

The group defines "affordable" as spending no more than 30 percent of gross income on housing.

On Oahu the rent is even higher than the state average at $1,630. Only on the Big Island was the rent for an average two-bedroom apartment less than $1,000.

"It's really out of control," said Rep. Maile Shimabukuro, chairwoman of the House Human Services and Housing Committee. "You could easily have a person with two minimum-wage jobs working full time who is still not able to pay rent."

Shimabukuro (D, Waianae-Makua) said yesterday that the gap between wages and rent explains the state's "homeless crisis."

The Legislature is considering proposals to give people up to six months to find rental housing when they are approved for rental assistance and keep low-income public housing affordable in perpetuity.

Rep. Karl Rhoads, vice chairman of the Housing Committee, said lawmakers are also considering a measure that would increase the affordable-housing requirement for developments in Kakaako.

Rhoads (D, Kakaako-Downtown) said a lack of affordable housing could force more people to leave the state, which could in turn affect local businesses.

Nearly 10,000 Hawaii residents moved from the islands to the mainland between 2006 and 2007, the largest exodus in at least eight years, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Hawaii is followed by California, New York, Massachusetts and New Jersey on the National Low Income Housing Coalition's list of the most expensive rental markets.

The group's report estimates about half of the country's renters cannot afford the average apartment appropriate for their family size.

"The current mortgage crisis has awakened everyone to what low-income renters have known for a long time: Even modest homes are too costly for most low-income families," said Sheila Crowley, president of the coalition.

The report found the average national rent is $900, up 7 percent from last year.

It determined someone must earn $36,019 per year to afford such an apartment, or $17.32 per hour.

In Hawaii, where a little less than half of the state's roughly 403,000 households rent, rents have climbed about 70 percent since 2000, according to the report.

The report says the cheapest rents are in Puerto Rico, followed by North Dakota, West Virginia, South Dakota and Arkansas.