A strong economic recovery in Hawaii has boosted employment, dropping the state’s jobless rate to a 9-year low at 3 percent. It also has raised property values, which, especially in the islands, cuts two ways.

High housing demand and rising property values increase personal wealth and boost prospects for anyone in the sellers’ market, but it also augurs a bigger bill for property taxes for those holding onto the property.

Above all, it further raises Hawaii’s already sky-high housing costs, a particular burden for lower-income residents, many of them already struggling to pay their monthly rent.

Now there’s clear evidence that Oahu’s few “affordable” communities are starting to gentrify. This signals that the window is closing for developing affordable housing, and officials must capitalize on every opportunity to do so.

Specifically, the upward home price trend now is particularly affecting lower-priced properties.

On Oahu, the problem is particularly acute. Last week, Honolulu tax officials reported that the total assessed value of taxable property across the island will rise 5.9 percent in 2017, increasing 5.2 percent for residential owners.

This has been affecting high-end properties for some time, but now the shortage of housing inventory has turned buying interest to the more affordable homes. Waianae Coast will be hit the hardest, with a 12.6 percent rise in assessments.

It’s alarming news for taxpayers there. The city tax collectors multiply the value of a property by a rate set each June by the Honolulu City Council to arrive at the annual tax bill.

Unless there’s a cut in residential rates, Leeward residential property owners will pay taxes that are up by double digits.

But it’s even more alarming for those worried about increasing homelessness. The state is now some 64,000 units short of what it needs to meet housing demand by 2020, according to a 2014 update of figures published by the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corp., a state agency that channels public financing to private developers of affordable housing.

In 2014 HHFDC projected that on Oahu, 16,113 dwelling units will be needed to accommodate future housing need. This doubles the size of the housing deficit unmet since 2000.

Oahu’s west side has been growing by leaps and bounds. Kapolei’s university campus, rail terminus and new major shopping center signal that the long-promised “second city” has arrived. Last week more details emerged about a Chinese firm’s plans for its Atlantis resort development at Ko Olina.

Formerly hesitant buyers now see they can live within easy reach of shopping, entertainment, jobs and business — and the Waianae Coast no longer seems so far away.

There are various stakeholder groups who should be taking notice.

City and state officials need to ensure that its special funds to underwrite affordable rental projects are put to optimal use. The city’s newly chartered land management agency should redouble efforts in that direction.

Given that the west coast is home to a large Native Hawaiian population, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands should be looking for opportunities to acquire land for housing that their beneficiaries can afford. This may involve partnership arrangements or outright purchases.

For example: Rowena Akana, the newly elected chair of the OHA board of trustees, said that she hopes to revive the agency’s past collaborations on “self-help” housing projects, in which future residents invest sweat equity in the building of homes they can purchase. This, and other creative solutions, should be pursued.

Nicole Woo, senior policy analyst at the nonprofit Hawaii Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice, said government should look for opportunities to make better use of publicly owned land for public purposes such as housing.

She also cited the potential yield of rental units and other low-cost housing solutions in transit-oriented development (TOD) along the 20-mile rail route, starting in East Kapolei.

That end of the TOD enterprise has yet to materialize, but in the blueprints for towers at the lucrative Ala Moana end of the tracks, developers already seem less than enthused about delivering affordable housing where it’s needed.

For its part, the city administration must see that any exemptions from height and density limits given to developers be offset by significant contributions in public benefits. Affordable rentals for working families and individuals are most critically needed — from the west side to the urban core.

In its April report, “The State of Poverty in Hawai‘i,” Hawaii Appleseed calculated that an hourly wage of $31.61 is needed to afford a market-priced two-bedroom rental. The average hourly wage of a renter here is $14.49.

Clearly, there’s a gap in what the housing market alone will provide. And time is running out for government to build bridges.