Report puts isle beaches in top 4 for clean water
Only 3 percent of shoreline samples exceeded health standards last year
By Allison Schaefers
Article from: Star-Advertiser
Hawaii ranks No. 4 in the nation in an environmental group’s annual survey of ocean water quality analyzed from government data in 30 coastal states.
A report indicating that Hawaii beachgoers swam in some of the nation’s cleanest ocean water last year brings bragging rights for residents and the tourism industry.
Hawaii had the fourth cleanest beach water of 30 coastal states surveyed in the 21st annual beach water quality report released Wednesday by the Natural Resources Defense Council. Only 3 percent of Hawaii’s water samples exceeded health standards in 2010, the environmental group said.
“Clean beach water is not only good for public health, it supports healthy coastal economies that generate billions of dollars and support millions of American jobs,” said David Beckman, director of the NRDC Water Program.”
Mike McCartney, Hawaii Tourism Authority president and chief executive, characterized Hawaii’s ranking as “priceless,” especially as the visitor industry heads deeper into summer.
“It’s good news for Hawaii and it’s good news for the visitor industry,” McCartney said. “It will enhance the momentum that we want to continue in the market.”
Water quality ratings in the NRDC’s report, which analyzes government data on beach water testing results, varied by island and beach. While only 1 percent of Oahu’s samples exceeded health standards, rates were 2 percent for Maui and Hawaii and 8 percent for Kauai.
The report singled out three Kauai beaches as having water samples that exceeded state standards. They were Lumahai Beach with 29 percent of samples, Kalihiwai Bay, 27 percent, and Waimea Recreation Pier State Park, 24 percent.
“All three of these beaches are near rivers and sometimes get runoff,” said Sue Kanoho, director of the Kauai Visitors and Convention Bureau. “The good news is that we have not had any complaints about people going into these waters and getting sick and the (state) Department of Health has not cited any problems.”
Other Kauai beaches such as Anahola, Poipu and Brennecke received good reports, Kanoho said.
Hanauma Bay and Kuhio Beach near the Royal Hawaiian and the Westin Moana Surfrider were among examples of Oahu’s cleanest beaches.
Settling ponds help divert runoff and keep Hanauma Bay clear, said Alan Hong, who was its longtime property manager before retiring on June 1.
"These ponds catch the parking area and lawn runoff and filter out silt and trap chemicals,” Hong said.
Ahmed Maqbool of Fremont, Calif., who was playing in the ocean near Waikiki on Wednesday, said Hawaii’s clean beaches are a strong selling point.
“For me, this beach is much cleaner than others,” Maqbool said. “San Francisco is a beautiful city, but some of its beaches are dirty and you wouldn’t want to swim there.”
California beaches were the 22nd worst for pollution standards among coastal states, the NRDC report said.
Beckman said he uses the report to make decisions about where to swim with his family and that the public should, too.
“Water quality matters,” he said. “You don’t want to go swimming and end up with a rash or something worse.”
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Visitor Spending in Hawaii Up $50.9 Million in May To $912.3 Million
Visitor spending up $50.9 million in May
Though Hawaii arrivals showed only marginal gains, the amount paid out rose 5.9 percent from a year ago
By Allison Schaefers
Article from: Star-Advertiser
Visitors spent an average of $10 more a day in May than in May 2010, the Hawaii Tourism Authority reported Tuesday. Last month, 553,505 visitors came to Hawaii and spent $912.3 million.
Hawaii’s visitor industry continued rebounding in May, and the momentum is expected to build through summer.
VISITOR ARRIVALS
The number of visitors arriving in Hawaii by air in May with the percentage change from the same month last year:
VISITORS PCT.
Domestic 411,758 2.8%
International 137,101 -6.5%
Total 548,859 0.3%
Grand total* 553,505 0.6%
BY ISLAND
Oahu 345,147 0.3%
Kauai 81,632 5.5%
Lanai 6,105 6.8%
Maui 161,039 0.6%
Molokai 3,587 -2.3%
Big Island 96,504 1.8%
* Includes ship arrivals
Although total visitor arrivals remained essentially flat in May due to the continued drop in Japan arrivals, total visitor spending grew 5.9 percent, the Hawaii Tourism Authority said Tuesday. The $50.9 million gain from May 2010 was the 13th consecutive month of increased visitor spending, HTA officials said. The 553,505 visitors that came to Hawaii in May spent a total of $912.3 million. Average daily spending rose by $10 to $185 a day.
The numbers show that the industry is regaining strength in 2011, said Mike McCartney, HTA president and chief executive.
“We anticipate activity to remain strong through the second half of the year, with increased airlift out of Asia and Oceania, and the establishment of the China Eastern Airlines service from Honolulu to Shanghai beginning in August,” McCartney said. “Our goal is to build on this momentum so that tourism can continue to drive Hawaii’s economic recovery.”
While continued effects from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan depressed tourism in the second quarter, numbers from elsewhere were not as bad as anticipated, said Shari Chang, senior vice president of marketing and revenue management at Aston Hotels & Resorts.
In May, arrivals from Canada grew 19 percent helping to offset a 17.1 percent drop from Japan and minimal gains from other markets, according to the HTA. Arrivals from Hawaii’s core U.S. West market grew 0.8 percent, while arrivals from the U.S. East rose 1.8 percent.
SHOW ME THE MONEY
The monthly visitor expenditures of visitors to Hawaii and the percentage change from the year-ago period.
2011
Month Spent Change
May $912.3M +5.9%
April $920.7M +20.2%
March $980.7M +11.8%
February $1.01B +18.7%
January $1.18B +19.8%
YTD total $5.01B +15.3%
2010
Month Spent Change
December $1.11B +17.9%
November $976.0M +30.4%
October $961.5M +24.7%
September $880.2M +22.2%
August $1.08B +30.0%
July $1.11B +23.3%
June $948.9M +16.1%
May $861.4M +15.9%
April $765.8M -0.7%
March $877.3M +12.0%
February $853.5M +0.8%
January $985.8M +4.1%
YTD total $11.4B +16.2%
Source: Hawaii Tourism Authority
For the first five months of the year, overall visitor spending was up 15.3 percent to $5 billion, and total arrivals grew by 6.7 percent to about 2.96 million visitors, HTA reported.
“Most of us are cautiously optimistic,” Chang said. “Moving into summer, we were concerned about gas and oil prices. But those seemed to have settled, and customers are adapting.”
Elaine and Doug Walker, who were walking Waikiki Beach on Tuesday with their 4-year-old daughter, Elise, said that they used airline points to offset higher fares to Honolulu. They also flew from Bellingham, Wash., instead of Seattle, Elaine Walker said.
“They added a new nonstop and offered fares that were about $160 cheaper,” Elaine Walker said. “It pays to shop around.”
Travelers responded strongly to discount summer specials launched in April and May by Pleasant Holidays LLC, Hawaii’s largest wholesaler.
“June was up by double digits,” said Jack Richards, Pleasant’s president and CEO. He said he expects July will see the same increase.
In the next day or so, Pleasant will launch specials for August travel, which is coming in slow, Richards said.
“These are probably going to be the best Hawaii prices of the year,” he said.
Summer travelers will have their pick of hotel values, especially in Waikiki and in Kona, said Barry Wallace, executive vice president of hospitality services for Outrigger Enterprises.
While hoteliers have enjoyed some summer rate growth, Wallace said the five or so large group properties in Waikiki that lost the most Japanese business are offering specials, hindering rate growth at other properties. Some Kona hotels are still recovering from the loss of Japan Airlines flights, he said.
“Most years, if you waited until now to book Hawaii, you’d have a hard time,” Wallace. “This year, you’ll not only get a room, but chances are that you’ll get a great rate, too.”
None of the hotels are discount crazy like they were at the bottom of the market; however, travelers still can come away with a deal, Chang said.
“There are some really strong packages out there,” she said. “Hotels don’t want to advertise really low rates, so they’ll fold them into opaque channels like Priceline where it’s harder for consumers to see them.”
Reasonable rates encouraged the Mickels family of Fort Worth, Texas, to book a long-awaited Oahu trip, said Kim Mickels, who was sunbathing Tuesday as her children enjoyed Waikiki’s sand and surf.
“We’ve been wanting to come for about 10 years,” Mickels said. “We thought prices were very reasonable.”
GAINING STRENGTH
The monthly total and percentage
change in visitor arrivals to Hawaii.
2011
Month Arrivals Change
May 553,505 +0.6%
April 581,324 +5.3%
March 633,365 +4.2%
February 593,018 +11.7%
January 597,487 +12.2%
YTD total 2,958,699 +6.7%
2010
Month Arrivals Change
December 633,730 +9.6%
November 577,540 +18.2%
October 574,425 +13.6%
September 538,516 +8.9%
August 680,496 +11.8%
July 680,743 +9.0%
June 625,522 +13.6%
May 549,954 +6.5%
April 552,059 +1.9%
March 607,709 +9.3%
February 531,094 +0.7%
January 532,737 +2.0%
YTD total 7,084,525 +8.7%
Source: Hawaii Tourism Authority
Though Hawaii arrivals showed only marginal gains, the amount paid out rose 5.9 percent from a year ago
By Allison Schaefers
Article from: Star-Advertiser
Visitors spent an average of $10 more a day in May than in May 2010, the Hawaii Tourism Authority reported Tuesday. Last month, 553,505 visitors came to Hawaii and spent $912.3 million.
Hawaii’s visitor industry continued rebounding in May, and the momentum is expected to build through summer.
VISITOR ARRIVALS
The number of visitors arriving in Hawaii by air in May with the percentage change from the same month last year:
VISITORS PCT.
Domestic 411,758 2.8%
International 137,101 -6.5%
Total 548,859 0.3%
Grand total* 553,505 0.6%
BY ISLAND
Oahu 345,147 0.3%
Kauai 81,632 5.5%
Lanai 6,105 6.8%
Maui 161,039 0.6%
Molokai 3,587 -2.3%
Big Island 96,504 1.8%
* Includes ship arrivals
Although total visitor arrivals remained essentially flat in May due to the continued drop in Japan arrivals, total visitor spending grew 5.9 percent, the Hawaii Tourism Authority said Tuesday. The $50.9 million gain from May 2010 was the 13th consecutive month of increased visitor spending, HTA officials said. The 553,505 visitors that came to Hawaii in May spent a total of $912.3 million. Average daily spending rose by $10 to $185 a day.
The numbers show that the industry is regaining strength in 2011, said Mike McCartney, HTA president and chief executive.
“We anticipate activity to remain strong through the second half of the year, with increased airlift out of Asia and Oceania, and the establishment of the China Eastern Airlines service from Honolulu to Shanghai beginning in August,” McCartney said. “Our goal is to build on this momentum so that tourism can continue to drive Hawaii’s economic recovery.”
While continued effects from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan depressed tourism in the second quarter, numbers from elsewhere were not as bad as anticipated, said Shari Chang, senior vice president of marketing and revenue management at Aston Hotels & Resorts.
In May, arrivals from Canada grew 19 percent helping to offset a 17.1 percent drop from Japan and minimal gains from other markets, according to the HTA. Arrivals from Hawaii’s core U.S. West market grew 0.8 percent, while arrivals from the U.S. East rose 1.8 percent.
SHOW ME THE MONEY
The monthly visitor expenditures of visitors to Hawaii and the percentage change from the year-ago period.
2011
Month Spent Change
May $912.3M +5.9%
April $920.7M +20.2%
March $980.7M +11.8%
February $1.01B +18.7%
January $1.18B +19.8%
YTD total $5.01B +15.3%
2010
Month Spent Change
December $1.11B +17.9%
November $976.0M +30.4%
October $961.5M +24.7%
September $880.2M +22.2%
August $1.08B +30.0%
July $1.11B +23.3%
June $948.9M +16.1%
May $861.4M +15.9%
April $765.8M -0.7%
March $877.3M +12.0%
February $853.5M +0.8%
January $985.8M +4.1%
YTD total $11.4B +16.2%
Source: Hawaii Tourism Authority
For the first five months of the year, overall visitor spending was up 15.3 percent to $5 billion, and total arrivals grew by 6.7 percent to about 2.96 million visitors, HTA reported.
“Most of us are cautiously optimistic,” Chang said. “Moving into summer, we were concerned about gas and oil prices. But those seemed to have settled, and customers are adapting.”
Elaine and Doug Walker, who were walking Waikiki Beach on Tuesday with their 4-year-old daughter, Elise, said that they used airline points to offset higher fares to Honolulu. They also flew from Bellingham, Wash., instead of Seattle, Elaine Walker said.
“They added a new nonstop and offered fares that were about $160 cheaper,” Elaine Walker said. “It pays to shop around.”
Travelers responded strongly to discount summer specials launched in April and May by Pleasant Holidays LLC, Hawaii’s largest wholesaler.
“June was up by double digits,” said Jack Richards, Pleasant’s president and CEO. He said he expects July will see the same increase.
In the next day or so, Pleasant will launch specials for August travel, which is coming in slow, Richards said.
“These are probably going to be the best Hawaii prices of the year,” he said.
Summer travelers will have their pick of hotel values, especially in Waikiki and in Kona, said Barry Wallace, executive vice president of hospitality services for Outrigger Enterprises.
While hoteliers have enjoyed some summer rate growth, Wallace said the five or so large group properties in Waikiki that lost the most Japanese business are offering specials, hindering rate growth at other properties. Some Kona hotels are still recovering from the loss of Japan Airlines flights, he said.
“Most years, if you waited until now to book Hawaii, you’d have a hard time,” Wallace. “This year, you’ll not only get a room, but chances are that you’ll get a great rate, too.”
None of the hotels are discount crazy like they were at the bottom of the market; however, travelers still can come away with a deal, Chang said.
“There are some really strong packages out there,” she said. “Hotels don’t want to advertise really low rates, so they’ll fold them into opaque channels like Priceline where it’s harder for consumers to see them.”
Reasonable rates encouraged the Mickels family of Fort Worth, Texas, to book a long-awaited Oahu trip, said Kim Mickels, who was sunbathing Tuesday as her children enjoyed Waikiki’s sand and surf.
“We’ve been wanting to come for about 10 years,” Mickels said. “We thought prices were very reasonable.”
GAINING STRENGTH
The monthly total and percentage
change in visitor arrivals to Hawaii.
2011
Month Arrivals Change
May 553,505 +0.6%
April 581,324 +5.3%
March 633,365 +4.2%
February 593,018 +11.7%
January 597,487 +12.2%
YTD total 2,958,699 +6.7%
2010
Month Arrivals Change
December 633,730 +9.6%
November 577,540 +18.2%
October 574,425 +13.6%
September 538,516 +8.9%
August 680,496 +11.8%
July 680,743 +9.0%
June 625,522 +13.6%
May 549,954 +6.5%
April 552,059 +1.9%
March 607,709 +9.3%
February 531,094 +0.7%
January 532,737 +2.0%
YTD total 7,084,525 +8.7%
Source: Hawaii Tourism Authority
Friday, June 24, 2011
Interesting Article On The Importance Of Getting To Know Your “Neighborhood”
7 neighborhood threats to your home’s value
Who — or what — is next door can affect how much people will pay for your home.
By Brian O’Connell of MainStreet
Article from:www.msn.com
Bad neighbors can be a serious problem, according to the Appraisal Institute. An unkempt yard, proximity to a sex offender or having certain commercial facilities nearby, such as a power plant or funeral home, can reduce the value of surrounding homes by as much as 15%.
“The impact can vary tremendously, depending on a few factors: how ‘bad’ the bad neighbor is, the kind of neighborhood you’re located in and the type of market that exists,” says Carlos Gobel, director of residential services at Integra Realty Resources in Miami.
But what exactly is a “bad” neighbor? Definitions vary, but real-estate professionals say it boils down to any home or business that turns people off.
“A bad neighbor is one that has no consideration for the rest of the community,” says Mindy Pordes, co-founder of Pordes Residential Sales & Marketing in Aventura, Fla. “For example, someone who doesn’t take care of the outside appearance of the home, such as the gardening, painting of the outside of the home, roof, garbage and general upkeep. In addition, a bad neighbor may have constant visitors taking up parking spaces, perhaps on the street, loud house parties, dogs that bark all night or stray cats lingering around.”
What’s your home worth?
A “bad” neighbor can also be a business or government enterprise whose very existence drives down the value of your property. Here are seven surprising neighbors that can reduce your home’s value:
Power plants. The data are fairly clear on the impact of a power plant on nearby home values — it usually hurts them. A study (PDF) from the University of California at Berkeley shows that home values within two miles of a power plant can be decreased between 4% and 7%.
Landfills. A study (PDF) from the Pima County, Ariz., assessor’s office shows that a subdivision near a landfill loses 6% to 10% in value compared with a subdivision that isn’t near a landfill — all other residential factors being equal, including house size, school quality and residential incomes.
Robert A. Simons, an urban planning professor at Cleveland State University, says that if you live within two miles of a Superfund site — a landfill that the government designates as a hazardous-waste site — your home’s value could decline by up to 15%.
Sex offenders. Living near a registered sex offender is one of the biggest downward drivers of home values. Researchers at Longwood University in Farmville, Va., concluded that the closer you live to a sex offender, the more your home will depreciate. In the paper, “Estimating the Effect of Crime Risk on Property Values and Time on Market: Evidence from Megan’s Law in Virginia,” Longwood researchers say, “The presence of a registered sex offender living within one-tenth of a mile reduces home values by about 9%, and these same homes take as much as 10% longer to sell than homes not located near registered sex offenders.”
Delinquent bill payers. One surprising way neighbors can bring down the value of surrounding homes, especially in town home or condo communities, is by not paying their maintenance fees or mortgages. “Bad neighbors bring values down by not paying their maintenance fees, in some cases their mortgage payments, and not maintaining the home’s appearance,” Pordes says. “These homeowners usually do not care about real-estate values.”
Foreclosed homes. Perhaps the biggest single factor that drives nearby home values down is a foreclosure. A recent study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology concludes that the value of homes within 250 feet of a foreclosed property will decrease by 1% per foreclosure, on average. Federal Reserve Governor Joseph Tracy said recently in his economic outlook for 2011: “The growing inventory of defaulted mortgages continues to weigh down any recovery in the housing market … Problems in housing markets can impact economic growth.”
Lackluster landscaping. Studies show that lawn care has a big impact on surrounding home values. Virginia Tech University released a report stating that pristine landscaping can jack up the value of a home by 5% to 11%.
Closed schools. Sometimes, neighborhood problems can stem from local government action. For example, if a cash-strapped city or town closes a neighborhood school, that can easily steer home values south. The National Association of Realtors says 75% of home shoppers say the quality and availability of schools in the neighborhood is either “somewhat important” or “very important.”
So can you fight back against problem neighbors? In the case of a landfill, power plant or sex offender, your options are severely limited. As long as your neighbors are following the letter of the law, you’ll just have to grin and bear it — or move. If not, you have every right to petition your local government authorities for a grievance and at least get the matter reviewed.
If it’s a residential property causing the problem, however, you might have better options.
For starters, you can leave a polite letter in the offending homeowner’s mailbox to get his attention. In addition, Pordes says that if the home is within a homeowners association or condo association, the association can send letters to the homeowner and deny him community privileges to encourage him to comply with the community rules and maintain home values.
Most cities and towns have ordinances against messy yards and junk-laden driveways, so check your community’s rules and regulations to see what applies.
Unfortunately, many cities and towns also have landfills, power plants and other less-than-desirable commercial-sized neighbors.
Most likely, you’re just going to have to live with them.
By Brian O’Connell of MainStreet
Article from:www.msn.com
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Interesting Article For Buyers Considering Purchasing A Foreclosed Property
This article was reported by Holden Lewis for Bankrate.com.
Is it safe to buy a foreclosure?
At first, bank-owned houses seemed like some of the best bargains in town, but then the robo-signing controversy made buying seem like a risky proposition.
It’s safe to buy a previously foreclosed-upon house if title insurance is available on it, experts say.
The “robo-signing” scandal — in which banks and law firms cut corners on foreclosure paperwork — caused some lenders to suspend foreclosures this fall while they reviewed their procedures.
What would happen to the buyer of a foreclosed house if the home previously had been wrongly repossessed?
As long as the new lender and new owner have title insurance, the former owner can’t seize the home back.
The new owner will keep the house, and the displaced former owner might be compensated with money.
“To the extent that a borrower who was foreclosed upon has recourse, it’s against the foreclosing lender, and they can seek monetary damages. But the property’s gone,” says Mark Skilling, the chief operating officer and general counsel for ForeclosureRadar, an online foreclosure data marketplace.
“The current owner who got title insurance — they get to keep the property. They’re a good-faith purchaser,” Skilling says.
That’s welcome news for homebuyers who rummage through the bargain bin of foreclosed houses.
Few consumers buy houses at foreclosure auctions. More commonly, consumers buy foreclosed properties from the banks that seized them.
The term for such houses is REO, for real-estate owned by a bank. Some real-estate agents specialize in selling REO properties.
A good share of REO houses are decrepit. Many sit empty for months before they are sold, and they end up in such bad shape that they are ineligible for mortgages. Investors often buy these REOs with cash, fix them up and sell them, just like the house flippers of the boom years.
Whether bought from the bank or from a flipper, almost all REOs are listed through real-estate agents.
Armando Montelongo, the former host of “Flip This House” on the A & E network, says certain phrases in the listing — such as “completely rehabbed” or “newly remodeled” — are signs that the dwelling was a foreclosure and is now in good-enough shape to be eligible for a home loan.
“It’s the benefit of buying an REO from somebody who flips properties, versus buying an REO straight from the bank,” says Montelongo, who lives in San Antonio.
Properties with a past:
However the foreclosed house ends up in a buyer’s hands, issues that lurk in the property’s past could “cloud title” — cast uncertainty on the buyer’s ownership rights. Title insurance protects against such defects in the title, such as undiscovered liens, forged signatures or defects in documentation.
There are two types of title policies. Lenders policies protect lenders, and owners policies protect owners. A mortgage lender always requires a lender’s title policy.
Owners policies are optional and are recommended for properties that have been through foreclosure.
“From the consumer’s perspective, I don’t think they have a lot to fear as long as they’re able to purchase title insurance on an REO property,” says Ivan Choi, national default sales executive for New Vista Asset Management in San Diego. “By and large, the title companies are still out offering policies.
There have been reports that title insurers have refused to issue policies on some homes foreclosed by lenders involved in the robo-signing scandal. Responding to these reports, Fidelity National Financial — the largest mortgage insurance company — issued a statement that “this situation will not have a material adverse impact on its title business.”
The statement said “new owners and their lenders would have the rights of good-faith purchasers which should not be affected by potential defects in documentation.”
Those “good-faith purchasers” won’t be kicked out of their houses, Skilling says. He adds that Fidelity’s message is that “they’re still going to underwrite on REO properties.”
This article was reported by Holden Lewis for Bankrate.com.
Is it safe to buy a foreclosure?
At first, bank-owned houses seemed like some of the best bargains in town, but then the robo-signing controversy made buying seem like a risky proposition.
It’s safe to buy a previously foreclosed-upon house if title insurance is available on it, experts say.
The “robo-signing” scandal — in which banks and law firms cut corners on foreclosure paperwork — caused some lenders to suspend foreclosures this fall while they reviewed their procedures.
What would happen to the buyer of a foreclosed house if the home previously had been wrongly repossessed?
As long as the new lender and new owner have title insurance, the former owner can’t seize the home back.
The new owner will keep the house, and the displaced former owner might be compensated with money.
“To the extent that a borrower who was foreclosed upon has recourse, it’s against the foreclosing lender, and they can seek monetary damages. But the property’s gone,” says Mark Skilling, the chief operating officer and general counsel for ForeclosureRadar, an online foreclosure data marketplace.
“The current owner who got title insurance — they get to keep the property. They’re a good-faith purchaser,” Skilling says.
That’s welcome news for homebuyers who rummage through the bargain bin of foreclosed houses.
Few consumers buy houses at foreclosure auctions. More commonly, consumers buy foreclosed properties from the banks that seized them.
The term for such houses is REO, for real-estate owned by a bank. Some real-estate agents specialize in selling REO properties.
A good share of REO houses are decrepit. Many sit empty for months before they are sold, and they end up in such bad shape that they are ineligible for mortgages. Investors often buy these REOs with cash, fix them up and sell them, just like the house flippers of the boom years.
Whether bought from the bank or from a flipper, almost all REOs are listed through real-estate agents.
Armando Montelongo, the former host of “Flip This House” on the A & E network, says certain phrases in the listing — such as “completely rehabbed” or “newly remodeled” — are signs that the dwelling was a foreclosure and is now in good-enough shape to be eligible for a home loan.
“It’s the benefit of buying an REO from somebody who flips properties, versus buying an REO straight from the bank,” says Montelongo, who lives in San Antonio.
Properties with a past:
However the foreclosed house ends up in a buyer’s hands, issues that lurk in the property’s past could “cloud title” — cast uncertainty on the buyer’s ownership rights. Title insurance protects against such defects in the title, such as undiscovered liens, forged signatures or defects in documentation.
There are two types of title policies. Lenders policies protect lenders, and owners policies protect owners. A mortgage lender always requires a lender’s title policy.
Owners policies are optional and are recommended for properties that have been through foreclosure.
“From the consumer’s perspective, I don’t think they have a lot to fear as long as they’re able to purchase title insurance on an REO property,” says Ivan Choi, national default sales executive for New Vista Asset Management in San Diego. “By and large, the title companies are still out offering policies.
There have been reports that title insurers have refused to issue policies on some homes foreclosed by lenders involved in the robo-signing scandal. Responding to these reports, Fidelity National Financial — the largest mortgage insurance company — issued a statement that “this situation will not have a material adverse impact on its title business.”
The statement said “new owners and their lenders would have the rights of good-faith purchasers which should not be affected by potential defects in documentation.”
Those “good-faith purchasers” won’t be kicked out of their houses, Skilling says. He adds that Fidelity’s message is that “they’re still going to underwrite on REO properties.”
This article was reported by Holden Lewis for Bankrate.com.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Hawaii’s Jobless Rates Drops To The Lowest Level In Nearly 2.5 Years
Isles’ unemployment rate drops to 6 percent in May
The rate is the lowest since 2009 and comes as businesses restart their hiring
By Kristen Consillio
Article from: Star-Advertiser
More Hawaii residents were employed in May, the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations said Wednesday, bringing the jobless rate to the lowest level in nearly 21⁄2 years.
Hawaii’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 6 percent last month — matching the January 2009 rate — and down from 6.1 percent in April.
The rate had been stalled at 6.3 percent for four months before that and was as high as 7 percent from mid-2009 through the end of 2009 during the economic downturn, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The steady drop indicates greater confidence in the general economy as businesses resume expansion plans shelved during the recession. Increased economic activity is expected to boost job growth by 1.8 percent, or 10,700 positions, this year, the state Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism said last month.
“As we’re seeing IT (information technology) budgets opening up and as we see companies moving forward with initiatives they put on hold, that is in turn driving business for us,” said Jeremy Amen, chief executive officer of Wavecom Solutions Corp., a technology and communications firm that plans to increase its 75-employee work force this year.
McDonald’s of Hawaii hired more than 400 people in May, after receiving more than 4,000 applications to fill about 1,000 positions by year’s end, said Melanie Okazaki, marketing manager.
“New customers are coming more often. Because of that we’re growing our business and because of that we have opportunities for people who are looking for jobs,” she said. “We’re optimistic about our business. This is the first time we had a concerted effort regarding hiring efforts.”
The Walt Disney Co. also increased hiring efforts last month in an attempt to enlist most of the 800 workers needed for its Aulani Resort in West Oahu opening Aug. 29.
“We’re happy that the timing of Aulani is proving to be helpful to the state’s employment numbers,” said Todd Apo, the resort’s director of public affairs.
The state labor department said there were 597,000 employed and 38,100 unemployed in May, for a total seasonally adjusted work force of 635,100. 8.2 percent.
Nationally, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased to 9.1 percent in May from 9 percent in April.
Surf Paws Animal Hospital, which opened last month in Hawaii Kai and hired half a dozen workers, plans to double its work force by year’s end as confidence in the economy continues to improve.
“I’ve seen a lot more businesses opening around the time we were opening,” said part-owner Joem Costes.
The rate is the lowest since 2009 and comes as businesses restart their hiring
By Kristen Consillio
Article from: Star-Advertiser
More Hawaii residents were employed in May, the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations said Wednesday, bringing the jobless rate to the lowest level in nearly 21⁄2 years.
Hawaii’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 6 percent last month — matching the January 2009 rate — and down from 6.1 percent in April.
The rate had been stalled at 6.3 percent for four months before that and was as high as 7 percent from mid-2009 through the end of 2009 during the economic downturn, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The steady drop indicates greater confidence in the general economy as businesses resume expansion plans shelved during the recession. Increased economic activity is expected to boost job growth by 1.8 percent, or 10,700 positions, this year, the state Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism said last month.
“As we’re seeing IT (information technology) budgets opening up and as we see companies moving forward with initiatives they put on hold, that is in turn driving business for us,” said Jeremy Amen, chief executive officer of Wavecom Solutions Corp., a technology and communications firm that plans to increase its 75-employee work force this year.
McDonald’s of Hawaii hired more than 400 people in May, after receiving more than 4,000 applications to fill about 1,000 positions by year’s end, said Melanie Okazaki, marketing manager.
“New customers are coming more often. Because of that we’re growing our business and because of that we have opportunities for people who are looking for jobs,” she said. “We’re optimistic about our business. This is the first time we had a concerted effort regarding hiring efforts.”
The Walt Disney Co. also increased hiring efforts last month in an attempt to enlist most of the 800 workers needed for its Aulani Resort in West Oahu opening Aug. 29.
“We’re happy that the timing of Aulani is proving to be helpful to the state’s employment numbers,” said Todd Apo, the resort’s director of public affairs.
The state labor department said there were 597,000 employed and 38,100 unemployed in May, for a total seasonally adjusted work force of 635,100. 8.2 percent.
Nationally, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased to 9.1 percent in May from 9 percent in April.
Surf Paws Animal Hospital, which opened last month in Hawaii Kai and hired half a dozen workers, plans to double its work force by year’s end as confidence in the economy continues to improve.
“I’ve seen a lot more businesses opening around the time we were opening,” said part-owner Joem Costes.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Fannie Mae To Cancel Any Pending Nonjudicial Hawaii Foreclosures and Restart Them in Court
Foreclosures might swamp isle courts
Fannie Mae eschews a quicker, nonjudicial process in response to a new Hawaii law
By Andrew Gomes
Article from: Star-Advertiser
One of the nation’s biggest owners of home mortgages has made a move that could add to an already overburdened Hawaii court system’s caseload.
Fannie Mae, a publicly owned company created and overseen by the federal government, recently instructed companies that handle foreclosures for its loans to file all new Hawaii foreclosures in court.
Fannie Mae also told the firms known as loan servicers to cancel any pending nonjudicial Hawaii foreclosures and restart them in court.
Fannie Mae took the steps in response to Hawaii’s new foreclosure law enacted last month. Critics are concerned Fannie Mae might be attempting to sidestep the main intent of the law, which was to engage mediators to help homeowners avoid foreclosure.
The vast majority of residential foreclosures in Hawaii in recent years have been conducted out of court through a nonjudicial process because it was quicker and cheaper than going through court.
The law was changed in part because the nonjudicial foreclosures left borrowers with little opportunity to contest repossessions even in cases where they believed a lender was improperly taking their home.
The new law, Act 48, gives qualified owner-occupants of Hawaii homes the option of having a dispute resolution professional assist with foreclosure mitigation in front of a lender representative before a foreclosure sale can proceed.
Fannie Mae’s directive, issued Friday, drew criticism from a local homeowner advocacy group that lobbied for Hawaii’s new law.
The Rev. Bob Nakata, a member of Faith Action for Community Equity, said Fannie Mae is attempting to bypass the new law. “Just two days ago, 25 churches got together from two islands and celebrated our new foreclosure mediation law, and now Fannie Mae is trying to outmaneuver us,” he said. “It stinks. Our government-sponsored enterprises are supposed to help us, not take away everything we have fought for.”
Some supporters of Hawaii’s new law fear the move by Fannie Mae, which buys U.S. single-family home loans from loan originators, could spur similar moves by giant banks and other big holders of Hawaii home mortgages, shunting aside the revamped nonjudicial foreclosure law and overwhelming the state court system.
Fannie Mae declined to say whether it established its new policy to avoid nonjudicial foreclosures in Hawaii under the new law or whether the policy is only temporary until it’s possible to file new nonjudicial foreclosures.
The new law resulted in a de facto moratorium on nonjudicial foreclosures because the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs won’t accept any new nonjudicial foreclosure filings until the mediation program is running. The law also prohibits any nonjudicial foreclosure auctions until borrowers have an opportunity to participate in the program.
The program is expected to be running by Oct. 1.
Fannie Mae spokeswoman Amy Bonitatibus said policies are regularly reviewed and adjusted as needed.
“Our announcement is consistent with Hawaii law and was made in response to recent Hawaii legislation,” she said. “Currently, nonjudicial foreclosures cannot be pursued in Hawaii. There is not currently an end date listed in the announcement we issued, but again, we regularly make updates and changes to reflect the current law and foreclosure processes in a state.”
Kim Harman, Hawaii policy director for Faith Action for Community Equity, questioned whether Fannie Mae is trying to avoid requirements for documenting original and amended mortgage agreements and promissory notes under the new law.
Harman said the documentation requirement is the only substantial difference between Hawaii’s law and a Nevada foreclosure mitigation law upon which Hawaii’s law was modeled. Fannie Mae hasn’t banned nonjudicial foreclosures in Nevada.
State Rep. Bob Herkes, who along with Sen. Rosalyn Baker was a chief architect of the law, said Fannie Mae would be misguided if it intends to avoid better documentation by running foreclosures through Hawaii courts.
Herkes intends to ask the Judiciary to hold mortgage holders to the same documentation standards contained in the nonjudicial foreclosure law.
Some Hawaii foreclosure industry attorneys had warned that lenders might flock to judicial foreclosures, in part because lenders can pursue borrowers for any difference between what a borrower owes and proceeds from selling a foreclosed home. This difference, referred to as a deficiency judgment, could help offset higher expenses of judicial foreclosure.
However, others believe the extra time and expense of judicial foreclosure, especially if Hawaii courts get bogged down, still make judicial foreclosure less attractive than the revamped nonjudicial foreclosure process.
While Fannie Mae seeks to proceed with Hawaii foreclosures in court, it is also offering financial incentives for loan servicers to avoid foreclosure and was instructed by the Federal Housing Finance Agency in April to not start a foreclosure if a borrower and servicer are engaged in a good-faith effort to resolve a mortgage delinquency.
So far, there has not been a huge increase in judicial foreclosures in Hawaii, considering that the new law went into effect May 5.
For all of May, there were 141 judicial foreclosure cases, up from 119 in May 2010, according to Judiciary figures. Nearly all of the increase occurred on the Big Island.
For all of last year, state Circuit Courts handled 1,331 foreclosure cases. That figure is estimated to be around 10 percent of all Hawaii foreclosures.
The Judiciary, in testimony on Senate Bill 651 that became the foreclosure mitigation law, expressed concern that any big increase in judicial foreclosures could dramatically delay cases unless new judges and staff are hired.
According to real estate research firm RealtyTrac, close to 500 new foreclosure cases a month were filed on average this year through April.
The Judiciary estimated it would cost about $4.3 million a year for additional personnel to handle such an increase.
Fannie Mae eschews a quicker, nonjudicial process in response to a new Hawaii law
By Andrew Gomes
Article from: Star-Advertiser
One of the nation’s biggest owners of home mortgages has made a move that could add to an already overburdened Hawaii court system’s caseload.
Fannie Mae, a publicly owned company created and overseen by the federal government, recently instructed companies that handle foreclosures for its loans to file all new Hawaii foreclosures in court.
Fannie Mae also told the firms known as loan servicers to cancel any pending nonjudicial Hawaii foreclosures and restart them in court.
Fannie Mae took the steps in response to Hawaii’s new foreclosure law enacted last month. Critics are concerned Fannie Mae might be attempting to sidestep the main intent of the law, which was to engage mediators to help homeowners avoid foreclosure.
The vast majority of residential foreclosures in Hawaii in recent years have been conducted out of court through a nonjudicial process because it was quicker and cheaper than going through court.
The law was changed in part because the nonjudicial foreclosures left borrowers with little opportunity to contest repossessions even in cases where they believed a lender was improperly taking their home.
The new law, Act 48, gives qualified owner-occupants of Hawaii homes the option of having a dispute resolution professional assist with foreclosure mitigation in front of a lender representative before a foreclosure sale can proceed.
Fannie Mae’s directive, issued Friday, drew criticism from a local homeowner advocacy group that lobbied for Hawaii’s new law.
The Rev. Bob Nakata, a member of Faith Action for Community Equity, said Fannie Mae is attempting to bypass the new law. “Just two days ago, 25 churches got together from two islands and celebrated our new foreclosure mediation law, and now Fannie Mae is trying to outmaneuver us,” he said. “It stinks. Our government-sponsored enterprises are supposed to help us, not take away everything we have fought for.”
Some supporters of Hawaii’s new law fear the move by Fannie Mae, which buys U.S. single-family home loans from loan originators, could spur similar moves by giant banks and other big holders of Hawaii home mortgages, shunting aside the revamped nonjudicial foreclosure law and overwhelming the state court system.
Fannie Mae declined to say whether it established its new policy to avoid nonjudicial foreclosures in Hawaii under the new law or whether the policy is only temporary until it’s possible to file new nonjudicial foreclosures.
The new law resulted in a de facto moratorium on nonjudicial foreclosures because the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs won’t accept any new nonjudicial foreclosure filings until the mediation program is running. The law also prohibits any nonjudicial foreclosure auctions until borrowers have an opportunity to participate in the program.
The program is expected to be running by Oct. 1.
Fannie Mae spokeswoman Amy Bonitatibus said policies are regularly reviewed and adjusted as needed.
“Our announcement is consistent with Hawaii law and was made in response to recent Hawaii legislation,” she said. “Currently, nonjudicial foreclosures cannot be pursued in Hawaii. There is not currently an end date listed in the announcement we issued, but again, we regularly make updates and changes to reflect the current law and foreclosure processes in a state.”
Kim Harman, Hawaii policy director for Faith Action for Community Equity, questioned whether Fannie Mae is trying to avoid requirements for documenting original and amended mortgage agreements and promissory notes under the new law.
Harman said the documentation requirement is the only substantial difference between Hawaii’s law and a Nevada foreclosure mitigation law upon which Hawaii’s law was modeled. Fannie Mae hasn’t banned nonjudicial foreclosures in Nevada.
State Rep. Bob Herkes, who along with Sen. Rosalyn Baker was a chief architect of the law, said Fannie Mae would be misguided if it intends to avoid better documentation by running foreclosures through Hawaii courts.
Herkes intends to ask the Judiciary to hold mortgage holders to the same documentation standards contained in the nonjudicial foreclosure law.
Some Hawaii foreclosure industry attorneys had warned that lenders might flock to judicial foreclosures, in part because lenders can pursue borrowers for any difference between what a borrower owes and proceeds from selling a foreclosed home. This difference, referred to as a deficiency judgment, could help offset higher expenses of judicial foreclosure.
However, others believe the extra time and expense of judicial foreclosure, especially if Hawaii courts get bogged down, still make judicial foreclosure less attractive than the revamped nonjudicial foreclosure process.
While Fannie Mae seeks to proceed with Hawaii foreclosures in court, it is also offering financial incentives for loan servicers to avoid foreclosure and was instructed by the Federal Housing Finance Agency in April to not start a foreclosure if a borrower and servicer are engaged in a good-faith effort to resolve a mortgage delinquency.
So far, there has not been a huge increase in judicial foreclosures in Hawaii, considering that the new law went into effect May 5.
For all of May, there were 141 judicial foreclosure cases, up from 119 in May 2010, according to Judiciary figures. Nearly all of the increase occurred on the Big Island.
For all of last year, state Circuit Courts handled 1,331 foreclosure cases. That figure is estimated to be around 10 percent of all Hawaii foreclosures.
The Judiciary, in testimony on Senate Bill 651 that became the foreclosure mitigation law, expressed concern that any big increase in judicial foreclosures could dramatically delay cases unless new judges and staff are hired.
According to real estate research firm RealtyTrac, close to 500 new foreclosure cases a month were filed on average this year through April.
The Judiciary estimated it would cost about $4.3 million a year for additional personnel to handle such an increase.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
US Mainland & Canadian Visitors Continue to Fuel Hawaii’s Double Digit Recovery Rate In Room Revenue Through First Four Months of the Year
Mainlanders raise isle hotel occupancy
Japanese arrivals slump 23.5 percent, but Canada and the U.S. take up the slack
By Kristen Consillio
Article from: Star-Advertiser
More visitors from the mainland and Canada are traveling to Hawaii, while Japanese arrivals have slumped by 23.5 percent.
Mainland visitors helped boost statewide hotel performance in April despite a sharp decline in tourists from Japan.
Although Japanese arrivals plunged 23.5 percent in the first full month since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, statewide hotel occupancy climbed 3.2 percentage points to 68.5 percent in April, according to a report released today by Hospitality Advisors LLC.
A 10 percent increase from the U.S. West and a 33.7 percent boost from Canada — driven in part by a late Easter holiday that shifted spring break into April, and 7,500 visitors to Waikiki for an American Academy of Neurology convention — more than offset declines in the Japanese market, the report said.
“The timing was just good. There’s just enough strength in other markets not affected by the 3/11 event,” said David Carey, president and chief executive officer of Outrigger Enterprises Group. The Japanese decline “definitely affected us, but not as much as we thought. We’re fortunate.”
Room rates statewide rose by 8.5 percent over the previous year to $191.26, while revenue per available room — considered the best measure of hotel performance — jumped 13.8 percent to $131.01.
Oahu hotels reported the highest occupancy rates at 74 percent, or 4.4 percentage points higher than a year ago. Properties on Maui saw a 2.5 percentage point increase year-over-year at 69.2 percent, while Hawaii island hotels were flat at 54.6 percent and Kauai hotels were 57.8 percent full, up 3.4 percentage points.
The increased occupancy was welcomed, but the decline in high-spending Japanese tourists had an impact.
“From a revenue standpoint it hurt our restaurant business and hurt the traditional buying of some of our higher-priced rooms, but we’re happy in the fact we gained some share of the U.S. market that were able to offset the declines,” said Keith Vieira, senior vice president of operations for Starwood Hotels & Resorts-Hawaii & French Polynesia.
The average daily room rate on Oahu was $162.43, 12.2 percent higher than last year. Maui room rates jumped 13.2 percent to $259.30 but decreased by 13.9 percent on Hawaii island to $172.16. Rates on Kauai rose 9.2 percent to $207.01.
Revenue per available room, known as RevPar, soared 19.3 percent to $120.20 for Oahu hotels due to gains from the mainland, Canada and group business, according to the report. Maui’s RevPar jumped 17.5 percent to $179.44, while Hawaii island’s RevPar dropped 13.9 percent to $94. RevPar for Kauai hotels rose 16 percent to $119.65.
“The U.S. mainland and Canadian markets continue to show pent-up demand that has been fueling Hawaii’s double-digit recovery rate in room revenue through the first four months this year,” Joseph Toy, Hospitality Advisors president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.
Mainlanders raise isle hotel occupancy
Japanese arrivals slump 23.5 percent, but Canada and the U.S. take up the slack
By Kristen Consillio
Article from: Star-Advertiser
More visitors from the mainland and Canada are traveling to Hawaii, while Japanese arrivals have slumped by 23.5 percent.
Mainland visitors helped boost statewide hotel performance in April despite a sharp decline in tourists from Japan.
Although Japanese arrivals plunged 23.5 percent in the first full month since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, statewide hotel occupancy climbed 3.2 percentage points to 68.5 percent in April, according to a report released today by Hospitality Advisors LLC.
A 10 percent increase from the U.S. West and a 33.7 percent boost from Canada — driven in part by a late Easter holiday that shifted spring break into April, and 7,500 visitors to Waikiki for an American Academy of Neurology convention — more than offset declines in the Japanese market, the report said.
“The timing was just good. There’s just enough strength in other markets not affected by the 3/11 event,” said David Carey, president and chief executive officer of Outrigger Enterprises Group. The Japanese decline “definitely affected us, but not as much as we thought. We’re fortunate.”
Room rates statewide rose by 8.5 percent over the previous year to $191.26, while revenue per available room — considered the best measure of hotel performance — jumped 13.8 percent to $131.01.
Oahu hotels reported the highest occupancy rates at 74 percent, or 4.4 percentage points higher than a year ago. Properties on Maui saw a 2.5 percentage point increase year-over-year at 69.2 percent, while Hawaii island hotels were flat at 54.6 percent and Kauai hotels were 57.8 percent full, up 3.4 percentage points.
The increased occupancy was welcomed, but the decline in high-spending Japanese tourists had an impact.
“From a revenue standpoint it hurt our restaurant business and hurt the traditional buying of some of our higher-priced rooms, but we’re happy in the fact we gained some share of the U.S. market that were able to offset the declines,” said Keith Vieira, senior vice president of operations for Starwood Hotels & Resorts-Hawaii & French Polynesia.
The average daily room rate on Oahu was $162.43, 12.2 percent higher than last year. Maui room rates jumped 13.2 percent to $259.30 but decreased by 13.9 percent on Hawaii island to $172.16. Rates on Kauai rose 9.2 percent to $207.01.
Revenue per available room, known as RevPar, soared 19.3 percent to $120.20 for Oahu hotels due to gains from the mainland, Canada and group business, according to the report. Maui’s RevPar jumped 17.5 percent to $179.44, while Hawaii island’s RevPar dropped 13.9 percent to $94. RevPar for Kauai hotels rose 16 percent to $119.65.
“The U.S. mainland and Canadian markets continue to show pent-up demand that has been fueling Hawaii’s double-digit recovery rate in room revenue through the first four months this year,” Joseph Toy, Hospitality Advisors president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Maui Condominium Sales Rise
Condominium sales rise on Maui
111 condo units were sold on the Valley Isle in May, but house deals fell
By Erika Engle
Article from: Star-Advertiser
Sales of condominium units were the bright spot in the May Maui home sales picture, as compiled by the Realtors Association of Maui Inc.
Sales of condominium units rose 5.7 percent in May, with 111 units sold versus 105 in the year-ago period.
The $349,000 median condo price in May was up from April’s $338,603 but was 14.9 percent below the year-ago price of $410,000.
The increase could be attributed in part to vigorous home-showing activity within the last few months, which has begun paying off in terms of sales, according to the Realtors Association of Maui Inc. “The next few months will reveal if this is just an uptick or a trend that lasts,” the RAM report observed.
REAL ESTATE SALES
The number of homes sold on Maui in May with the median price and percentage change from the same month last year:
Houses
Sales Median Price
May 2011 70 $421,500
May 2010 81 $442,000
Pct. change -13.6% – 4.6%
Condos
Sales Median Price
May 2011 111 $349,000
May 2010 105 $410,000
Pct. change 5.7% -14.9%
Source: Realtors Association of Maui Inc.
Inventories have declined in the past 12 months and include many short sales and bank-owned properties, which will need to run their course before the marketplace gets back to normal, the association observed. Short sales and foreclosures can require additional hurdles for buyers as well as more time, sometimes four to six months, to close.
Sales of single-family homes were down for the second straight month this year, falling 13.6 percent, to 70 from 81 — by far the largest percentage drop of the year. The 81 units sold in May 2010 reflected a 35 percent increase over May 2009.
The $421,000 median price last month was a 4.6 percent drop from the year-ago figure of $442,000. The May 2009 median was $482,500.
Maui’s median home sale price peaked at $690,000 in 2006. The median condo price hit a peak of $550,000 in 2007.
Because the Maui marketplace is significantly smaller than Oahu’s, the association points out that a few high or low sales have a greater impact on statistics, without necessarily indicating a market swing.
Real estate professionals are still seeing “a lot of people looking, and a lot of multiple offers on properties,” said Terry Tolman, chief staff executive of the Realtors Association of Maui.
***Not only is Maui a smaller marketplace than Oahu but the statistics can be impacted by significant sales in a few complexes – to discuss individual properties or your property search goals please contact The Hansen Ohana directly at 808-879-3667***Mahalo
111 condo units were sold on the Valley Isle in May, but house deals fell
By Erika Engle
Article from: Star-Advertiser
Sales of condominium units were the bright spot in the May Maui home sales picture, as compiled by the Realtors Association of Maui Inc.
Sales of condominium units rose 5.7 percent in May, with 111 units sold versus 105 in the year-ago period.
The $349,000 median condo price in May was up from April’s $338,603 but was 14.9 percent below the year-ago price of $410,000.
The increase could be attributed in part to vigorous home-showing activity within the last few months, which has begun paying off in terms of sales, according to the Realtors Association of Maui Inc. “The next few months will reveal if this is just an uptick or a trend that lasts,” the RAM report observed.
REAL ESTATE SALES
The number of homes sold on Maui in May with the median price and percentage change from the same month last year:
Houses
Sales Median Price
May 2011 70 $421,500
May 2010 81 $442,000
Pct. change -13.6% – 4.6%
Condos
Sales Median Price
May 2011 111 $349,000
May 2010 105 $410,000
Pct. change 5.7% -14.9%
Source: Realtors Association of Maui Inc.
Inventories have declined in the past 12 months and include many short sales and bank-owned properties, which will need to run their course before the marketplace gets back to normal, the association observed. Short sales and foreclosures can require additional hurdles for buyers as well as more time, sometimes four to six months, to close.
Sales of single-family homes were down for the second straight month this year, falling 13.6 percent, to 70 from 81 — by far the largest percentage drop of the year. The 81 units sold in May 2010 reflected a 35 percent increase over May 2009.
The $421,000 median price last month was a 4.6 percent drop from the year-ago figure of $442,000. The May 2009 median was $482,500.
Maui’s median home sale price peaked at $690,000 in 2006. The median condo price hit a peak of $550,000 in 2007.
Because the Maui marketplace is significantly smaller than Oahu’s, the association points out that a few high or low sales have a greater impact on statistics, without necessarily indicating a market swing.
Real estate professionals are still seeing “a lot of people looking, and a lot of multiple offers on properties,” said Terry Tolman, chief staff executive of the Realtors Association of Maui.
***Not only is Maui a smaller marketplace than Oahu but the statistics can be impacted by significant sales in a few complexes – to discuss individual properties or your property search goals please contact The Hansen Ohana directly at 808-879-3667***Mahalo
Optimism Increases As Tourism Looks For Return of Business Travel Market
Tourism looks for return of business travel market
Optimism increases with more meeting planners attending a conference here
By Allison Schaefers
Article from: Star-Advertiser
Hawaii’s economy will get a boost when the Pacific Rim Incentive & Meetings Exchange convention begins today. The 14th Annual Pacific Rim Incentive & Meetings Exchange (PRIME) convention, which begins here today, could generate millions of dollars in business and incentive events for Hawaii.
About 300 meeting planners from North America and Asia will be in the isles through June 13, checking out possible corporate venues in the islands and booking meetings and incentive trips.
While PRIME has been an annual event here for the past 14 years, it’s a positive sign of the times that attendance this year is up about 30 percent, said Mike Murray, Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau vice president of sales and marketing.
“We see great value in supporting a Hawaii-based conference like PRIME because it lets planners see and experience Hawaii’s diversity as a meetings destination and network with local industry professionals who are experts at creating successful programs,” he said.
Each of the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau’s chapters representing Kauai, Oahu, Maui and Hawaii counties are making special presentations or hosting site tours of properties on their islands. All hope PRIME will further recovery of Hawaii’s once lucrative business travel market, which lost ground in the last few years amid restrictive business travel policies in a down economy.
In 2005, Hawaii’s peak year for meetings, convention and incentive activity, 584,005 travelers came, according to Hawaii Tourism Authority Economist Cy Feng. The following year, such visitor expenditures topped out at $1.07 billion, Feng said.
However, that market here bottomed out at just 368,630 visitors in 2009, which was the worst year for those arrivals since 2004, he said. In 2010 more of those visitors came. The trend has continued this year. In April such visitors increased 48.8 percent compared with the same month in 2010, Feng said.
PRIME will help the market continue to gain ground, said Mike McCartney, HTA president and chief executive.
“With attendees from North America and Asia, PRIME will complement Hawaii’s efforts to capitalize on the interest in our state as we prepare for the upcoming Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ meeting in November,” McCartney said.
Many of PRIME’s participants are from countries who are members of APEC.
Last year 35,000 room nights were booked as a result of PRIME, and some 20,000 room nights are still pending, Murray said.
“This year we hope to generate even more business,” Murray said, adding that PRIME returns $17 for every $1 spent.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts has already signed a deal with Chinese-based Sea Trips to handle partial bookings for the tour company, when it brings charters to Hawaii from August to October, said Kelly Sanders, Sheraton Waikiki’s general manager.
“They’ll be bringing 600 people or so per week on two flights from Shanghai to Honolulu,” Sanders said. “This will be very good for Hawaii and for Starwood.”
PRIME will help Hawaii benefit from the rebound in the U.S. corporate meetings and incentive market that began in October and has continued to now, said Bruce MacMillan, president and chief executive of Meeting Professionals International, whose keynote today lent industry credibility to PRIME.
The U.S. corporate meetings market began to plunge in November 2008 and by the following February, its worst month, had dropped 42 percent, MacMillan said.
“The timing of this event couldn’t be better for Hawaii.”
Optimism increases with more meeting planners attending a conference here
By Allison Schaefers
Article from: Star-Advertiser
Hawaii’s economy will get a boost when the Pacific Rim Incentive & Meetings Exchange convention begins today. The 14th Annual Pacific Rim Incentive & Meetings Exchange (PRIME) convention, which begins here today, could generate millions of dollars in business and incentive events for Hawaii.
About 300 meeting planners from North America and Asia will be in the isles through June 13, checking out possible corporate venues in the islands and booking meetings and incentive trips.
While PRIME has been an annual event here for the past 14 years, it’s a positive sign of the times that attendance this year is up about 30 percent, said Mike Murray, Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau vice president of sales and marketing.
“We see great value in supporting a Hawaii-based conference like PRIME because it lets planners see and experience Hawaii’s diversity as a meetings destination and network with local industry professionals who are experts at creating successful programs,” he said.
Each of the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau’s chapters representing Kauai, Oahu, Maui and Hawaii counties are making special presentations or hosting site tours of properties on their islands. All hope PRIME will further recovery of Hawaii’s once lucrative business travel market, which lost ground in the last few years amid restrictive business travel policies in a down economy.
In 2005, Hawaii’s peak year for meetings, convention and incentive activity, 584,005 travelers came, according to Hawaii Tourism Authority Economist Cy Feng. The following year, such visitor expenditures topped out at $1.07 billion, Feng said.
However, that market here bottomed out at just 368,630 visitors in 2009, which was the worst year for those arrivals since 2004, he said. In 2010 more of those visitors came. The trend has continued this year. In April such visitors increased 48.8 percent compared with the same month in 2010, Feng said.
PRIME will help the market continue to gain ground, said Mike McCartney, HTA president and chief executive.
“With attendees from North America and Asia, PRIME will complement Hawaii’s efforts to capitalize on the interest in our state as we prepare for the upcoming Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ meeting in November,” McCartney said.
Many of PRIME’s participants are from countries who are members of APEC.
Last year 35,000 room nights were booked as a result of PRIME, and some 20,000 room nights are still pending, Murray said.
“This year we hope to generate even more business,” Murray said, adding that PRIME returns $17 for every $1 spent.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts has already signed a deal with Chinese-based Sea Trips to handle partial bookings for the tour company, when it brings charters to Hawaii from August to October, said Kelly Sanders, Sheraton Waikiki’s general manager.
“They’ll be bringing 600 people or so per week on two flights from Shanghai to Honolulu,” Sanders said. “This will be very good for Hawaii and for Starwood.”
PRIME will help Hawaii benefit from the rebound in the U.S. corporate meetings and incentive market that began in October and has continued to now, said Bruce MacMillan, president and chief executive of Meeting Professionals International, whose keynote today lent industry credibility to PRIME.
The U.S. corporate meetings market began to plunge in November 2008 and by the following February, its worst month, had dropped 42 percent, MacMillan said.
“The timing of this event couldn’t be better for Hawaii.”
Friday, June 10, 2011
Maui’s May 2011 Market Statistics
Maui May 2011 Sales Statistics
Brief Maui Statistics Overview:
May’s Sales Volume – May’s Residential Sales declined to 70 homes sold, while Condo Sales declined to 111 units sold. Land sales came in at 14 lots sold, unchanged from April.
May’s Median SALES prices – Home median prices declined to $421,500, while Condo median prices rose to $349,000. Land median price dipped to $275,000.
Days on Market for Residential homes = 138 DOM, Condos = 199 DOM, Land = 175 DOM.
(General DOM Note: this is the average DOM for the properties that SOLD. If predominantly OLD inventory sells, it can move this indicator upward, and vice versa. RAM’s Days on Market are calculated from List Date to Closing Date [not contract date]. As such, it includes approximately 60 days of escrow time.) Also – Short Sales transactions can often take 4-6 months to close thereby extending the
marketplace’s average DOM.
Year to Date: Comparing January-May 2011 to January-May 2010 – Residential unit sales rose (+4%), average sold price = $732,560 (-5%), median price = $450,000 (-2%) and total dollar volume sold = $262,989,019 (-2%). This reflects the bump up last year due to 2009-2010 Federal Tax Credit programs and 2011 numbers will probably catch up as the year progresses. Condo unit sales decreased (-4%), average sold price = $524,454 (-33%), median price = $325,000 (-24%). Total Condo dollar volume sold = $283,729,505 (-35%).
Land – NOTE: Land Lot sales are such a small sampling that statistics in this property class are not necessarily reliable indicators. Land lot sales decreased (-11%), average sold price = $564,471 (+13%), median price = $315,000 (-41%), Total dollar volume = $35,200,351 (+1%).
Also, total sales for immediately past 12 months: Residential = 827, Condo = 1,130, Land = 120.
May 11, 2011 – Active/Pending/Contingent status inventory:
June May April Mar. Feb. Jan. Dec. Nov. Oct. Sept. Aug. July June
Homes 917 935 958 964 953 963 974 976 1,001 981 994 1,008 1,007
Condos 1,159 1,203 1,305 1,331 1,379 1,383 1,371 1,347 1,394 1,455 1,503 1,412 1,423
Land 532 547 554 557 566 569 601 596 601 620 604 601 591
Current Absorption Rate base on this month’s Active inventory divided by May Sales is:
Residential = 13.1 months, Condo = 10.4 months, Land = 38 months.
IN A NUT SHELL…… the good, the bad….. AND THE ROAD AHEAD ……
Strong buyer-showing activity is now evidenced in actual reported sales. Residential and Condo unit sales for
March – May show sustained increase over the previous six months. The next few months will reveal if this is just
an uptick or a trend that lasts. Inventories have declined somewhat over the past 12 months and include many
short sales and REO (bank owned) properties which will need to be absorbed as sales before we can move
ahead to a more normal marketplace. Interest Rates are remaining near historic record lows which may help
motivate would-be Buyers to go ahead and buy IF they can qualify. Current World and US events will have ripple
effects on cost of living, consumer confidence, and eventually our Real Estate Market.
FOR SELLERS: Sellers who don’t really need to sell (just “fishing?”) should stay off the market, and clear the
marketplace for those who REALLY have to sell. UNLESS- you are motivated to Upsize, Downsize or
Upgrade – While selling now will net less, your next property will cost less. Sharpen your pencil, talk to
your CPA and Realtor® to explore the hidden benefits or consequences. Make no assumptions that will
sting later.
To be successful, Sellers need to beat competing properties with better property condition, REALISTIC pricing,
good marketing, and flexible, creative terms (Seller Second Loan, Agreement of Sale, Lease-with-option-to-buy,
and Sale-with-lease-back to seller). Days on Market figures show that properties priced right will sell in a
reasonable timeframe. “Priced Right” is still the determining factor.
BEST Deals are selling, everything else is getting old.
Pro-Active Sellers are getting their properties appraised, inspected and surveyed in advance to encourage
knowledgeable offers from realistic Buyers. This can prevent unanticipated escrow fallout or Buyers whittling your
price down during the transaction when previously unknown facts come to light. Unrealistic Sellers continue to
be ignored by the market and miss current opportunities that later become woefully apparent. They may even
end up in a Short Sale or Foreclosure situation that could have been avoided.
FOR BUYERS: Low interest rates may start to inch up. Buyers should get Pre-Approved so they can shop in
confidence (fewer last minute disappointments due to non-funding loans).
More “short-sales” and foreclosures are happening in the marketplace, yet they can be less of a bargain than they
seem, requiring more hurdles to leap and more time (often 4-6 months) to close, if at all.
Be prepared, but BE REALISTIC. Lenders are much more stringent in requirements for loan approval.
First-Time Home Buyers – Many programs are available….. Attend a First-Time Home Buyers workshop, get
familiar with the process, get qualified/approved, do your homework to get your own home. Many current owners
never thought they would be able to own until they attended a workshop, discovered they could own a home,
and are glad they did.
This low point in the market is your rare chance, so check it out carefully.
For specific questions or to discuss the market in more detail please contact The Hansen Ohana any time at (808)879-3667.
Brief Maui Statistics Overview:
May’s Sales Volume – May’s Residential Sales declined to 70 homes sold, while Condo Sales declined to 111 units sold. Land sales came in at 14 lots sold, unchanged from April.
May’s Median SALES prices – Home median prices declined to $421,500, while Condo median prices rose to $349,000. Land median price dipped to $275,000.
Days on Market for Residential homes = 138 DOM, Condos = 199 DOM, Land = 175 DOM.
(General DOM Note: this is the average DOM for the properties that SOLD. If predominantly OLD inventory sells, it can move this indicator upward, and vice versa. RAM’s Days on Market are calculated from List Date to Closing Date [not contract date]. As such, it includes approximately 60 days of escrow time.) Also – Short Sales transactions can often take 4-6 months to close thereby extending the
marketplace’s average DOM.
Year to Date: Comparing January-May 2011 to January-May 2010 – Residential unit sales rose (+4%), average sold price = $732,560 (-5%), median price = $450,000 (-2%) and total dollar volume sold = $262,989,019 (-2%). This reflects the bump up last year due to 2009-2010 Federal Tax Credit programs and 2011 numbers will probably catch up as the year progresses. Condo unit sales decreased (-4%), average sold price = $524,454 (-33%), median price = $325,000 (-24%). Total Condo dollar volume sold = $283,729,505 (-35%).
Land – NOTE: Land Lot sales are such a small sampling that statistics in this property class are not necessarily reliable indicators. Land lot sales decreased (-11%), average sold price = $564,471 (+13%), median price = $315,000 (-41%), Total dollar volume = $35,200,351 (+1%).
Also, total sales for immediately past 12 months: Residential = 827, Condo = 1,130, Land = 120.
May 11, 2011 – Active/Pending/Contingent status inventory:
June May April Mar. Feb. Jan. Dec. Nov. Oct. Sept. Aug. July June
Homes 917 935 958 964 953 963 974 976 1,001 981 994 1,008 1,007
Condos 1,159 1,203 1,305 1,331 1,379 1,383 1,371 1,347 1,394 1,455 1,503 1,412 1,423
Land 532 547 554 557 566 569 601 596 601 620 604 601 591
Current Absorption Rate base on this month’s Active inventory divided by May Sales is:
Residential = 13.1 months, Condo = 10.4 months, Land = 38 months.
IN A NUT SHELL…… the good, the bad….. AND THE ROAD AHEAD ……
Strong buyer-showing activity is now evidenced in actual reported sales. Residential and Condo unit sales for
March – May show sustained increase over the previous six months. The next few months will reveal if this is just
an uptick or a trend that lasts. Inventories have declined somewhat over the past 12 months and include many
short sales and REO (bank owned) properties which will need to be absorbed as sales before we can move
ahead to a more normal marketplace. Interest Rates are remaining near historic record lows which may help
motivate would-be Buyers to go ahead and buy IF they can qualify. Current World and US events will have ripple
effects on cost of living, consumer confidence, and eventually our Real Estate Market.
FOR SELLERS: Sellers who don’t really need to sell (just “fishing?”) should stay off the market, and clear the
marketplace for those who REALLY have to sell. UNLESS- you are motivated to Upsize, Downsize or
Upgrade – While selling now will net less, your next property will cost less. Sharpen your pencil, talk to
your CPA and Realtor® to explore the hidden benefits or consequences. Make no assumptions that will
sting later.
To be successful, Sellers need to beat competing properties with better property condition, REALISTIC pricing,
good marketing, and flexible, creative terms (Seller Second Loan, Agreement of Sale, Lease-with-option-to-buy,
and Sale-with-lease-back to seller). Days on Market figures show that properties priced right will sell in a
reasonable timeframe. “Priced Right” is still the determining factor.
BEST Deals are selling, everything else is getting old.
Pro-Active Sellers are getting their properties appraised, inspected and surveyed in advance to encourage
knowledgeable offers from realistic Buyers. This can prevent unanticipated escrow fallout or Buyers whittling your
price down during the transaction when previously unknown facts come to light. Unrealistic Sellers continue to
be ignored by the market and miss current opportunities that later become woefully apparent. They may even
end up in a Short Sale or Foreclosure situation that could have been avoided.
FOR BUYERS: Low interest rates may start to inch up. Buyers should get Pre-Approved so they can shop in
confidence (fewer last minute disappointments due to non-funding loans).
More “short-sales” and foreclosures are happening in the marketplace, yet they can be less of a bargain than they
seem, requiring more hurdles to leap and more time (often 4-6 months) to close, if at all.
Be prepared, but BE REALISTIC. Lenders are much more stringent in requirements for loan approval.
First-Time Home Buyers – Many programs are available….. Attend a First-Time Home Buyers workshop, get
familiar with the process, get qualified/approved, do your homework to get your own home. Many current owners
never thought they would be able to own until they attended a workshop, discovered they could own a home,
and are glad they did.
This low point in the market is your rare chance, so check it out carefully.
For specific questions or to discuss the market in more detail please contact The Hansen Ohana any time at (808)879-3667.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Great Home in Kamaole Heights
Great Price! Great Location! Great Property!
Incredible opportunity calling. This freshly painted and well maintained property features a great single level 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom floor plan in the main home with an attached 500 sf 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom ohana with it’s own entrance upstairs.
The large and level backyard offers many options including gardening, room for a pool, plenty of room for children to play or just sit back and enjoy the mature fruit trees. Kamaole Heights is a fantastic South Kihei neighborhood close to Kamaole I beach and Kamali’i Elementary school. Additional conveniences include nearby shopping and restaurants. This property is easy to see and priced to sell.
Easy to show on short notice. Contact Clint Hansen, (S), 808.280.2764 for private viewing.
Incredible opportunity calling. This freshly painted and well maintained property features a great single level 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom floor plan in the main home with an attached 500 sf 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom ohana with it’s own entrance upstairs.
The large and level backyard offers many options including gardening, room for a pool, plenty of room for children to play or just sit back and enjoy the mature fruit trees. Kamaole Heights is a fantastic South Kihei neighborhood close to Kamaole I beach and Kamali’i Elementary school. Additional conveniences include nearby shopping and restaurants. This property is easy to see and priced to sell.
Easy to show on short notice. Contact Clint Hansen, (S), 808.280.2764 for private viewing.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Delays in Act 48 Processing May Mean A Freeze On Many New Foreclosures of Owner Occupant Hawaii Properties
Law’s delay halts foreclosures
The required state dispute resolution program has not been set up, slowing many repossessions
By Andrew Gomes
Article from: Star Advertiser
It will be several months until a key consumer-protection provision of Hawaii’s overhauled foreclosure law can be used. But there has been one immediate impact: a freeze on many new foreclosures and auctions of homes owned by occupants.
The new law, which took effect earlier this month, did not prescribe a foreclosure moratorium, but the law prohibits lenders from holding nonjudicial foreclosure auctions until borrowers have an opportunity to participate in a dispute resolution program.
The dispute resolution program, a pivotal piece of the law, is slated to begin operating by Oct. 1. So in effect, existing foreclosure cases between owner-occupants and lenders are on hold for up to five months.
Several hundred to a couple thousand auctions of owner-occupant homes could be frozen, based on a rough estimate derived from RealtyTrac foreclosure data.
Some 365 homes have been repossessed by lenders each month on average this year through April, according to the real estate research firm.
The law also is hindering lenders from starting some new foreclosure cases until the state is ready with the dispute resolution program. This could postpone hundreds of foreclosure filings over the next few months.
The freeze stands to affect many, but not all, auctions and new foreclosure cases.
Only nonjudicial foreclosures against homeowners who have lived in their homes for a minimum 200 consecutive days are eligible to participate in the dispute resolution program.
Excluded are judicial foreclosure cases, which represent a small minority of home foreclosures, and cases involving commercial property, time shares and homes owned by investors. Foreclosures initiated by condominium or homeowner associations are also exempt from this aspect of the law.
The freeze, to be sure, is temporary. But it’s not yet clear how lenders and borrowers will proceed with foreclosures under the law once all of its parts go into effect.
The law, Act 48, was enacted May 5 when Gov. Neil Abercrombie signed Senate Bill 651. The law gives owner-occupants in nonjudicial foreclosure an option to force lenders or mortgage servicers to engage in face-to-face or teleconferenced dispute resolution overseen by a professional facilitator before a foreclosure can be completed with an auction of the property.
UNDERSTANDING DISPUTE RESOLUTION
A key provision in Hawaii’s new foreclosure law is dispute resolution. Below are details about borrower participation:
>> Participation is limited to owner-occupants of residential property under nonjudicial foreclosure. (Nonjudicial foreclosures happen when lenders pursue foreclosure outside court, which is the case for most home foreclosures in Hawaii.)
>> Owner-occupants must reside at the property for a minimum 200 consecutive days.
>> Owners of time shares, vacation homes and commercial property aren’t eligible.
>> Participation is optional and isn’t expected to be right for people who are jobless or otherwise can’t pay a reasonably restructured mortgage.
>> If a homeowner doesn’t elect dispute resolution, the foreclosure may proceed. If not participating in dispute resolution, a homeowner may convert a nonjudicial foreclosure to a judicial foreclosure by filing a petition with state Circuit Court by Aug. 15 for existing cases or within 30 days after receiving a foreclosure notice.
>> If a qualified homeowner elects dispute resolution, the lender must participate.
>> Participating homeowners must receive counseling from a certified housing or finance counselor before the dispute resolution meeting.
>> Homeowners are required to provide income and loan documentation as well as records of any loan modification efforts.
>> The program costs $300 for a participating homeowner.
>> Existing foreclosure cases that haven’t already resulted in a property auction must be refiled and will be subject to dispute resolution.
>> Lenders will be required to notify borrowers and the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs of nonjudicial foreclosure cases. The agency will then send information to homeowners about the dispute resolution program.
>> Lenders can’t file such notices until the program is set up. It could be Oct. 1 before the program is running.
>> Once the program is running, DCCA will take no longer than 20 days after receiving a dispute resolution application to set a date, time and place for a dispute resolution session run by a trained mediator. Session will be scheduled within 30 to 60 days unless an alternate date is agreed to mutually.
>> Dispute resolution session shall be no more than three hours but may be extended by one additional three-hour session at the facilitator’s discretion.
>> If parties reach an agreement, foreclosure is terminated.
>> If parties don’t reach an agreement, foreclosure resumes.
Another part of the law allows borrowers to convert a nonjudicial foreclosure to a judicial foreclosure overseen by a judge.
Industry observers say it will be interesting to see how use of the law plays out — especially regarding how many borrowers use the dispute-resolution tool and whether lenders avoid it by turning to judicial foreclosure.
State officials are working to set up the dispute resolution program.
The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs will run the program with help from the Judiciary.
Under the law, lenders must send foreclosure notices to DCCA in addition to borrowers, and after that the agency will send borrowers information about the dispute resolution program.
Once a borrower receives a notice from DCCA, he or she has 30 days to decide whether to seek dispute resolution. If the borrower opts to participate, the borrower must consult with a housing or credit counselor, and the agency has 20 days to schedule a meeting between the borrower, lender and a trained neutral mediator. Attorneys and counselors may attend the meeting, which is limited to one or two three-hour sessions.
Because of the deadlines, dispute resolution professionals, or mediators, must be ready for cases once DCCA begins accepting notices. So DCCA isn’t accepting foreclosure notices from lenders yet.
The agency is hiring a specialist to administer the program but isn’t estimating when it might be ready to accept foreclosure notices from lenders. The law requires the program be operating no later than Oct. 1.
The Judiciary will contract to provide mediators for the program. The Judiciary already works with mediators under its Alternative Dispute Resolution program designed to help mitigate all kinds of disputes without litigation.
The Judiciary’s Alternative Dispute Resolution program contracts with Mediation Centers of Hawaii Inc., a statewide nonprofit coalition of five mediation organizations, under a $390,000 contract.
A similar setup could be arranged for the foreclosure program. The cost for the new program will be mostly paid for by user fees, and is designed to be financially self-sufficient.
Homeowners and lenders participating in the program must each pay $300. Lenders must pay an additional $250 into the program fund each time they start a nonjudicial foreclosure. A new $100 fee also was added to any purchase of owner-occupied homes that are sold through nonjudicial foreclosure.
To prime the fund and start running the program, DCCA is advancing $400,000 from its general operating fund to pay for the program administrator, an office assistant, mediation services and other expenses.
Typically, mediators working in the Judiciary’s Alternative Dispute Resolution program volunteer their time. Mediators include a large number of attorneys and other business professionals often with expertise in specific subject areas of disputes. The foreclosure mediation program will require special training for mediators, though mediation industry representatives believe there are enough mediators to handle the anticipated extra demand.
Hawaii’s largest mediation firm, Mediation Center of the Pacific, has about 200 volunteer mediators, according to Tracey Wiltgen, executive director of the firm and administrator of the coalition.
It’s hard to estimate how many borrowers will elect to participate in foreclosure mediation. In cases where a homeowner can’t pay even a reasonably reduced mortgage payment, mediation won’t make sense. Some idea of participation can be gleaned from a program in Nevada largely used as a model for Hawaii’s program.
Nevada has the worst foreclosure problem in the country, with foreclosure affecting 1 out of every 11 households in that state last year.
From July 2009, when Nevada’s program was launched, through June 2010, borrowers sought dispute resolution in 11 percent of foreclosure cases, representing 8,738 mediation efforts. In 46 percent of completed mediations, borrowers were able to stay in their home, according to Nevada judiciary officials.
If Hawaii has a similar experience, close to 1,370 borrowers might opt for dispute resolution, resulting in 630 staying in their homes. There were 12,425 foreclosure cases in Hawaii last year, according to RealtyTrac.
Of course, several factors stand to sway results, including differences in unemployment rates, property values, owner-occupant ratios and the extent of exotic, or nontraditional, loans in Hawaii compared with Nevada.
One major difference with Nevada’s program is that it allows borrowers or lenders to have mediation decisions reviewed by a judge.
“We call our program mediation with a kick,” said Michael Sommermeyer, quality assurance manager for Nevada’s foreclosure mediation program.
Hawaii’s program doesn’t provide for judicial review, but borrowers can convert a nonjudicial foreclosure to a judicial foreclosure that is overseen by a Circuit Court judge. This option is anticipated to be used by borrowers who contend a lender is improperly foreclosing, and is not available if a borrower chooses dispute resolution.
The Judiciary adopted a petition form and temporary rules May 18 and is accepting conversion petitions.
Local foreclosure attorneys say lenders are carefully reviewing the law and studying their options. Some attorneys suspect lenders might sidestep the dispute resolution program by avoiding nonjudicial foreclosure in favor of judicial foreclosure.
Judicial foreclosures typically take longer and cost more, in part because legal documents and attorneys are involved. But one potential benefit for lenders is that they can seek to have borrowers pay any difference between what they owe and what a lender receives from selling their home. This is known as a deficiency judgment and can be collected long after foreclosure.
Deficiency judgments historically had not been pursued in Hawaii nonjudicial foreclosure cases, and are explicitly prohibited by the new law.
Lenders might deem the added expense of a judicial foreclosure worth it if they can collect big enough deficiency judgments.
There was no spike in judicial foreclosures in Nevada, but Nevada law allows deficiency judgments in nonjudicial foreclosure cases.
State Rep. Bob Herkes, who along with Sen. Rosalyn Baker was a chief architect of Hawaii’s foreclosure reform bill, said the issue of lenders shifting to judicial foreclosures and deficiency judgment claims was a concern, but that he has no idea how serious the possibility might be.
Sommermeyer, the quality assurance manager for Nevada’s foreclosure mediation program, said initial predictions by lenders that doom and gloom would result from Nevada’s law haven’t proved true.
Supporters of Hawaii’s law generally believe lenders will embrace the new nonjudicial foreclosure requirements and work with borrowers more closely to avoid foreclosure where it’s possible.
Stephen Levins, director of the state Office of Consumer Protection, believes that timetables under the dispute resolution program could actually speed up loan modification cases and resolve bad loans — either through restructuring or foreclosure — more quickly, which would benefit everyone.
If the dispute resolution program starts by Oct. 1, the first lender-borrower meetings are expected to start Jan. 1. The law calls for the program to expire Sept. 30, 2014.
The required state dispute resolution program has not been set up, slowing many repossessions
By Andrew Gomes
Article from: Star Advertiser
It will be several months until a key consumer-protection provision of Hawaii’s overhauled foreclosure law can be used. But there has been one immediate impact: a freeze on many new foreclosures and auctions of homes owned by occupants.
The new law, which took effect earlier this month, did not prescribe a foreclosure moratorium, but the law prohibits lenders from holding nonjudicial foreclosure auctions until borrowers have an opportunity to participate in a dispute resolution program.
The dispute resolution program, a pivotal piece of the law, is slated to begin operating by Oct. 1. So in effect, existing foreclosure cases between owner-occupants and lenders are on hold for up to five months.
Several hundred to a couple thousand auctions of owner-occupant homes could be frozen, based on a rough estimate derived from RealtyTrac foreclosure data.
Some 365 homes have been repossessed by lenders each month on average this year through April, according to the real estate research firm.
The law also is hindering lenders from starting some new foreclosure cases until the state is ready with the dispute resolution program. This could postpone hundreds of foreclosure filings over the next few months.
The freeze stands to affect many, but not all, auctions and new foreclosure cases.
Only nonjudicial foreclosures against homeowners who have lived in their homes for a minimum 200 consecutive days are eligible to participate in the dispute resolution program.
Excluded are judicial foreclosure cases, which represent a small minority of home foreclosures, and cases involving commercial property, time shares and homes owned by investors. Foreclosures initiated by condominium or homeowner associations are also exempt from this aspect of the law.
The freeze, to be sure, is temporary. But it’s not yet clear how lenders and borrowers will proceed with foreclosures under the law once all of its parts go into effect.
The law, Act 48, was enacted May 5 when Gov. Neil Abercrombie signed Senate Bill 651. The law gives owner-occupants in nonjudicial foreclosure an option to force lenders or mortgage servicers to engage in face-to-face or teleconferenced dispute resolution overseen by a professional facilitator before a foreclosure can be completed with an auction of the property.
UNDERSTANDING DISPUTE RESOLUTION
A key provision in Hawaii’s new foreclosure law is dispute resolution. Below are details about borrower participation:
>> Participation is limited to owner-occupants of residential property under nonjudicial foreclosure. (Nonjudicial foreclosures happen when lenders pursue foreclosure outside court, which is the case for most home foreclosures in Hawaii.)
>> Owner-occupants must reside at the property for a minimum 200 consecutive days.
>> Owners of time shares, vacation homes and commercial property aren’t eligible.
>> Participation is optional and isn’t expected to be right for people who are jobless or otherwise can’t pay a reasonably restructured mortgage.
>> If a homeowner doesn’t elect dispute resolution, the foreclosure may proceed. If not participating in dispute resolution, a homeowner may convert a nonjudicial foreclosure to a judicial foreclosure by filing a petition with state Circuit Court by Aug. 15 for existing cases or within 30 days after receiving a foreclosure notice.
>> If a qualified homeowner elects dispute resolution, the lender must participate.
>> Participating homeowners must receive counseling from a certified housing or finance counselor before the dispute resolution meeting.
>> Homeowners are required to provide income and loan documentation as well as records of any loan modification efforts.
>> The program costs $300 for a participating homeowner.
>> Existing foreclosure cases that haven’t already resulted in a property auction must be refiled and will be subject to dispute resolution.
>> Lenders will be required to notify borrowers and the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs of nonjudicial foreclosure cases. The agency will then send information to homeowners about the dispute resolution program.
>> Lenders can’t file such notices until the program is set up. It could be Oct. 1 before the program is running.
>> Once the program is running, DCCA will take no longer than 20 days after receiving a dispute resolution application to set a date, time and place for a dispute resolution session run by a trained mediator. Session will be scheduled within 30 to 60 days unless an alternate date is agreed to mutually.
>> Dispute resolution session shall be no more than three hours but may be extended by one additional three-hour session at the facilitator’s discretion.
>> If parties reach an agreement, foreclosure is terminated.
>> If parties don’t reach an agreement, foreclosure resumes.
Another part of the law allows borrowers to convert a nonjudicial foreclosure to a judicial foreclosure overseen by a judge.
Industry observers say it will be interesting to see how use of the law plays out — especially regarding how many borrowers use the dispute-resolution tool and whether lenders avoid it by turning to judicial foreclosure.
State officials are working to set up the dispute resolution program.
The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs will run the program with help from the Judiciary.
Under the law, lenders must send foreclosure notices to DCCA in addition to borrowers, and after that the agency will send borrowers information about the dispute resolution program.
Once a borrower receives a notice from DCCA, he or she has 30 days to decide whether to seek dispute resolution. If the borrower opts to participate, the borrower must consult with a housing or credit counselor, and the agency has 20 days to schedule a meeting between the borrower, lender and a trained neutral mediator. Attorneys and counselors may attend the meeting, which is limited to one or two three-hour sessions.
Because of the deadlines, dispute resolution professionals, or mediators, must be ready for cases once DCCA begins accepting notices. So DCCA isn’t accepting foreclosure notices from lenders yet.
The agency is hiring a specialist to administer the program but isn’t estimating when it might be ready to accept foreclosure notices from lenders. The law requires the program be operating no later than Oct. 1.
The Judiciary will contract to provide mediators for the program. The Judiciary already works with mediators under its Alternative Dispute Resolution program designed to help mitigate all kinds of disputes without litigation.
The Judiciary’s Alternative Dispute Resolution program contracts with Mediation Centers of Hawaii Inc., a statewide nonprofit coalition of five mediation organizations, under a $390,000 contract.
A similar setup could be arranged for the foreclosure program. The cost for the new program will be mostly paid for by user fees, and is designed to be financially self-sufficient.
Homeowners and lenders participating in the program must each pay $300. Lenders must pay an additional $250 into the program fund each time they start a nonjudicial foreclosure. A new $100 fee also was added to any purchase of owner-occupied homes that are sold through nonjudicial foreclosure.
To prime the fund and start running the program, DCCA is advancing $400,000 from its general operating fund to pay for the program administrator, an office assistant, mediation services and other expenses.
Typically, mediators working in the Judiciary’s Alternative Dispute Resolution program volunteer their time. Mediators include a large number of attorneys and other business professionals often with expertise in specific subject areas of disputes. The foreclosure mediation program will require special training for mediators, though mediation industry representatives believe there are enough mediators to handle the anticipated extra demand.
Hawaii’s largest mediation firm, Mediation Center of the Pacific, has about 200 volunteer mediators, according to Tracey Wiltgen, executive director of the firm and administrator of the coalition.
It’s hard to estimate how many borrowers will elect to participate in foreclosure mediation. In cases where a homeowner can’t pay even a reasonably reduced mortgage payment, mediation won’t make sense. Some idea of participation can be gleaned from a program in Nevada largely used as a model for Hawaii’s program.
Nevada has the worst foreclosure problem in the country, with foreclosure affecting 1 out of every 11 households in that state last year.
From July 2009, when Nevada’s program was launched, through June 2010, borrowers sought dispute resolution in 11 percent of foreclosure cases, representing 8,738 mediation efforts. In 46 percent of completed mediations, borrowers were able to stay in their home, according to Nevada judiciary officials.
If Hawaii has a similar experience, close to 1,370 borrowers might opt for dispute resolution, resulting in 630 staying in their homes. There were 12,425 foreclosure cases in Hawaii last year, according to RealtyTrac.
Of course, several factors stand to sway results, including differences in unemployment rates, property values, owner-occupant ratios and the extent of exotic, or nontraditional, loans in Hawaii compared with Nevada.
One major difference with Nevada’s program is that it allows borrowers or lenders to have mediation decisions reviewed by a judge.
“We call our program mediation with a kick,” said Michael Sommermeyer, quality assurance manager for Nevada’s foreclosure mediation program.
Hawaii’s program doesn’t provide for judicial review, but borrowers can convert a nonjudicial foreclosure to a judicial foreclosure that is overseen by a Circuit Court judge. This option is anticipated to be used by borrowers who contend a lender is improperly foreclosing, and is not available if a borrower chooses dispute resolution.
The Judiciary adopted a petition form and temporary rules May 18 and is accepting conversion petitions.
Local foreclosure attorneys say lenders are carefully reviewing the law and studying their options. Some attorneys suspect lenders might sidestep the dispute resolution program by avoiding nonjudicial foreclosure in favor of judicial foreclosure.
Judicial foreclosures typically take longer and cost more, in part because legal documents and attorneys are involved. But one potential benefit for lenders is that they can seek to have borrowers pay any difference between what they owe and what a lender receives from selling their home. This is known as a deficiency judgment and can be collected long after foreclosure.
Deficiency judgments historically had not been pursued in Hawaii nonjudicial foreclosure cases, and are explicitly prohibited by the new law.
Lenders might deem the added expense of a judicial foreclosure worth it if they can collect big enough deficiency judgments.
There was no spike in judicial foreclosures in Nevada, but Nevada law allows deficiency judgments in nonjudicial foreclosure cases.
State Rep. Bob Herkes, who along with Sen. Rosalyn Baker was a chief architect of Hawaii’s foreclosure reform bill, said the issue of lenders shifting to judicial foreclosures and deficiency judgment claims was a concern, but that he has no idea how serious the possibility might be.
Sommermeyer, the quality assurance manager for Nevada’s foreclosure mediation program, said initial predictions by lenders that doom and gloom would result from Nevada’s law haven’t proved true.
Supporters of Hawaii’s law generally believe lenders will embrace the new nonjudicial foreclosure requirements and work with borrowers more closely to avoid foreclosure where it’s possible.
Stephen Levins, director of the state Office of Consumer Protection, believes that timetables under the dispute resolution program could actually speed up loan modification cases and resolve bad loans — either through restructuring or foreclosure — more quickly, which would benefit everyone.
If the dispute resolution program starts by Oct. 1, the first lender-borrower meetings are expected to start Jan. 1. The law calls for the program to expire Sept. 30, 2014.
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