Report: vacation rentals and out‑of‑state buyers shrink Hawaiʻi’s resident housing stock

The HHPS highlights that a significant share of Hawaiʻi’s housing stock is unavailable to local residents because units are used seasonally or purchased by non‑residents for vacation or investment use. The report notes 35,884 seasonal units in 2022 and estimates that out‑of‑state buyers accounted for $6.12 billion in residential purchases in 2022, with continental U.S. buyers responsible for $5.46 billion of that total.

The study distinguishes "Visitor Rental Units" (VRUs) — entire homes rented out frequently throughout the year — from seasonal units that are occupied only occasionally. Using Airbnb's 2023 reporting as a conservative anchor, the HHPS cites roughly 9,534 frequently rented entire‑home listings as a lower‑bound estimate for VRUs and notes a higher seasonal upper bound (≈30,000) when broader definitions are used. The report models the removal of VRUs and unavailable OOS‑owned units from resident supply when calculating the shortage and flags policy levers — stricter registration, taxes or fees, and incentives to convert units back to long‑term housing — as potential ways to reclaim units for residents.

"Of Hawaiʻi’s 568,058 total housing units in 2022, 35,884 units (over two thirds of unavailable units) are unavailable to meet resident demand due to seasonal, recreational, or occasional use," the report states. The authors recommend county‑specific strategies (taxes, registration, targeted conversions and owner incentives) and note tradeoffs: reclaiming units could reduce visitor revenue but would quickly increase resident supply where seasonal units are concentrated.