Loved Home in Pukalani

Spectacular Views!

Tucked away at the end of the cul-de-sac you will find this very loved single level home with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths, a den, and large living room overlooking great views.

Lots of storage. Two car carport. Easy to view with a little notice. Convenient location!

Contact Bob Hansen, BROKER, 808-283-9456 or

Donna D. Hansen, Realtor (S) 808-280-1650 for a showing today!

Marriott Slated To Break Ground For New 138 Room Courtyard Hotel On Maui Next Week

Marriott to break ground for new hotel on Maui
A new 138-room Courtyard by Marriott hotel is expected to cost $16.5 million

By Andrew Gomes
Article from: Star-Advertiser
A decade-old plan to build a hotel near Maui’s main airport in Kahului is finally moving forward.

Participants in the venture led by Alexander & Baldwin Inc. announced that construction is slated to begin next week on a 138-room Courtyard by Marriott hotel. A groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for today.

The project has long been desired by tourism officials who lament the lack of visitor accommodations near the airport, Maui’s commercial core and county government offices. But economic factors stalled development for several years.

A&B discussed the proj­ect publicly in early 2001, but after obtaining county approvals including a zoning change in 2002, the company declared in 2004 that it had deferred the proj­ect because of high construction costs.

Now A&B said the timing is right to build the hotel, which is estimated to cost $16.5 million.

“The economy is coming back,” Grant Y.M. Chun, vice president of the real estate subsidiary of A&B, said in a statement. “We are confident this hotel — long anticipated, for sure — will be a welcome and convenient option for short-term visitors from the neighbor islands, government officials desiring proximity to Wai­luku offices and, quite possibly sports event or family reunion attendees.”

Marriott expects the hotel will appeal to business guests, travelers and visitors interested in exploring Central and Upcountry Maui.
The four-story complex will include a business center, meeting rooms, a pool, fitness center, bar and lounge. The hotel also will include a guest laundry, surfboard storage and a convenience store.

The hotel will be the third Courtyard hotel in Hawaii. The others are in Waikiki and on Kauai. One is also planned for Laie. Overall, Marriott presently manages 14 hotel and time-share properties in Hawaii under the Courtyard and other brand names.

The Kahului hotel will be on a 3-acre site at the intersection of Dairy Road, Hale­akala Highway and Keo­lani Place, which leads to the airport.

R.D. Olson Construction, an Irvine, Calif.-based firm that has built Marriott hotels, is the contractor for the Maui proj­ect. A&B estimates that more than 50 jobs, including some for local subcontractors, will be needed to build the hotel.

Maui Meadows Home...

Perfect home to enter into ownership in this popular Maui Meadows community on the quiet side of Akala Drive. A fabulous level, approximately half-acre parcel just waiting for someone to turn it into a tropical paradise. Potential to build a second story to obtain views. You will love the star filled Maui Meadows’ skies. The home has high ceilings, laminated wood flooring throughout, large mirrored closets, lots of shelved storage, plus all sliding glass doors have private lanais with their own entrances. Only minutes to beautiful beaches, world class dining and shopping and Wailea resort activities.

Located close to where dolphins and turtles enjoy our beautiful ocean waters, this peaceful sanctuary is zoned for a possible 750 sq. ft. (approximate) cottage which could easily be placed in a secluded portion of this large parcel. Don’t miss this fabulous opportunity to own in Maui Meadows.

Easy to show. Please call Clint Hansen, Realtor (S) 808.280.2764

First Hawaiian Bank’s Income Rises Amid “Progress” In The Economy

First Hawaiian has ‘respectable’ quarter
CEO Don Horner says his bank’s income rose amid “progress” in the state’s economy
By Dave Segal
Article from: Star-Advertiser

First Hawaiian Bank said its net income rose 2.6 percent in the first quarter amid signs that the Hawaii economy is turning around.

The state’s largest bank in terms of assets posted earnings of $52.7 million compared with $51.3 million in the year-earlier period, according to financial results due out today.
Chairman and CEO Don Hor­ner called the quarter “respectable” and said the bank’s overall fundamentals remain solid.

“We see continued prog­ress in our state’s economy and are hopeful the impact of the March 11 tragedy in Japan will not be as severe as first predicted,” Hor­ner said. “A strong tourism sector is an important contributor to lead our economic recovery.”

Earlier this month, First Hawaiian released a first-quarter business activity report that showed retail spending by consumers increased 10.2 percent over the same period a year ago at businesses open at least a year. The bank is the state’s largest provider of merchant card terminals and debit and credit card proc­ess­ing with more than 7,500 merchant locations in Hawaii, Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mari­ana Islands.

First Hawaiian’s assets last quarter increased 6.3 percent to $15.2 billion from $14.3 billion.
Deposits were up 5.8 percent to $10.8 billion from $10.2 billion, and loans and leases edged up 2.8 percent to $8.2 billion from $8 billion.

The percentage of nonperforming assets to total assets remained low at 0.2.5 percent compared with 0.23 percent a year ago.
The bank’s capital, or net worth, at the end of thequarter was in excess of $2.6 billion and remained in the top quartile nationally as a percentage of total assets.

First Hawaiian, a wholly owned subsidiary of French banking giant BNP Pari­bas, is not required to separately report its earnings, but does so voluntarily each quarter.

The Honolulu-based bank, founded in 1858, has 58 branches in Hawaii, three on Guam and two on Saipan.

Front Row @ Ke Alii Ocean Villas

Front Row!

DIRECT OCEAN VIEWS! Have it all, spectacular views along with a spacious and popular two bedroom two bath jewel of a condo with a fabulous loft presently being used as a media room.

Private garage perfect for your personal car and extra storage. Directly across from the beach for enjoying the surf & sand views. Easy stroll to restaurants and shops. The community offers a fabulous pool, hot tub, phenomenal fitness center and play area. It just doesn’t get any better than this.

Contact Bob Hansen, BROKER, 808-283-9456 or

Donna D. Hansen, Realtor (S) 808-280-1650 for a showing today!

Bank Of Hawaii First Quarter Earnings Top Forecasts ~ CEO Cites Many Reasons Including Improving Hawaii Economy And Stabilizatin Of Real Estate Values

Bankoh net falls but tops forecasts

CEO Peter Ho says an improving Hawaii economy is leading to better credit quality

By Dave Segal
Article from: Star-Advertiser

Bank of Hawaii Corp. said its loan portfolio and interest margins are continuing to benefit from the state’s improving economy.

Hawaii’s second-largest bank in terms of assets blew past analysts’ first-quarter earnings estimates by 16 cents yesterday even as net income fell 19.7 percent from the year-ago period.

Bank of Hawaii had earnings of $42.4 million, or 88 cents a share. Analysts had expected the bank to earn 72 cents a share. A year earlier, the bank earned $52.7 million, or $1.09 a share, but that included net gains of $20 million from the sale of investment securities. Last quarter, the bank had securities gains of just $6.1 million.

Peter Ho, chairman, president and CEO of Bank of Hawaii, said he was pleased with the first-quarter results, adding that the improving economy in Hawaii was largely behind it.

“All roads go back to the economy,” Ho said. “We have seen for several quarters now continued improvement in the Hawaiian economy, and that’s 90 percent of our business and hugely important for us.”

Ho said the bank has started to see increased activity in its business segments, particularly on the consumer front and in the stabilization of real estate values.

“We think there’s reason for cautious optimism from an economic standpoint here in the islands, and that is obviously impacting our credit quality in a positive way,” Ho said. “We’ve logged improvement in credit quality for at least three quarters now, and our assumption is we’ll continue to see that. I guess the big ‘X factor’ is what happens with the Japanese situation. We’re obviously concerned like the rest of the community, but it’s a little too early to determine how much an impact that will have on the economic recovery.”

Bank of Hawaii’s stock, which traded as high as $49.22 yesterday, ended off 28 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $47.39.

The securities gains came from the bank trying to take the risk out of its balance sheet by selling longer-term government securities in favor of shorter-term securities due to the rising interest-rate environment. Rising interest rates also helped the bank improve its net interest margin, which is the difference between what it pays depositors and what it brings in from loans. Bank of Hawaii’s net interest margin was 3.24 percent in the first quarter. That was worse than the 3.72 percent in the year-earlier quarter but better than the 3.15 percent in the fourth quarter.
Analyst Brett Rabatin of Birmingham, Ala.-based Sterne Agee said credit quality and better margins “drove the quarter in terms of upside.”

“I think it was a good quarter in a still-challenging environment,” Rabatin said. “Bank of Hawaii obviously had stellar asset-quality trends through the downturn. Their credit quality never got to be peer-like because they had less exposure to high-risk borrowers and loan types like construction. So they’ve definitely seen lower charge-offs from consumer trends and nonperforming assets. Generally, I think that’s indicative of an improving economy.”

Bank of Hawaii set aside just $4.7 million to cover potential loan losses in the first quarter, compared with $20.7 million a year earlier and $5.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2010.

Total assets rose 4.2 percent to $13 billion from $12.4 billion. First Hawaiian Bank ranks first in the state in total assets with $15.2 billion.

Loans and leases declined 5 percent to $5.3 billion from $5.6 billion. And deposits gained 4.4 percent to $9.9 billion from $9.5 billion.

Revenue fell 14.4 percent to $153.6 million from $179.4 million. Net interest income declined 7.4 percent to $99.7 million from $107.7 million. Noninterest income, which includes money earned from fees and charges, fell 24.9 percent to $53.9 million from $71.8 million.

Ho said the bank generated $2 million less in debit card overdraft fees last quarter from the year-earlier period after a federal law went into effect in the middle of last year that required consumers to give their permission for banks to assess overdraft charges.

The bank also maintained its quarterly dividend at 45 cents a share. It will be payable June 14 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on May 31.

April Economic Outlook

Spring in the Market

Cherry blossoms sprouting around the Washington, DC area were a sure sign that spring had arrived after a cold winter. As these flowers were in full bloom, the U.S. Department of Labor released the employment report for March: Unemployment declined for the fourth straight month to 8.8 percent, and net employment sprung up by 216,000, the largest monthly job gain since last May and a hopeful signal that the labor market was warming up. On a March-over-March basis, employment was up by 1.3 million.The March employment spurt was largely reflected in several service-providing industries, mining, and manufacturing. In contrast, local government employment was down again, and construction and real estate employment remained weak. Construction jobs have largely trended downward over the past five years, with total construction employment down nearly 30 percent from its peak in April 2006. Likewise, jobs in the real estate industry (which is distinct from construction in the Labor Department’s count) remain more than 100,000 below (7 percent less than) the peak during the spring of 2006. While the monthly job gains for this sector have been weak and inconsistent, nonetheless real estate employment was up by 10,000 since last November.

The housing market may also be poised to shake off the frigid sales pace of January and February, when new home sales slipped to the lowest pace since the Census Bureau began the series in 1963. Driven by low mortgage rates and home prices well below peaks, homebuyer affordability is at the highest level in at least forty years, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

Indeed, sales contract signings for existing homes were up in February, positioning the market for a bounce up in settlements during the second quarter, the traditional time for the seasonal upswing in sales. interest rates will inch higher over 2011, reducing the financial gain and incentive to refinance. The rental market should continue to have gradually warmer market conditions as well, with rents continuing to pickup and vacancies dipping on class-A properties and in stronger metro areas. Rents and vacancy rates are also stabilizing for most other properties and locales.

The encouraging labor market report coupled with high homebuyer affordability should translate into a home-sales pick up, starting this spring. Sales comparisons with a year ago wil lunderstate sales growth, because these comparisons are affected by the 2010 tax-credit that helped to bring many buyers into the market through last April. Look for home sales to be up about 5 percent in 2011 compared with 2010, on a calendar year basis.

With the Federal Reserve maintaining its accommodative monetary policy and Treasury note purchase program, short-term rates will remain low and supportive of household borrowing. The coupon difference between 30-year and 15-year fixed-rate mortgages has gradually widened to about three-quarters of a percentage point, in part reflecting the lower yields on shorter-term instruments. Homebuyers generally opt for 30-year financing, while borrowers who refinance tend to choose 15-year (and to a lesser extent, 20-year) fixed-rate loans. Refinancers not only benefit from the much lower interest rate on 15-year loans, but the faster amortization schedule means they accumulate home equity wealth more quickly. While refinance continues to account for over two-thirds of all loan applications, it will likely account for a much smaller share later this year, for two important reasons. First, the number of borrowers who are “in-the-money” and financially positioned to refinance falls with each passing week, as more close on their new low-rate loan. Second, the consensus view is that long-term.  So expect the economy and housing market to follow the cherry trees’ lead: Shake off the cold and show a bit of spring in activity.

http://www.freddiemac.com/news/finance/docs/Apr_2011_public_outlook.pdf

Frank E. Nothaft
Chief Economist

Opinions, estimates, forecasts and other views contained in this document are those of Freddie Mac’s Office of the Chief Economist, do not necessarily represent the views of Freddie Mac or its management, should not be construed as indicating Freddie Mac’s business prospects or expected results, and are subject to change without notice. Although the Office of the Chief Economist attempts to provide reliable, useful information, it does not guarantee that the information is accurate, current or suitable for any particular purpose. The information is therefore provided on an “as is” basis, with no warranties of any kind whatsoever.

Information from this document may be used with proper attribution. Alteration of this document is strictly prohibited.

© 2011 by Freddie Mac.