It’s out there, the house of your dreams. And quite possibly, it is the first time you are buying a home. Consider this Mortgage Rates 101.

“Mortgage rates vary from lender to lender, so you’ll want to compare current mortgage rates,” said Wendy Kurosawa a CPB Homeloans consultant. “Ask each lender what its current mortgage interest rates are and whether the rates being quoted are the lowest for that day or week.”

With mortgages, as with many things in life, it’s not “one size fits all.”

“When you start to compare rates, you want to ask if the rate is fixed or adjustable. Keep in mind that when interest rates for adjustable rate loans go up, generally so will your mortgage payment,” said Kurosawa.

You have to know about other “bank” phrases. APR means Annual Percentage Rate and that can figure into the monthly cost of the mortgage.

“Other costs that contribute to the varying APR’s include private mortgage insurance, which is PMI, paid during the term of the loan,” said Kurosawa.

There are other mystical terms when it comes to buying a home, especially if you’re a first time home buyer. You will hear about “points.”

“Points are fees paid to the lender for the loan and often linked to the interest rate. Usually the more points you pay, the lower the interest rate will be,” explains Kurosawa. “So for example, two points charged on a $100,000 loan would equal to $2,000.”

Her “point” is, the more money you pay up front, the lower the monthly mortgage will be, whether it comes to points or a down payment. If you are a first time homebuyer, it’s probably a good idea to talk with a home loan consultant.

(Donna Hansen, Karen Leach, Khon2, Maui News)

You can catch a sneak peak of the premiere episode of the new Hawaii 5-0 before it airs nationally next week.

The remake of the popular television series will be shown at Waikiki’s “Sunset on the Beach” Monday night.

The stars of the new Hawaii 5-0 will be there too, including Daniel Dae Kim, Grace Park, Scott Caan, and Alex O’Loughlin.

(Maui news, Khon, Karen Leach, Donna Hansen)

The median price of a single-family home on Oahu rose for a fourth straight month in August, though sales volumes declined.The median price for homes in Honolulu jumped 15.2 percent to $645,239 last month, the Honolulu Board of Realtors said Wednesday. The gains followed a 1.7 percent rise in July and a slight increase in June.

Sales volume dropped, however, with 224 homes changing hands during the month compared to 239 a year earlier and 269 in July.

Brian Benton, president of the Honolulu Board of Realtors, said the rising median price was a good sign for the market.

”We anticipated the slowdown in sales with the end of the federal tax credit, but the increases in median prices are a sign that the Honolulu market continues to strengthen,” Benton said in a news release.

Benton referred to the federal law that allowed some buyers to claim tax credits of up to $8,000 when buying a home.

The credit boosted sales earlier this year, but sales began to drop as it expired.

Buyers had until April 30 to get a signed sales contract and until June 30 to complete the sale to qualify for the credit. Congress later extended the deadline for closing on a buy to the end of September.

Oahu condominium sales showed a similar results. The median sales price rose 6 percent to $307,500 in August but sales volume plunged 17 percent.

Properties spent fewer days on the market in the month.

Single-family homes were sold an average of 32 days after they were listed, down from 49 days in August last year. Among condominiums, properties remained on the market for an average of 33 days, down from 53 days.

(Maui News, Karen Leach, Khon2)

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 Labor day typically marks the unofficial end of summer with many hitting the road for a final get-a-way.

Here at home, the holiday weekend is offering a much needed boost for Hawaii’s economy with many crossing their fingers the trend will continue.

The labor day weekend is proving to be a strong finish for summer tourism numbers.

Tina Oday, who’s visiting from Guam says, “I am a little surprised at how busy the hotels are and how full they are and the events.”

Waikiki hotel officials say most are seeing occupancy rates close to 100%. “It is a good thing everyone should come to Hawaii, ” adds Oday.

Oday says she’s seen the boom in visitors compared to last year.”And it seems I would say the first time we came about a year and a half ago it was sluggish at best and now it just seems like everybody is back on track for vacation.”

According to AAA around 31 million Americans are traveling this holiday weekend, that’s a 10% increase from last year and Hawaii is reaping the benefits.

“Its been really crazy, for you five to six hours straight a night we’ve had customers all around lining up inside and outside, there was a lot of business going on,” said Leah Marie Rehfeldt, Lappert’s Ice Cream& Coffee.

The most recent Hawaii Tourism Authority visitor report shows visitor spending and arrivals is up for the eighth consecutive month, and its hoped the trend continues.

Travel industry experts credit the rebounding global economy for the up-tick in travel, but some say even though the visitors are up not everyone is spending.

The owner of the Bonita Kiosk at the Hilton Hawaiian Village says typically the winter season brings big spenders who tend to shop a little more.

“There was a lot of people walking around a lot of people and it was ok not a lot of people was buying but we had some a lot of traffic going around,” says Vardit Hacmon, Bonita.

KHON2 news