Several decades in the making, there is no pain-free fix for our affordable housing problem. Oahu needs some 24,000 affordable housing units to meet pent-up demand, but the marketplace is adding only 2,000 to 3,000 units to the supply annually, with most priced in the luxury bracket.

This week, two state agencies tasked with chipping away at the problem made decisions that aim to step up slow-moving affordable housings efforts. In one case, the Hawaii Community Development Authority (HCDA) board is to be lauded for boldly extending the length of time that a portion of Kakaako rental and for-sale units must be reserved for below-market prices.

In the other case, long-stalled talks prompted the Hawaii Public Housing Authority (HPHA) to end a private-public partnership tied to adding new low-income rentals to the state’s largest public housing project. The agency must now quickly regroup to build about 450 new homes mostly for low-income residents in Kalihi next to the Towers at Kuhio Park.

Islandwide, three-quarters of the demand for affordable housing is for households earning less than 80 percent of area median income (AMI). HPHA helps those solidly in that bracket — households earning 60 percent to less than 30 percent AMI. That high-end translates to $60,310 for a family of four, according to data calculated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The HCDA targets moderate-income households — 80 percent to 140 percent AMI, and maintains that affordability means spending no more 33 percent of gross monthly income on housing expenses.

In a commendable move to ensure that Honolulu’s hottest area for residential development, Kakaako, will include housing inventory set below sky-high prices in decades to come, the HCDA board is doubling the length of the affordable term for rental apartments built under that requirement to 30 years from 15 years.

Also, it’s tweaking for-sale housing terms. In cases in which a property owner wants to resell an affordable unit within 30 years of purchase, HCDA has the option of buying it back at a discounted rate and re-selling it, with the price tag based on the 120 percent AMI level. That marks a reduction from previous terms linked to 140 percent AMI. Also, previously, HCDA’s option to repurchase units was limited to within two to five years of initial purchase, depending on the project.

Given the island’s housing crisis — underscored with homelessness complexities — the HCDA is right to push ahead, despite objections from nay-saying developers who contend that the amendments will result in fewer projects being built. Here’s hoping HCDA’s stand spurs creative minds to dig deep and find ways to help solve the affordability problem dogging moderately priced housing.

In Kalihi, low-income housing got a boost when HPHA teamed up with New Jersey-based affordable-housing development firm The Michaels Organization, along with another developer, and completed an initial $135 million phase that revitalized twin 16-story towers formerly known as Kuhio Park Terrace in 2012. But protracted negotiations over a more-complicated second phase ended in an impasse, unfortunately, with HPHA parting ways with Michaels.

HPHA has said the split will allow the agency to find another developer while saving taxpayers money and expediting the work. That’s an optimistic outlook, given that progress has been stalled for four years. State officials must push onward with the second phase, which includes replacement of 176 obsolete public housing units known as Kuhio Homes and Kuhio Park Terrace Low-Rise.

Last month’s Honolulu Board of Realtors report tagged the median selling price for Oahu condominiums at $419,000, up 5 percent from $398,000 a year ago. The median price for a single-family home: $786,250, up from $747,500. Housing costs are steadily rising, lifting affordability out of reach for a large swath of residents. How state agencies, such as HPHA and HCDA, handle hard choices about housing on Oahu will significantly shape the island’s future.