THE SENATE

S.C.R. NO.

96

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2003

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

supporting the hawaii homeownership center.

 

WHEREAS, Hawaii historically lags in the nation in homeownership rates, hovering around fifty-five per cent during the last ten years, compared to sixty-five per cent nationwide; and

WHEREAS, homeownership strengthens communities because homeowners live in one location four times longer than renters, are more likely to volunteer in their community schools and organizations and neighborhood associations than are renters, and are more likely to vote; and

WHEREAS, homeownership strengthens families because homeowners have twelve times more equity than comparable renters, with sixty-six per cent of the equity in the value of their homes, and homeowners' children are more likely to go to college and to become homeowners themselves; and

WHEREAS, homeownership is good for business because assisting two hundred fifty new homeowners will result in $16 million to lenders over a ten-year period, and building two-hundred fifty single-family homes will create six hundred twelve full-time jobs in construction, transportation, and trade; and

WHEREAS, an estimated twenty-seven thousand households who rent on Oahu would qualify for a mortgage and an additional thirteen thousand renter households would be eligible for a mortgage if they reduced their level of debt; and

WHEREAS, market research in Hawaii identified five major barriers to homeownership, namely inadequate income in relation to housing costs, excessive debt, lack of down payment, lack of information about the value and means of becoming a homeowner, and feelings of hopelessness; and

WHEREAS, homeownership centers in other communities throughout the nation have been successful in reaching lower-income and underrepresented groups of potential new homeowners; and

WHEREAS, the Hawaii Homeownership Center is a newly incorporated nonprofit organization that will serve as a "one stop shop" for assisting individuals and families in becoming successful homeowners and will help to significantly increase the number of homeowners in Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, the Hawaii Homeownership Center is being assisted by the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation, a congressionally-chartered nonprofit organization that works toward increasing homeownership for low-income and moderate-income buyers; and

WHEREAS, over seventy volunteers representing lenders, realtors, insurance companies, developers, housing advocates, nonprofit agencies, and government continue to work to develop the Hawaii Homeownership Center; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-Second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2003, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Legislature supports and encourages the operation of the Hawaii Homeownership Center; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, mayors of the City and County of Honolulu, County of Hawaii, County of Maui, and County of Kauai, Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation, and Hawaii Homeownership Center.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

Hawaii Homeownership Center