Isles housing most costly
By Deborah Adamson
Advertiser Staff Writer
Hawai'i housing costs were the steepest in the nation in 2000, with the state making the leap from fifth place to first over a span of 10 years.
But some local experts downplayed the U.S. Census Bureau report, saying that in the three years since the census was taken, home prices in other areas have surged. Moreover, they said it's not fair to compare Hawai'i, which is essentially Honolulu, with states that have a wider variety of prices.
A report released this week by the U.S. Census bureau showed that Hawai'i homeowners paid $1,636 a month in median housing costs, which included mortgage, taxes, insurance and utilities. That was a 27 percent leap from the 1990 census.
The second most expensive state to live in was New Jersey at $1,560 a month followed by California at $1,478. Rounding out the top five were Connecticut at $1,426 and New York at $1,357. The U.S. median was $1,088.
Hawai'i residents shelled out 26.3 percent of their household income for housing costs in 2000, the highest in the nation. California was second, then Nevada and Washington tied for third.
The cheapest housing costs can be found in West Virginia, whose residents paid a median of $713.
Minus out mortgage
But for homeowners who don't pay mortgage, median housing costs in Hawai'i came in below the national average — meaning that taxes, utilities, insurance and other housing expenses were easier on local pockets than some other locations. Residents paid $271 a month — or 10 percent of household income — up from $217 in 1990. Over the same time frame, the U.S. average had risen to $295 from $267.
Hit with the steepest costs were New Jersey residents at $567 a month. Connecticut, New York, New Hampshire and Rhode Island followed with costs above $400.
The least expensive was Kentucky, at $214.
But the census report is misleading, said Mike Sklarz, chief valuation officer of Fidelity National Information Solutions in Honolulu, who compiles real estate data.
"It's mixing apples and oranges," he said. "Hawai'i is practically Honolulu. The more relevant comparison is Honolulu to Los Angeles. As a city, we're above average, but certainly not the most expensive."
Honolulu's median price for existing single-family homes was $372,200 in the second quarter of 2003, the 12th-highest metropolitan area in the nation, Sklarz said. San Francisco came in first, at nearly $541,000, followed by San Jose at $526,520, Salinas at $473,000, Orange County at $464,000 and the Santa Cruz-Watsonville area at $452,250 — all in California.
In the second quarter of 2000, median home prices in Hawai'i were ninth highest in the country, he said. The highest price tags were found in San Jose, San Francisco, Salinas, Santa Cruz-Watsonville area and Boston.
Median prices soar
In the past three years, the median price of San Francisco, Salinas and Santa Cruz-Watsonville soared by about $100,000 from 2000 to 2003. Orange County leaped $150,000. In contrast, Ho-nolulu went up by $72,000 in the three years.
"These other markets have had dramatic moves from 2000," Sklarz said.
Indeed, another weakness of the census data is its late release, said Carl Bonham, an economist at the University of Hawai'i Economic Research Organization.
"It's so dated," he said. "I will only use data from the census that I can't get anywhere else."
Reach Deborah Adamson at dadamson@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8088.
