Hawaii's Department of Hawaiian Homelands handed out 24 new home leases in West Oahu, a win for Native Hawaiian families who have waited decades for land.

• Some families on the waitlist have been waiting since 1977, and officials say many elderly beneficiaries are dying before getting a home, pushing the department toward faster building methods.
• The homes are factory-built modular units rather than traditionally constructed, cutting build time down to as little as two weeks and allowing production around the clock.
• Each home comes fully equipped with appliances, solar water heaters, and air conditioning, aiming to make the homes livable and affordable from day one.
• The department wants to build its own modular-home factory on its own land in Kapolei, using a identified 28-acre industrial site, and is even planning to harvest invasive eucalyptus trees on the Big Island for construction materials.
• The bigger rollout is stuck behind money: officials say they need about $6 billion to build out infrastructure for everyone still on the waitlist, though the governor has been shifting state budget and land toward the program.

Outlook: More projects are planned for 2027, but how fast homes get built depends on securing billions in funding and growing the construction workforce through union training programs.