It is a strange housing crisis Hawaii has — that when there is a clear shortage of affordable units, there are any that go wanting for buyers. That’s what seems to be happening, though, judging by the 23 middle-income condos at Kuilei Place in Moiliili still unsold, despite pricing below market by developers BlackSand Capital and Kobayashi Group.

The developers are now tapping a new state program to add subsidies in hopes of bringing in more buyers. There’s got to be more marketing outreach done, too, rather than leaning so heavily on a state fund that really could be used for other projects.