Hawaii's Housing Boom Results In Dangerous Housing Choices

Where in the U.S. can you get an acre of land with ocean views, beach, palm trees and full-year sun for only $15,000 an acre?

1 minute read

March 8, 2005, 11:00 AM PST

By Chris Steins @planetizen

In Hilo, Hawaii, on the side of a volcano.

"The Big Island is the fastest-growing of all the Hawaiian Islands, adding more than 35,000 residents in the last 15 years. The term "building boom" is uttered by both residents who laud it and old-timers who wish it had never started.

...Ordinary people of modest means can own a morsel of paradise.But there is the matter of the volcanoes, which is one reason the land is so cheap. You would have to live on one. The Big Island is really nothing more than the tops of five volcanoes merged into a land mass about the size of Los Angeles County, 4,000 square miles. Living on the island, for most, means living on a slope."

Thanks to Chris Steins

FULL STORY: The Lure of Life on Lava

Tuesday, March 8, 2005 in The Los Angeles Times

Housing Hawaii

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