About 900 Hawaii residents want one, but only about 300 can have one. That sums up the competition for affordable homes in a planned high-rise condominium near Ala Moana Center slated to start construction in the next few months.

The developer of the project called Kapiolani Residence released the results of a recently ended application process to buy 292 affordable units restricted to local residents with moderate incomes in the 484-unit tower.

SamKoo Pacific LLC had been soliciting qualified buyers who had until Aug. 31 to submit applications with brokerage firm Locations.

Applicants who meet all requirements will be entered into a lottery drawing expected to be held before the end of the year. A state agency, the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corp., is verifying buyer criteria and will notify qualified applicants.

The response from buyers indicates that demand for moderately priced housing remains strong even as demand has softened for some luxury Honolulu condo projects that include one called Vida at 888 Ala Moana that was cancelled in January because of insufficient demand.

In April, a lottery was held for 375 moderately priced condos in a planned Kakaako tower called Ke Kilohana for which 956 prospective buyers applied.

“There is a huge demographic who need this type of housing,” said Ricky Cassiday, a local housing market researcher.

Timothy Yi, SamKoo Pacific president, said he wasn’t surprised by the interest his project received. “The vast interest in the Kapiolani Residence project is a clear indicator of the demand for affordable housing units in Honolulu,” he said in a statement.

The SamKoo project at 1631 Kapiolani Blvd. immediately mauka of the Ala Moana Hotel was required to make at least 60 percent of units affordable to households earning no more than 120 percent of the annual median income for Honolulu, which equates to $84,480 for a single person and $120,600 for a family of four. Some units also are reserved for households who earn no more than 80 percent of the median income, or $56,320 for a single person and $80,400 for a family of four.

Prices for the affordable units range from $270,800 for a studio with 460 square feet of living space to $589,900 for a three-bedroom unit with 1,331 square feet of living space. Most of these units are in the bottom half of the 45-story building.

SamKoo plans to release the other 192 units for sale at market prices later this year.

The developer produced the affordable units under HHFDC affordable-housing provisions that provide SamKoo with benefits including relief from paying state general excise taxes and about $17 million in city fees for permitting, park dedication and other things.

Other benefits, which were approved by the Honolulu City Council, allow the tower to be about 2-1/2 times more dense and sit closer to streets and property lines than normally permitted. Also, the tower will rise 400 feet, which is in line with what the city envisions for sites close to rail stations that include the Kapiolani Residence site, but is 50 feet higher than the standard limit.