Community Land Trusts – A Solution to the Affordable Housing Crisis in Hawai’i

Most of our articles on Hawai’i Life these days are promoting our new listings – exposure that is much appreciated by our sellers, which is why I write those too. In addition, I try to give readers something different with my weekly-ish posts. Analysis of a market. A slice of daily life in a community. Education on some aspects of our specialized practice in conservation and legacy lands.

It has been a couple of years since I wrote about the crisis in affordable housing in Hawai’i. In many of my daily conversations, “affordable” housing is kind of a sensitive topic given that Hawaii Life is the leading residential real estate brokerage in the luxury home space in Hawai’i, and for years we had an extraordinarily popular TV show with a tag line encouraging folks to move to Hawai’i if they just wanted it. But just as much, we are genuinely a locally owned and operated company and every day we have agents working tirelessly to keep Hawai’i, Hawai’i – which includes making sure that people who are born and raised in Hawai’i can continue to live, work, and thrive here.

The article I wrote in 2022 focused on State and county government efforts to address the looming crisis in affordable housing for locals as home prices skyrocketed in Hawai’i (and elsewhere) post-pandemic. But if you click on the link and watch the video embedded in that post, I mention something about a “community land trust” as a solution to our local housing crisis. “Community land trust” is a particular model of non-profit organization dedicated to keeping housing affordable in perpetuity. We now have six of them active in Hawai’i. And Hawai’i Life agents are at the forefront of bringing this proven model to our communities.

Constructing new homes is one way to create affordable. housing; keeping existing housing stock affordable is another tactic for which community land trusts are an ideal mechanism.

What Is a Community Land Trust?

Much like a conservation land trust, when a community land trust (CLT) owns residential real estate, the intention is that the property will never again be sold on the open market at prevailing prices. Property owned by a CLT will always be maintained as affordable to low- and middle-income people, within a community defined geographically.

When an individual or family purchases a home from a community land trust, they agree that if and when they would need to sell in the future, they will sell to another resident on the CLTs list of qualified buyers, or back to the CLT. They also agree to a formula which allows them to only gain a modest amount of equity in a future sale.

This mechanism is perhaps more familiar to the general public in Hawai’i than in many locations, given that we have large landowners with statewide portfolios where only the improvements are sold along with an underlying ground lease, so called leasehold property. There are currently 471 active listings that are leasehold rather than fee simple. Many Kona coffee farms are Bishop Estate leasehold properties. So are some condominiums on Ali’i Drive in Kailua Kona or in Waikiki on O’ahu.

Because the value of the land is not included in the sale, the community land trust model is an effective strategy for creating a pool of housing that remains affordable despite appreciating land values. There are well over 200 community land trusts across the United States, serving a range of needs from populous urban areas to indigenous rural communities.

Housing, jobs, cost of living, and protection of community character are all concerns of Kohala Community Land Trust

Hawai’i Life Brokers and Agents Are Active in Community Land Trusts Across the State

Kohala Community Land Trust Annual Membership Meeting in January 2025 had a full house – from keiki to kupuna

The first community land trust to acquire properties in Hawai’i, Na Hale O Maui, was organized in 2006 and currently has 50 homes in their portfolio, with 129 additional families qualified to buy and waiting for an opportunity. Hawai’i Life broker and Lahaina resident Pamela Reader recent joined the Board of this established community land trust.

Over on Hawai’i Island, three Hawai’i Life brokers (Denni Keyes, Teri Takata, and myself) are among the eight North Kohala residents who decided to revitalize the Kohala Community Land Trust – which actually received its 501(c)(3) status in 2003 – earlier than the Maui version – but folded before acquiring any properties. Enthusiastically received by the Kohala community with over 120 active members in its first months as a non-profit, we will spend 2025  establishing policies and procedures, raising funds, and acquiring our first properties.

The other community land trusts currently active in Hawaiʻi include Lahaina Community Land Trust on Maui; Hawaiʻi HomeOwnership Center Housing and Land Trust on Oʻahu; Hoʻomaluhia Land Trust which hold properties developed by PAL-Hawaiʻi on Kauai; and HALE o Hawaiʻi, which was founded in 2018 in the wake of the Kilauea eruption that displaced residents of Puna district on Hawaiʻi Island.

Whether you own a home in Hawaiʻi, or just love visiting, please consider supporting these organizations that make it possible for Hawaiiʻs working families to continue to raise their children where they were raised. And if you have property that might be suitable for ownership by a CLT, they would welcome donations or below-market sales.