Honolulu, Hawaii, is having trouble due to foreclosure

Honolulu is witnessing the worst downturn ever. Families have been forced to leave their homes. Faith Action for Community Equity has recently organized a meeting with Mayor Mufi Hannemann to address the problem plaguing Americans. The proposed River Street Transitional Shelter is a pointer to the problems plaguing the city. The problem shows that the government has failed to make affordable housing. In fact, there is no singular, uniform policy for the Honolulu city and county.

The number of homeless is only set to rise. There is also a lack of reasonable rentals. Naturally, the people are struggling to avert foreclosure. There is no housing department and that has a negative impact on the real estate sector. It may be pointed out that the River Street has a lot of advantages but it is definitely not a housing project. Many disconnected decisions have been taken on the issue. It shows that the county has failed because it has no uniform housing policy.

The mayor says that housing is not a city issue. It is a country issue, the mayor observes. The stock of affordable houses in the city has been sold off and the proceeds from the sale has been used for other purposes. By doing this the mayor has stood his ground. He has also not maintained housing projects and has even evicted the homeless from the parks without providing for alternate solutions. The homeless have now gathered in Chinatown and Waikiki. They are now posing a problem for the business community there.

In fact, the River Street Project was set up because of this. However, there are fears that the government may neglect the project once the project comes up. Experts feel that the city must call a meeting to initiate mortgage assistance to the people. Neighbourhood stabilization programs must also be initiated.

Housing experts also say that there must be a comprehensive policy in all areas of foreclosure prevention, and affordable housing opportunities. Many feel that the crux of the problem lies in unemployment. Unless jobs are created, even those with sound credit histories will default. Hence, foreclosures will continue to plague the economy. The worst hit states are California, Arizona and Nevada. Many homes have a negative equity meaning that people owe more on these homes than what they are worth. Now when that happens, people will find it better to walk away from the homes.

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