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.
Friday, June 10, 2011
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.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Foreclosures in Hawaii Declined In The First Quarter
Isle foreclosures down in first quarter
The distressed sales represented 13.7% of all transactions
By Andrew Gomes
Article from: Star-Advertiser
Sales of Hawaii homes that were in foreclosure slowed in the first three months of the year, but their impact on the state’s housing market remained relatively high, a new report released today shows.
There were 362 homes in foreclosure that were sold during the first quarter, which was down 25 percent from 480 sales in the same period last year, according to the report from RealtyTrac.
However, because there were fewer home sales overall, the share of foreclosure sales rose.
Foreclosure property represented 13.7 percent of all first-quarter home sales, or about one out of seven sales. A year earlier, the figure was 12.4 percent, or about one out of eight sales.
It’s unclear how much of the decline in foreclosure sales may be due to a pullback in foreclosure cases or reduced demand from buyers.
A new law requiring lenders to follow new foreclosure procedures and giving homeowners more options to avoid foreclosure was enacted this month, so it had no direct impact on first-quarter foreclosure sales.
During the quarter, the number of foreclosure filings declined 22 percent. Local foreclosure attorneys attribute the reduction to lenders holding back cases after their loan documentation practices were called into question.
Also during the quarter, overall home sales in Hawaii declined, according to RealtyTrac.
Foreclosure sales have a unique impact on the housing market, in some ways helping attract buyers but also generating downward pressure on prices.
Homes in foreclosure sold for an average $322,317 in the first quarter, according to the report. RealtyTrac said that was 18 percent less than the average for all nonforeclosure home sales.
In the first quarter of 2010, the average discount on foreclosure sales was 15 percent.
The discount, however, is influenced by a variety of factors including the condition, size and location of homes sold, which muddies the comparison between foreclosure and nonforeclosure property values.
RealtyTrac counts two types of foreclosure sales — homes in foreclosure that are sold by homeowners before a foreclosure auction, and homes sold by lenders either at auction or afterward.
Most foreclosure sales in Hawaii during the first quarter were by lenders. A year earlier, most were by homeowners.
Of the 362 sales in the recent quarter, 245 were by lenders. That was up 18 percent from 207 lender sales in the year-earlier quarter.
Homeowners made 117 sales in the first quarter, down 57 percent from 273 sales a year earlier.
RealtyTrac reported data on foreclosure sales from 38 states, but did not have sufficient data for 12 states.
Of the 38 states, 27 had a larger share of foreclosure sales among all home sales compared with Hawaii’s
13.7 percent. The average for 38 states was 27.5 percent, or one for every 3.6 home sales.
In Hawaii, the share of foreclosure sales was greatest on Maui and Kauai, at 29 percent and 25 percent of all home sales, respectively, in the first quarter. On Hawaii Island and Oahu the figure was about 9 percent.
The distressed sales represented 13.7% of all transactions
By Andrew Gomes
Article from: Star-Advertiser
Sales of Hawaii homes that were in foreclosure slowed in the first three months of the year, but their impact on the state’s housing market remained relatively high, a new report released today shows.
There were 362 homes in foreclosure that were sold during the first quarter, which was down 25 percent from 480 sales in the same period last year, according to the report from RealtyTrac.
However, because there were fewer home sales overall, the share of foreclosure sales rose.
Foreclosure property represented 13.7 percent of all first-quarter home sales, or about one out of seven sales. A year earlier, the figure was 12.4 percent, or about one out of eight sales.
It’s unclear how much of the decline in foreclosure sales may be due to a pullback in foreclosure cases or reduced demand from buyers.
A new law requiring lenders to follow new foreclosure procedures and giving homeowners more options to avoid foreclosure was enacted this month, so it had no direct impact on first-quarter foreclosure sales.
During the quarter, the number of foreclosure filings declined 22 percent. Local foreclosure attorneys attribute the reduction to lenders holding back cases after their loan documentation practices were called into question.
Also during the quarter, overall home sales in Hawaii declined, according to RealtyTrac.
Foreclosure sales have a unique impact on the housing market, in some ways helping attract buyers but also generating downward pressure on prices.
Homes in foreclosure sold for an average $322,317 in the first quarter, according to the report. RealtyTrac said that was 18 percent less than the average for all nonforeclosure home sales.
In the first quarter of 2010, the average discount on foreclosure sales was 15 percent.
The discount, however, is influenced by a variety of factors including the condition, size and location of homes sold, which muddies the comparison between foreclosure and nonforeclosure property values.
RealtyTrac counts two types of foreclosure sales — homes in foreclosure that are sold by homeowners before a foreclosure auction, and homes sold by lenders either at auction or afterward.
Most foreclosure sales in Hawaii during the first quarter were by lenders. A year earlier, most were by homeowners.
Of the 362 sales in the recent quarter, 245 were by lenders. That was up 18 percent from 207 lender sales in the year-earlier quarter.
Homeowners made 117 sales in the first quarter, down 57 percent from 273 sales a year earlier.
RealtyTrac reported data on foreclosure sales from 38 states, but did not have sufficient data for 12 states.
Of the 38 states, 27 had a larger share of foreclosure sales among all home sales compared with Hawaii’s
13.7 percent. The average for 38 states was 27.5 percent, or one for every 3.6 home sales.
In Hawaii, the share of foreclosure sales was greatest on Maui and Kauai, at 29 percent and 25 percent of all home sales, respectively, in the first quarter. On Hawaii Island and Oahu the figure was about 9 percent.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
5 Important Homebuyer Points To Consider
5 mistakes homebuyers make
Even in this market, buyers can get tripped up. Here are a few don’ts for first-timers and buyers re-entering the scene.
By Sarah Max of The Wall Street Journal
Homebuyers are an increasingly rare breed. Many who were eager to buy a house raced to take advantage of federal homebuyer tax credits. When those government perks expired in April, home sales essentially went into deep freeze, plummeting to levels not seen in more than a decade, according to the latest numbers from the National Association of Realtors. (Bing: Find the latest information on monthly home sales) Still, NAR projects that nearly 4 million existing homes will sell this year. First-time buyers, without the burden of a home to sell, could benefit from the foul market and record-low mortgage rates.
But woe to the overconfident buyer. Here are five common missteps that first-time homebuyers make.
1. Snubbing the real-estate agent
With so many websites offering plenty of data on listings, who needs an agent? Most people, actually.
Finding a house and figuring out comps — the price of comparable homes on the market – is the easy part. Managing the nuances of offers, inspections, financing and all the other pivotal steps to buying a home is where many new buyers tend to get tripped up, says Shii Ann Huang, an associate broker with The Corcoran Group Inc. in New York.
What’s your home worth?
When buyers hire agents to act as their representative, the agents are obligated to put the buyers’ interests first, even if their commission is paid by the seller and based on the sale price.
Skeptical? That’s all the more reason to find an agent on your terms. Ask friends and acquaintances for referrals and interview two or three candidates before deciding.
Find your next dream home
But don’t let the agent find you. Viviane Ugalde and her husband, both physicians, made this mistake when they bought their first home in Sacramento, Calif., nearly two decades ago.
“We stumbled onto an agent when she saw us peeking in the windows of an empty house for sale,” Ugalde says. The agent, who happened to live on the same block, came out of her house wearing pajamas, offered to show the couple around the neighborhood and ultimately helped them find a house. Then the agent, who was new to real estate, neglected to show up for the closing.
“It was scary and confusing signing what seemed like a thousand pages,” Ugalde says.
2. Guesstimating how much you can afford
Many buyers mistakenly take a do-it-yourself approach to financing. They use online calculators to estimate how much house they can afford, dive into the house hunt and then get a dash of cold water when lenders refuse to qualify them for that amount.
“The process is so different than it was four or five years ago,” says Diann Patton, a broker with Coldwell Banker in Grass Valley, Calif. Not only are lenders reading loan applications closely, she says, but they’re also verifying employment and running multiple credit checks during the process.
Meet a mortgage broker or banker before you get serious about your search, Patton says. Remember, too, that the costs of buying and owning a home go beyond the sticker price. Although online calculators do account for property tax and insurance, it’s up to you to account for maintenance costs, moving fees and association dues.
3. Letting charm cloud your judgment
No one will fault you for falling hard for a charming older home. But unless the house has been painstakingly remodeled or you’re prepared to pay for repairs and upgrades, an old house can quickly lose its allure.
In 2009, Alison Koop, a public-relations manager for the University of Washington, came dangerously close to saying “I do” to a seemingly fabulous midcentury home in northeastern Seattle. Koop was so smitten with the big windows and vaulted ceilings in the living room that she neglected to notice the exposed wires, shoddy roof and other structural problems. Any delusions Koop had were laid to rest in the guest bathroom.
“When the inspector turned the faucet on,” she says, “the spigot fell off, hitting the floor of the tub with an exclamatory thunk.”If you’re considering an old home, don’t let the inspection be your last line of defense, says Jay Papasan, vice president of publishing at Keller Williams Realty, based in Austin, Texas. “Negotiate a long due-diligence period,” he says. That gives you time to get estimates from contractors and back out, if need be.
Of course, new homes can have drawbacks. Many recently built homes have experienced serious problems with Chinese-made drywall, for example. Proceed with care, whatever the home’s age.
4. Focusing on the house, not the ‘hood’
In hindsight, many buyers say they wish they’d taken their due diligence a few steps further to understand all the perks, quirks and hassles of living in a particular neighborhood. You can always fix up the house, but there’s no easy remedy for annoying neighbors, oppressive homeowners-association rules and marathon commutes.
When Laurie Tarkan and her husband bought their first home in 2001, they were so infatuated with the circa-1924 three-bedroom cottage that — in addition to brushing over some of the headaches of an old house — they didn’t consider its somewhat out-of-the-way location about a mile from downtown Maplewood, N.J., a popular New York subur
“As a first-time buyer, you’re not aware of all the things you should think about that aren’t about the house,” says Tarkan, who after living in New York City for 17 years still hasn’t gotten used to driving everywhere.
Spend as much time as you can in your future neighborhood, ideally on different days and times. Eat in the restaurants, drop in on a yoga class and test drive your commute.
5. Making arbitrary offers
With housing inventory running high and sales at record lows in most markets, there’s no shortage of houses for sale and sellers desperate to get out from under them. It’s all the more reason to hold out for the right house and the right price.
But when you find that perfect house, don’t assume you can lob a lowball offer or make unreasonable demands. Even in hard-hit markets, nice houses in desirable neighborhoods are fetching multiple bids.
If the house has been on the market for months, you probably don’t need to worry about other buyers lining up behind you. Make an offer based on recent sales for comparable homes, foreclosure activity and market trends, and don’t be afraid to start the bidding low. If the house is new to the market or recently foreclosed upon, and other buyers are circling the block, put your best foot forward, but don’t get suckered into a bidding war.
**This was an excellent and insightful article by Sarah Max for The Wall Street Journal that was posted on msn.com. Please note that some of the points are based on national considerations – for questions specific to our Maui market place please call The Hansen Ohana at (808)879-3667 anytime.
Even in this market, buyers can get tripped up. Here are a few don’ts for first-timers and buyers re-entering the scene.
By Sarah Max of The Wall Street Journal
Homebuyers are an increasingly rare breed. Many who were eager to buy a house raced to take advantage of federal homebuyer tax credits. When those government perks expired in April, home sales essentially went into deep freeze, plummeting to levels not seen in more than a decade, according to the latest numbers from the National Association of Realtors. (Bing: Find the latest information on monthly home sales) Still, NAR projects that nearly 4 million existing homes will sell this year. First-time buyers, without the burden of a home to sell, could benefit from the foul market and record-low mortgage rates.
But woe to the overconfident buyer. Here are five common missteps that first-time homebuyers make.
1. Snubbing the real-estate agent
With so many websites offering plenty of data on listings, who needs an agent? Most people, actually.
Finding a house and figuring out comps — the price of comparable homes on the market – is the easy part. Managing the nuances of offers, inspections, financing and all the other pivotal steps to buying a home is where many new buyers tend to get tripped up, says Shii Ann Huang, an associate broker with The Corcoran Group Inc. in New York.
What’s your home worth?
When buyers hire agents to act as their representative, the agents are obligated to put the buyers’ interests first, even if their commission is paid by the seller and based on the sale price.
Skeptical? That’s all the more reason to find an agent on your terms. Ask friends and acquaintances for referrals and interview two or three candidates before deciding.
Find your next dream home
But don’t let the agent find you. Viviane Ugalde and her husband, both physicians, made this mistake when they bought their first home in Sacramento, Calif., nearly two decades ago.
“We stumbled onto an agent when she saw us peeking in the windows of an empty house for sale,” Ugalde says. The agent, who happened to live on the same block, came out of her house wearing pajamas, offered to show the couple around the neighborhood and ultimately helped them find a house. Then the agent, who was new to real estate, neglected to show up for the closing.
“It was scary and confusing signing what seemed like a thousand pages,” Ugalde says.
2. Guesstimating how much you can afford
Many buyers mistakenly take a do-it-yourself approach to financing. They use online calculators to estimate how much house they can afford, dive into the house hunt and then get a dash of cold water when lenders refuse to qualify them for that amount.
“The process is so different than it was four or five years ago,” says Diann Patton, a broker with Coldwell Banker in Grass Valley, Calif. Not only are lenders reading loan applications closely, she says, but they’re also verifying employment and running multiple credit checks during the process.
Meet a mortgage broker or banker before you get serious about your search, Patton says. Remember, too, that the costs of buying and owning a home go beyond the sticker price. Although online calculators do account for property tax and insurance, it’s up to you to account for maintenance costs, moving fees and association dues.
3. Letting charm cloud your judgment
No one will fault you for falling hard for a charming older home. But unless the house has been painstakingly remodeled or you’re prepared to pay for repairs and upgrades, an old house can quickly lose its allure.
In 2009, Alison Koop, a public-relations manager for the University of Washington, came dangerously close to saying “I do” to a seemingly fabulous midcentury home in northeastern Seattle. Koop was so smitten with the big windows and vaulted ceilings in the living room that she neglected to notice the exposed wires, shoddy roof and other structural problems. Any delusions Koop had were laid to rest in the guest bathroom.
“When the inspector turned the faucet on,” she says, “the spigot fell off, hitting the floor of the tub with an exclamatory thunk.”If you’re considering an old home, don’t let the inspection be your last line of defense, says Jay Papasan, vice president of publishing at Keller Williams Realty, based in Austin, Texas. “Negotiate a long due-diligence period,” he says. That gives you time to get estimates from contractors and back out, if need be.
Of course, new homes can have drawbacks. Many recently built homes have experienced serious problems with Chinese-made drywall, for example. Proceed with care, whatever the home’s age.
4. Focusing on the house, not the ‘hood’
In hindsight, many buyers say they wish they’d taken their due diligence a few steps further to understand all the perks, quirks and hassles of living in a particular neighborhood. You can always fix up the house, but there’s no easy remedy for annoying neighbors, oppressive homeowners-association rules and marathon commutes.
When Laurie Tarkan and her husband bought their first home in 2001, they were so infatuated with the circa-1924 three-bedroom cottage that — in addition to brushing over some of the headaches of an old house — they didn’t consider its somewhat out-of-the-way location about a mile from downtown Maplewood, N.J., a popular New York subur
“As a first-time buyer, you’re not aware of all the things you should think about that aren’t about the house,” says Tarkan, who after living in New York City for 17 years still hasn’t gotten used to driving everywhere.
Spend as much time as you can in your future neighborhood, ideally on different days and times. Eat in the restaurants, drop in on a yoga class and test drive your commute.
5. Making arbitrary offers
With housing inventory running high and sales at record lows in most markets, there’s no shortage of houses for sale and sellers desperate to get out from under them. It’s all the more reason to hold out for the right house and the right price.
But when you find that perfect house, don’t assume you can lob a lowball offer or make unreasonable demands. Even in hard-hit markets, nice houses in desirable neighborhoods are fetching multiple bids.
If the house has been on the market for months, you probably don’t need to worry about other buyers lining up behind you. Make an offer based on recent sales for comparable homes, foreclosure activity and market trends, and don’t be afraid to start the bidding low. If the house is new to the market or recently foreclosed upon, and other buyers are circling the block, put your best foot forward, but don’t get suckered into a bidding war.
**This was an excellent and insightful article by Sarah Max for The Wall Street Journal that was posted on msn.com. Please note that some of the points are based on national considerations – for questions specific to our Maui market place please call The Hansen Ohana at (808)879-3667 anytime.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Hawaii Unemployment Dips To Lowest Rate In 2 Years ~ Notably Lower Than The National Average
Isle jobless rate dips to 6.1%
Unemployment was the lowest in two years during April, a state report says
By Alan Yonan Jr.
Article from: Star-Advertiser
The sluggish recovery in Hawaii’s labor market picked up speed in April with the unemployment rate falling to 6.1 percent, the lowest level in more than two years.
The improvement came after four straight months in which the jobless rate was stuck at 6.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to a report issued yesterday by the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. April’s unemployment rate was the lowest since January 2009, when it was 6 percent.
The report also showed that Hawaii fared better than the nation as a whole, which experienced an increase in the average unemployment rate to 9 percent in April from 8.8 percent in March.
The number of employed rose to 596,900 in April, an increase of 2,900 from March, according to the report. At the same time the number of those who were unemployed fell by 1,400 to 38,500.
The labor force data are derived from a telephone survey of households conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. A separate BLS survey of businesses in Hawaii showed that there was a net reduction of 300 payroll jobs in April from March. Despite the decline through the first four months of the year, job growth is running well above last year’s pace, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. As a result, Hawaii’s job market is expected to expand in 2011 for the first time in four years, BLS data show.
The BLS surveys of households and businesses sometimes give conflicting views of the job market from month to month, but over time they generally show a similar trend.
The University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization predicts payroll jobs will increase by 1.6 percent this year. UHERO forecasts Hawaii’s jobless rate to average 6 percent in 2011, down from 6.6 percent in 2010 and 6.8 percent in 2009.
Despite the overall improvement in the job market, there are specific industries, construction in particular, that continue to struggle. While the number of construction jobs increased by 400 in April from March, the industry is in the midst of a three-year decline, having lost more than 10,000 jobs since 2007. Construction jobs peaked that year when the industry employed about 39,100 workers a month.
That could change this year, in large part because of hiring associated with the rail project on Oahu, UHERO reported. The organization forecasts a 3.7 percent increase in construction jobs this year, with job growth focused on Oahu.
“Looking forward, the industry fortunes will differ considerably between Honolulu and the other three counties,” researchers wrote in the report, released yesterday.
“The beginnings of mass transit work will support an acceleration of construction job growth on Oahu over the next few years. While neighbor island construction will also begin to turn around, conditions will not warrant a rapid upturn in either residential or commercial construction.” On a county-by-county basis, Honolulu County’s 4.6 percent jobless rate in April was the lowest in the state, the state Labor Department reported. Elsewhere, the rates were 7.1 percent in Maui County, 7.7 percent in Kauai County and 8.9 percent in Hawaii County. The county data are not adjusted for seasonal variations.
Besides the increase in construction jobs in April, the state reported an additional 400 jobs added in government, 200 in professional and business services and 100 in financial services.
Leisure and hospitality lost 1,300 jobs, in part because of the temporary closing of the Kona Village Resort and the Four Seasons Hualalai on Hawaii island that were damaged by the March 11 tsunami, the state reported. Trade, transportation and utilities lost another 700 jobs, according to the report.
Unemployment was the lowest in two years during April, a state report says
By Alan Yonan Jr.
Article from: Star-Advertiser
The sluggish recovery in Hawaii’s labor market picked up speed in April with the unemployment rate falling to 6.1 percent, the lowest level in more than two years.
The improvement came after four straight months in which the jobless rate was stuck at 6.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to a report issued yesterday by the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. April’s unemployment rate was the lowest since January 2009, when it was 6 percent.
The report also showed that Hawaii fared better than the nation as a whole, which experienced an increase in the average unemployment rate to 9 percent in April from 8.8 percent in March.
The number of employed rose to 596,900 in April, an increase of 2,900 from March, according to the report. At the same time the number of those who were unemployed fell by 1,400 to 38,500.
The labor force data are derived from a telephone survey of households conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. A separate BLS survey of businesses in Hawaii showed that there was a net reduction of 300 payroll jobs in April from March. Despite the decline through the first four months of the year, job growth is running well above last year’s pace, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. As a result, Hawaii’s job market is expected to expand in 2011 for the first time in four years, BLS data show.
The BLS surveys of households and businesses sometimes give conflicting views of the job market from month to month, but over time they generally show a similar trend.
The University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization predicts payroll jobs will increase by 1.6 percent this year. UHERO forecasts Hawaii’s jobless rate to average 6 percent in 2011, down from 6.6 percent in 2010 and 6.8 percent in 2009.
Despite the overall improvement in the job market, there are specific industries, construction in particular, that continue to struggle. While the number of construction jobs increased by 400 in April from March, the industry is in the midst of a three-year decline, having lost more than 10,000 jobs since 2007. Construction jobs peaked that year when the industry employed about 39,100 workers a month.
That could change this year, in large part because of hiring associated with the rail project on Oahu, UHERO reported. The organization forecasts a 3.7 percent increase in construction jobs this year, with job growth focused on Oahu.
“Looking forward, the industry fortunes will differ considerably between Honolulu and the other three counties,” researchers wrote in the report, released yesterday.
“The beginnings of mass transit work will support an acceleration of construction job growth on Oahu over the next few years. While neighbor island construction will also begin to turn around, conditions will not warrant a rapid upturn in either residential or commercial construction.” On a county-by-county basis, Honolulu County’s 4.6 percent jobless rate in April was the lowest in the state, the state Labor Department reported. Elsewhere, the rates were 7.1 percent in Maui County, 7.7 percent in Kauai County and 8.9 percent in Hawaii County. The county data are not adjusted for seasonal variations.
Besides the increase in construction jobs in April, the state reported an additional 400 jobs added in government, 200 in professional and business services and 100 in financial services.
Leisure and hospitality lost 1,300 jobs, in part because of the temporary closing of the Kona Village Resort and the Four Seasons Hualalai on Hawaii island that were damaged by the March 11 tsunami, the state reported. Trade, transportation and utilities lost another 700 jobs, according to the report.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
More Positive Economic Indicators For Hawaii ~ The Job Market Is On Pace To Grow This Year For The First Time Since 2007 & Visitor Spending Is Rising
Hawaii jobs expected to grow for first time in four years
By Star-Advertiser staff
Article from: Star-Advertiser
Hawaii’s job market is on pace to grow this year for the first time since 2007 and the visitor industry is expected to shrug off a drop in Japanese tourists, according to a state forecast released today.
Job creation, one of the last pieces of the economy to recover from the recent recession, is forecast to increase by 1.8 percent in 2011, the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism reported. That’s up from a 1.3 percent rise predicted by DBEDT in its last forecast three months ago. The number of jobs generated by the economy had fallen in 2008, 2008 and 2010.
DBEDT revised downward slightly the number of visitors it expects to travel to Hawaii this year because of the natural disasters in Japan, but it revised upward the total amount of visitor spending.
“We note that visitor arrivals from the rest of the world are still growing, especially visitors from Canada and that cruise visitor counts are growing at double digits during the first three months of the year,” said Richard Lim, DBEDT director.
“We are also pleased to see jobs are growing again in the areas outside of tourism, such as information, professional and business services, and educational services,” he said in a news release.
DBEDT is forecasting the number of non-agricultural payroll jobs to grow to 603,900 across the state this year, up from 593,200 last year. However, the 2011 forecast is still far below the 624,900 jobs in the economy in 2007 before employers began cutting back as a result of the economic downturn.
By Star-Advertiser staff
Article from: Star-Advertiser
Hawaii’s job market is on pace to grow this year for the first time since 2007 and the visitor industry is expected to shrug off a drop in Japanese tourists, according to a state forecast released today.
Job creation, one of the last pieces of the economy to recover from the recent recession, is forecast to increase by 1.8 percent in 2011, the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism reported. That’s up from a 1.3 percent rise predicted by DBEDT in its last forecast three months ago. The number of jobs generated by the economy had fallen in 2008, 2008 and 2010.
DBEDT revised downward slightly the number of visitors it expects to travel to Hawaii this year because of the natural disasters in Japan, but it revised upward the total amount of visitor spending.
“We note that visitor arrivals from the rest of the world are still growing, especially visitors from Canada and that cruise visitor counts are growing at double digits during the first three months of the year,” said Richard Lim, DBEDT director.
“We are also pleased to see jobs are growing again in the areas outside of tourism, such as information, professional and business services, and educational services,” he said in a news release.
DBEDT is forecasting the number of non-agricultural payroll jobs to grow to 603,900 across the state this year, up from 593,200 last year. However, the 2011 forecast is still far below the 624,900 jobs in the economy in 2007 before employers began cutting back as a result of the economic downturn.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)