A report by UH economists says building regulations here are the most onerous in the U.S., just as our home prices are the highest.

Here’s how you can make it happen on O‘ahu, even without a big loan from your family.

The only short-term rentals still legal got their permits before 1990 or are in the resort areas of Waikīkī, Ko Olina or Turtle Bay.

As on Maui, mainland buyers of local homes had a bigger impact on both islands than they did on O‘ahu. Meanwhile, the number of transactions is declining statewide and prices continue to rise.

They bought more than a third of all homes sold on Maui last year and accounted for almost half of the money spent.

Three-quarters of all single-family homes and condos sold last year were purchased by local residents, but that proportion was down – as was the proportion of dollars spent.

Realtors say that’s a normal part of the real estate cycle: Condo sales usually increase when fewer single-family homes are for sale.

Resort/golf course sales and vacant land sales each totaled almost a billion dollars, according to a year-end report from Colliers Hawaii. About half of the purchase volume was made by Hawai‘i-based investors.