Foreclosures might swamp isle courts

Fannie Mae eschews a quicker, nonjudicial process in response to a new Hawaii law

By Andrew Gomes
Article from: Star-Advertiser

One of the nation’s biggest owners of home mortgages has made a move that could add to an already overburdened Hawaii court system’s caseload.

Fannie Mae, a publicly owned company created and overseen by the federal government, recently instructed companies that handle foreclosures for its loans to file all new Hawaii foreclosures in court.

Fannie Mae also told the firms known as loan servicers to cancel any pending nonjudicial Hawaii foreclosures and restart them in court.

Fannie Mae took the steps in response to Hawaii’s new foreclosure law enacted last month. Critics are concerned Fannie Mae might be attempting to sidestep the main intent of the law, which was to engage mediators to help homeowners avoid foreclosure.

The vast majority of residential foreclosures in Hawaii in recent years have been conducted out of court through a nonjudicial process because it was quicker and cheaper than going through court.

The law was changed in part because the nonjudicial foreclosures left borrowers with little opportunity to contest repossessions even in cases where they believed a lender was improperly taking their home.

The new law, Act 48, gives qualified owner-occupants of Hawaii homes the option of having a dispute resolution professional assist with foreclosure mitigation in front of a lender representative before a foreclosure sale can proceed.

Fannie Mae’s directive, issued Friday, drew criticism from a local homeowner advocacy group that lobbied for Hawaii’s new law.

The Rev. Bob Nakata, a member of Faith Action for Community Equity, said Fannie Mae is attempting to bypass the new law. “Just two days ago, 25 churches got together from two islands and celebrated our new foreclosure mediation law, and now Fannie Mae is trying to outmaneuver us,” he said. “It stinks. Our government-sponsored enterprises are supposed to help us, not take away everything we have fought for.”

Some supporters of Hawaii’s new law fear the move by Fannie Mae, which buys U.S. single-family home loans from loan originators, could spur similar moves by giant banks and other big holders of Hawaii home mortgages, shunting aside the revamped nonjudicial foreclosure law and overwhelming the state court system.

Fannie Mae declined to say whether it established its new policy to avoid nonjudicial foreclosures in Hawaii under the new law or whether the policy is only temporary until it’s possible to file new nonjudicial foreclosures.

The new law resulted in a de facto moratorium on nonjudicial foreclosures because the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs won’t accept any new nonjudicial foreclosure filings until the mediation program is running. The law also prohibits any nonjudicial foreclosure auctions until borrowers have an opportunity to participate in the program.

The program is expected to be running by Oct. 1.

Fannie Mae spokeswoman Amy Bonitatibus said policies are regularly reviewed and adjusted as needed.

“Our announcement is consistent with Hawaii law and was made in response to recent Hawaii legislation,” she said. “Currently, nonjudicial foreclosures cannot be pursued in Hawaii. There is not currently an end date listed in the announcement we issued, but again, we regularly make updates and changes to reflect the current law and foreclosure processes in a state.”

Kim Harman, Hawaii policy director for Faith Action for Community Equity, questioned whether Fannie Mae is trying to avoid requirements for documenting original and amended mortgage agreements and promissory notes under the new law.

Harman said the documentation requirement is the only substantial difference between Hawaii’s law and a Nevada foreclosure mitigation law upon which Hawaii’s law was modeled. Fannie Mae hasn’t banned nonjudicial foreclosures in Nevada.

State Rep. Bob Herkes, who along with Sen. Rosalyn Baker was a chief architect of the law, said Fannie Mae would be misguided if it intends to avoid better documentation by running foreclosures through Hawaii courts.

Herkes intends to ask the Judiciary to hold mortgage holders to the same documentation standards contained in the nonjudicial foreclosure law.

Some Hawaii foreclosure industry attorneys had warned that lenders might flock to judicial foreclosures, in part because lenders can pursue borrowers for any difference between what a borrower owes and proceeds from selling a foreclosed home. This difference, referred to as a deficiency judgment, could help offset higher expenses of judicial foreclosure.

However, others believe the extra time and expense of judicial foreclosure, especially if Hawaii courts get bogged down, still make judicial foreclosure less attractive than the revamped nonjudicial foreclosure process.

While Fannie Mae seeks to proceed with Hawaii foreclosures in court, it is also offering financial incentives for loan servicers to avoid foreclosure and was instructed by the Federal Housing Finance Agency in April to not start a foreclosure if a borrower and servicer are engaged in a good-faith effort to resolve a mortgage delinquency.

So far, there has not been a huge increase in judicial foreclosures in Hawaii, considering that the new law went into effect May 5.

For all of May, there were 141 judicial foreclosure cases, up from 119 in May 2010, according to Judiciary figures. Nearly all of the increase occurred on the Big Island.

For all of last year, state Circuit Courts handled 1,331 foreclosure cases. That figure is estimated to be around 10 percent of all Hawaii foreclosures.

The Judiciary, in testimony on Senate Bill 651 that became the foreclosure mitigation law, expressed concern that any big increase in judicial foreclosures could dramatically delay cases unless new judges and staff are hired.

According to real estate research firm RealtyTrac, close to 500 new foreclosure cases a month were filed on average this year through April.

The Judiciary estimated it would cost about $4.3 million a year for additional personnel to handle such an increase.

Maui High School students took second place at the 2011 Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills National Finals Tuesday morning.

The competition is designed to find the best automotive technology students across the U.S.

The student team from Oregon won first place.

Maui High’s graduates Jimbo Paranada and Marc Paguirigan took 62 minutes and 42 seconds to repair their deliberately bugged Ford F-150 XLT 4×4 Super Cab at Ford Motor Company world headquarters. The Hawaii student team, and the Oregon student team, submitted “perfect trucks” to judges which contained no repair work demerits.  But Oregon’s faster hands-on finish of 58 minutes and six seconds pushed them over the top to win the competition. 

The Maui students were coached by Maui High Instructor Shannon Rowe, a former Hawaii state champion of the Ford/AAA competition, who also was a second-place finisher at the national finals in 1996.  This was his third trip to the national finals as an instructor.

The annual competition gives auto tech students the opportunity to showcase their automotive problem-solving capabilities by resolving “real world” vehicle repair challenges in a timed, head-to-head match-up of top teams from 50 states. 

Kahului-based Maui High teams have represented the state at the national finals for at least 16 years, almost annually since 1992.  They’ve placed in the top 10 for 10 years and won national titles in 1995 and 2000. Last year’s team placed ninth. 

More than 10,000 high school juniors and seniors competed in this year’s competition with $12 million in scholarships offered.  The second-place Hawaii team received thousands of dollars in scholarships to pursue their automotive education, along with assorted prizes and trophies.

As one of the top-10 finishing schools, Maui High School will receive an engine from Ford for their automotive technology program to use in training.  The student pair also will receive a trophy for their school.

Mainlanders raise isle hotel occupancy

Japanese arrivals slump 23.5 percent, but Canada and the U.S. take up the slack

By Kristen Consillio
Article from: Star-Advertiser

More visitors from the mainland and Canada are traveling to Hawaii, while Japanese arrivals have slumped by 23.5 percent.

Mainland visitors helped boost statewide hotel performance in April despite a sharp decline in tourists from Japan.

Although Japanese arrivals plunged 23.5 percent in the first full month since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, statewide hotel occupancy climbed 3.2 percentage points to 68.5 percent in April, according to a report released today by Hospitality Advisors LLC.

A 10 percent increase from the U.S. West and a 33.7 percent boost from Canada — driven in part by a late Easter holiday that shifted spring break into April, and 7,500 visitors to Waikiki for an American Academy of Neurology convention — more than offset declines in the Japanese market, the report said.

“The timing was just good. There’s just enough strength in other markets not affected by the 3/11 event,” said David Carey, president and chief executive officer of Outrigger Enterprises Group. The Japanese decline “definitely affected us, but not as much as we thought. We’re fortunate.”

Room rates statewide rose by 8.5 percent over the previous year to $191.26, while revenue per available room — considered the best measure of hotel performance — jumped 13.8 percent to $131.01.

Oahu hotels reported the highest occupancy rates at 74 percent, or 4.4 percentage points higher than a year ago. Properties on Maui saw a 2.5 percentage point increase year-over-year at 69.2 percent, while Hawaii island hotels were flat at 54.6 percent and Kauai hotels were 57.8 percent full, up 3.4 percentage points.

The increased occupancy was welcomed, but the decline in high-spending Japanese tourists had an impact.

“From a revenue standpoint it hurt our restaurant business and hurt the traditional buying of some of our higher-priced rooms, but we’re happy in the fact we gained some share of the U.S. market that were able to offset the declines,” said Keith Vieira, senior vice president of operations for Starwood Hotels & Resorts-Hawaii & French Polynesia.

The average daily room rate on Oahu was $162.43, 12.2 percent higher than last year. Maui room rates jumped 13.2 percent to $259.30 but decreased by 13.9 percent on Hawaii island to $172.16. Rates on Kauai rose 9.2 percent to $207.01.

Revenue per available room, known as RevPar, soared 19.3 percent to $120.20 for Oahu hotels due to gains from the mainland, Canada and group business, according to the report. Maui’s RevPar jumped 17.5 percent to $179.44, while Hawaii island’s RevPar dropped 13.9 percent to $94. RevPar for Kauai hotels rose 16 percent to $119.65.

“The U.S. mainland and Canadian markets continue to show pent-up demand that has been fueling Hawaii’s double-digit recovery rate in room revenue through the first four months this year,” Joseph Toy, Hospitality Advisors president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.

Condominium sales rise on Maui

111 condo units were sold on the Valley Isle in May, but house deals fell

By Erika Engle
Article from: Star-Advertiser

Sales of condominium units were the bright spot in the May Maui home sales picture, as compiled by the Realtors Association of Maui Inc.
Sales of condominium units rose 5.7 percent in May, with 111 units sold versus 105 in the year-ago period.

The $349,000 median condo price in May was up from April’s $338,603 but was 14.9 percent below the year-ago price of $410,000.

The increase could be attributed in part to vigorous home-showing activity within the last few months, which has begun paying off in terms of sales, according to the Realtors Association of Maui Inc. “The next few months will reveal if this is just an uptick or a trend that lasts,” the RAM report observed.

REAL ESTATE SALES
The number of homes sold on Maui in May with the median price and percentage change from the same month last year:
Houses
Sales Median Price
May 2011 70 $421,500
May 2010 81 $442,000
Pct. change -13.6% – 4.6%
Condos
Sales Median Price
May 2011 111 $349,000
May 2010 105 $410,000
Pct. change 5.7% -14.9%

Source: Realtors Association of Maui Inc.

Inventories have declined in the past 12 months and include many short sales and bank-owned properties, which will need to run their course before the marketplace gets back to normal, the association observed. Short sales and foreclosures can require additional hurdles for buyers as well as more time, sometimes four to six months, to close.

Sales of single-family homes were down for the second straight month this year, falling 13.6 percent, to 70 from 81 — by far the largest percentage drop of the year. The 81 units sold in May 2010 reflected a 35 percent increase over May 2009.

The $421,000 median price last month was a 4.6 percent drop from the year-ago figure of $442,000. The May 2009 median was $482,500.

Maui’s median home sale price peaked at $690,000 in 2006. The median condo price hit a peak of $550,000 in 2007.

Because the Maui marketplace is significantly smaller than Oahu’s, the association points out that a few high or low sales have a greater impact on statistics, without necessarily indicating a market swing.

Real estate professionals are still seeing “a lot of people looking, and a lot of multiple offers on properties,” said Terry Tolman, chief staff executive of the Realtors Association of Maui.

***Not only is Maui a smaller marketplace than Oahu but the statistics can be impacted by significant sales in a few complexes – to discuss individual properties or your property search goals please contact The Hansen Ohana directly at 808-879-3667***Mahalo

Tourism looks for return of business travel market

Optimism increases with more meeting planners attending a conference here

By Allison Schaefers
Article from: Star-Advertiser

Hawaii’s economy will get a boost when the Pacific Rim Incentive & Meetings Exchange convention begins today. The 14th Annual Pacific Rim Incentive & Meetings Exchange (PRIME) convention, which begins here today, could generate millions of dollars in business and incentive events for Hawaii.

About 300 meeting planners from North America and Asia will be in the isles through June 13, checking out possible corporate venues in the islands and booking meetings and incentive trips.

While PRIME has been an annual event here for the past 14 years, it’s a positive sign of the times that attendance this year is up about 30 percent, said Mike Murray, Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau vice president of sales and marketing.

“We see great value in supporting a Hawaii-based conference like PRIME because it lets planners see and experience Hawaii’s diversity as a meetings destination and network with local industry professionals who are experts at creating successful programs,” he said.

Each of the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau’s chapters representing Kauai, Oahu, Maui and Hawaii counties are making special presentations or hosting site tours of properties on their islands. All hope PRIME will further recovery of Hawaii’s once lucrative business travel market, which lost ground in the last few years amid restrictive business travel policies in a down economy.

In 2005, Hawaii’s peak year for meetings, convention and incentive activity, 584,005 travelers came, according to Hawaii Tourism Authority Economist Cy Feng. The following year, such visitor expenditures topped out at $1.07 billion, Feng said.

However, that market here bottomed out at just 368,630 visitors in 2009, which was the worst year for those arrivals since 2004, he said. In 2010 more of those visitors came. The trend has continued this year. In April such visitors increased 48.8 percent compared with the same month in 2010, Feng said.

PRIME will help the market continue to gain ground, said Mike McCartney, HTA president and chief executive.

“With attendees from North America and Asia, PRIME will complement Hawaii’s efforts to capitalize on the interest in our state as we prepare for the upcoming Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ meeting in November,” McCartney said.

Many of PRIME’s participants are from countries who are members of APEC.

Last year 35,000 room nights were booked as a result of PRIME, and some 20,000 room nights are still pending, Murray said.

“This year we hope to generate even more business,” Murray said, adding that PRIME returns $17 for every $1 spent.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts has already signed a deal with Chinese-based Sea Trips to handle partial bookings for the tour company, when it brings charters to Hawaii from August to October, said Kelly Sanders, Sheraton Waikiki’s general manager.

“They’ll be bringing 600 people or so per week on two flights from Shanghai to Honolulu,” Sanders said. “This will be very good for Hawaii and for Starwood.”

PRIME will help Hawaii benefit from the rebound in the U.S. corporate meetings and incentive market that began in October and has continued to now, said Bruce MacMillan, president and chief executive of Meeting Professionals International, whose keynote today lent industry credibility to PRIME.

The U.S. corporate meetings market began to plunge in November 2008 and by the following February, its worst month, had dropped 42 percent, MacMillan said.

“The timing of this event couldn’t be better for Hawaii.”