Okinawa Housing Shortage Strains Military Families
PHOTO CAPTION: Illustrative file photo: Military family housing at Stearley Heights on Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, undergoes renovation in December 2023. About 25 percent of Okinawa's 7,273 on base family homes are currently under renovation as incoming families face long waits for housing. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo by Patrick Ciccarone.
Military families arriving in Okinawa are spending weeks moving between hotels as a severe housing shortage leaves some waiting as long as three months for a permanent home.
One Marine family spent 44 days in three hotels with their 2 year old son before finally receiving an offer for military housing.
Another family with two children and two dogs has already changed hotels four times while searching for somewhere to live.
Brig. Gen. John Gallemore, commander of the 18th Wing at Kadena Air Base, said Friday that some newly arriving families could spend up to three months in temporary lodging because of the shortage.
The problem is affecting both military housing and the civilian rental market.
The Air Force manages 7,273 military family homes across Okinawa.
About 25 percent of them are currently under renovation, according to 18th Wing Chief Master Sgt. William Cupp.
Officials expect several hundred renovated homes to become available by December, but families arriving now are competing for a limited supply of available units.
The situation outside military installations is not much better.
Only 317 of roughly 8,400 approved off base rental properties were vacant in August, according to the Air Force.
That represents a vacancy rate of less than 4 percent.
For Marine spouse Hillary Jones, the shortage turned what was supposed to be a permanent change of station into more than six weeks of temporary living.
Jones arrived on Okinawa Aug. 11 with her Marine husband and their 2 year old son.
The family stayed in three different hotels during the following 44 days.
She was finally offered a home at Camp Foster on Sept. 15.
Jones later said that if she had known how long the wait would be, she would have remained in the United States longer with family.
She said doing so would have saved her family a lot of money, grief and stress.
Marine Gunnery Sgt. Dennise Velasquez is facing a similar problem.
Velasquez arrived on Okinawa Aug. 15 with her Marine husband, two children and two Australian shepherds.
Her family has changed hotels four times.
Velasquez told Stars and Stripes that she has seen homes available outside the gates, but said the process of getting properties inspected and approved for military renters has not moved quickly enough.
The Okinawa Family Housing Office has taken steps to increase the supply.
Officials eliminated a requirement in August that previously approved rental homes undergo another inspection every time a tenant moved out.
The housing office has also added eight temporary inspectors to its 26 permanent off base housing inspectors.
But demand remains intense.
Seaside Housing, an agency serving about 700 military connected families, had approximately 250 families on its waiting list in mid September and no available properties.
Another rental agency, Tomiya Housing, said it has recently received about 10 inquiries per day from U.S. military families looking for homes.
Last year, the company said it typically received no more than four such inquiries in an entire month.
Air Force officials have also pointed to another pressure on the local rental market.
Some Okinawa property owners have converted homes that previously served military families into short term vacation rentals.
One landlord told Stars and Stripes that converting his property from a long term military rental to an Airbnb increased his monthly income by approximately $1,200.
The shortage comes as large portions of Okinawa's aging military housing inventory undergo renovation.
Kadena officials have previously acknowledged that high demand and construction have left many housing categories at or near full occupancy.
The military has begun allowing some inbound families to receive permission to live off base before they arrive in Okinawa in an effort to reduce delays.
Temporary lodging allowances can help cover some of the additional costs families face while waiting for housing.
But the disruption can extend beyond the hotel bill.
Families arriving during a permanent change of station may be living from luggage while simultaneously handling work, transportation, school enrollment, pets and other parts of establishing a new household overseas.
For some families arriving in Okinawa this year, that temporary stage is now lasting for weeks.
And military leaders are warning that, for some, it could last as long as three months.
(Source: OAF Nation)
