Hawaii jobless rate holds at 6.3 percent

By Dave Segal
Article from: Star-Advertiser

Hawaii’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained at 6.3 percent in March for the third straight month, according to data released today by the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.

The trade, transportation and utilities grouping comprised the greatest job growth, expanding by 900 jobs from February. Government jobs fell by 1,100.

Hawaii’s labor force grew to 633,950 from 631,900 in the previous month with those employed rising to 594,000 from 591,950 and those unemployed remaining flat at 39,950.

A year earlier, Hawaii’s unemployment rate was at 6.8 percent.

The state still continues to far outpace the U.S., which had an unemployment rate of 8.8 percent in March.

For the counties, whose numbers are calculated on a not-seasonally adjusted basis, Honolulu fell to 5.1 percent from 5.3 percent in February, Hawaii County remained at 9.5 percent, Kauai fell to 8.5 percent from 8.6 percent and Maui County declined to 7.8 percent from 8 percent.

Separately in Maui County, the island of Maui fell to 7.8 percent from 7.9 percent, Molokai dropped to 10.8 percent from 11.1 percent and Lanai declined to 5.4 percent from 5.8 percent.

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Foreclosure counts expected to rebound

Lenders will soon resume processing of delinquencies

By Andrew Gomes
Article from: Star-Advertiser

It’s been relatively calm on Hawaii’s home foreclosure front during the past several months, but the storm could soon return.

Foreclosure activity in Hawaii real estate declined for a fourth consecutive month in March, falling 37 percent from a year earlier, according to a report industry research firm RealtyTrac released yesterday.

The count — 691 foreclosure filings last month — was the lowest in nearly two years. It was also less than half the record 1,629 reached in August.

But RealtyTrac and local foreclosure attorneys say recent declines likely will be over soon when several major lenders resume more normal processing of delinquent mortgage cases after resolving issues with improper case documentation.

Marvin Dang, a Hono­lulu foreclosure attorney, said he expects a rebound as early as this month or next month.

“There should be some increases in foreclosures, though it’s hard to say how much,” he said.

Daren Blomquist, a RealtyTrac spokesman, said rebounds after the artificial lulls have already occurred in a few other states, and the trend most certainly will follow for Hawaii.

“Over the last three or four months, the (foreclosure) numbers have just fallen off a cliff,” he said. “It’s really too sudden of a decline to say that it’s a true market recovery.”

FORECLOSURE RANKING
Nevada had one foreclosure for every 88 homes in March. Below are the highest and lowest foreclosure filings:
» 1. Nevada 88
» 2. Arizona 175
» 3. California 223
» 4. Utah 278
» 5. Michigan 311
» 16. Hawaii 746
» 46. S. Dakota 3,264
» 47. Mississippi 3,456
» 48. W. Virginia 6,294
» 49. N. Dakota 12,657
» 50. Vermont 52,374
Source: RealtyTrac

Some lenders began announcing in October that they were voluntarily holding back on filing new foreclosure cases or selling repossessed homes after their loan documentation practices were called into question and rejected in some courts.

Since then, lenders including Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and GMAC Mortgage have been addressing deficiencies. If problems are resolved, there will be a backlog of delinquent mortgages to process, though the size of a resurgence may be limited by processing capacity and take several months or more to return to more normal levels.

Eventually as the economy recovers, foreclosure filings will subside, but industry observers say it’s too soon to predict when that will likely happen given present instability in the economy and housing market.

Last month, foreclosure filings nationally fell 35 percent to 239,795 from 367,056 in March 2010, which represented the highest monthly total since RealtyTrac began publishing the data in 2005.

The national rate last month represented one foreclosure filing for every 542 households.

Hawaii had the 16th highest rate at one filing for every 746 households.

The worst rate was in Nevada, where there was one filing for every 88 households.

Kauai had the next best rate at one filing per 793 households, and the lowest number of filings at 38.

On Maui there were 161 filings, or one for every 414 households.

The worst rate was on Hawaii with one filing per 397 households based on 203 filings.

RealtyTrac counts three types of filings in its data that can occur at different stages of the foreclosure process — initial default notices, auction notices and lender repossessions.

Statewide, most Hawaii foreclosure filings, 365, were auction notices. Another 280 filings were lender repossessions, while just 46 filings were default notices.

The methodology produces a somewhat imprecise measure of how many homes are in the process of foreclosure because RealtyTrac counts different types of filings on the same property if they occur in different months, which means some properties may be counted in more than one month.

RealtyTrac also doesn’t exclude commercial property from its count, which means popular vacation property in Hawaii such as time shares and condominium-hotel units can be among RealtyTrac’s tally.

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Maui March 2011 Sales Statistics

Brief Maui Statistics Overview:
March’s Sales Volume –March’s Residential Sales increased to 88 homes sold, while Condo Sales rose to 124 units sold. Land sales came in at 11 lots sold.

March’s Median SALES prices – Home median prices rose slightly to $450,000 while Condo median prices came in at $289,000. Land median price was $500,000.

Days on Market for Residential homes = 151 DOM, Condos = 180 DOM, Land = 231 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 Sales” numbers only compare January-March 2011 to January-March 2010. Short timeframe (monthly) views do not necessarily reflect the longer timeframe trends.
Year to Date: Comparing January-March 2011 to January-March 2010 Residential unit sales rose (+14%), average sold price = $681,682 (+1%), median price = $450,000 (-4%) and total dollar volume
sold = $135,654,619 (+16%).
Condo unit sales increased (+5%), average sold price = $491,522 (-35%), median price = $320,000 (-25%). Total Condo dollar volume sold = $151,880,159 (-32%).
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 (-13%), average sold price = $849,919 (+54%), median price = $310,000 (-38%), Total dollar volume = $22,947,826 (+34%).
Also, total sales for immediately past 12 months: Residential = 840, Condo = 1,163, Land = 123.

April 9, 2011 – Active/Pending/Contingent status inventory:
April Mar. Feb. Jan. Dec. Nov. Oct. Sept. Aug. July June May April
Homes 958 964 953 963 974 976 1,001 981 994 1,008 1,007 1,040 1,059
Condos 1,305 1,331 1,379 1,383 1,371 1,347 1,394 1,455 1,503 1,412 1,423 1,449 1,494
Land 554 557 566 569 601 596 601 620 604 601 591 579 585

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 show just over a 25% increase from February 2011. 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 anticipated 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.
Disclaimer: Zooming in on the figures of a specific geographic area or property type may lead to different conclusions that the overall view.
Maui’s market place is much smaller than Oahu’s, and a few high or low sales have a greater effect on the statistical numbers without necessarily indicating a big market swing one way or another.

Information provided by The Realtors Association of Maui (RAM)
For Questions Please Call The Hansen Ohana (808)879-3667