LIHU‘E — Housing on Kaua‘i is anything but affordable, according to Anne Punohu of the Kaua‘i Fair Housing Law Coalition.

Even though median home values on Kaua‘i have been falling from about $615,000 in November 2008 to $467,500 last month, according to Multiple Listing Services, prices remain unaffordable for a lot of the island’s working class.

Factor in sky-high rents and most people are forced to work at least two jobs just to stay afloat, Punohu said Sunday.

“It’s no way to live,” she added.

One would have to earn at least $29 per hour to afford the “most expensive rentals in the nation,” where a two-bedroom unit averages $1,500 a month, Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. said during a presentation Thursday on sustainable and affordable housing. The meeting was hosted by Kaua‘i Planning & Action Alliance and Kaua‘i Association of Architects.

No more than 30 percent of one’s income should be allotted for housing in order to be deemed affordable, he said.

And if the median income on island is around $47,000, then 30 percent of take-home pay would amount to around $1,100 a month for a mortgage or rent. In other words, one could only afford a $180,000 home, said architect and sustainability consultant Peter Arsenault.

“It is clear that there is some creative financing here,” he said, as members of Thursday’s audience chuckled.

“More work needs to be done to address this situation,” Carvalho said regarding creating more affordable housing projects to meet the rising demand.

Among the recently completed projects adding to the county’s affordable housing inventory are 80 units at Kalepa Village in Lihu‘e, 82 units at Courtyards at Waipouli and 18 Habitat for Humanity homes in ‘Ele‘ele.

While Carvalho did not stay for the duration of Thursday’s presentation to answer questions at the end, Grove Farm Company Senior Vice President Michael Tresler fielded inquires pertaining to the “realities” of constructing affordable housing on island.

To start, it can take anywhere from 10 to 20 years to be shovel ready when factoring in re-zoning and permitting processes, as well as infrastructure requirements along the way, he said.

“There is a lot that goes into those years” he said. “It’s a back and forth until you get it right and satisfy the powers to be.”

In addition, through the evolution, “conditions upon conditions” are given to the developer, he said.

“All these costs affect housing prices,” he said. “We’re not going to do a project if we’re not going to make money.”

The trouble is once the projects are completed, it can be a challenge for some kama‘aina to qualify, Punohu said Sunday.

“There’s nothing affordable about them,” she said. “The prices are far too high for the actual reality of what we have here.”

Hourly pay for entry-level jobs at a lot of businesses on island usually starts only slightly above the $7.25 minimum wage, she said.

When people are faced with these difficult circumstances, a slew of socioeconomic factors like homelessness, abuse and drug addiction stand at an increased likelihood of prevailing, she added.

“Housing prices need to become doable for working class families so that they can afford to have a decent home and decent home life,” Punohu said.