Hawaii Real Estate Blog

Three Hawaii beaches were named to TripAdvisor's top 10 beaches in the United States by TripAdvisor travelers and editors.

TripAdvisor, a travel Web site that reviews vacation spots, hotels and attractions, ranked Kailua Beach Park No. 3.

Tunnels Beach on Kauai took the No. 6 spot for its snorkeling. Waimea Bay Beach Park on Oahu was ranked No. 10.

Fort De Soto Park's North Beach in Tierra Verde, Fla., was No. 1.

Shareholders of Countrywide Financial Corp. have approved the bank's acquisition by Bank of America Corp.

Holders of more than 69 percent of the outstanding shares of Countrywide common stock approved the transaction.

The merger is slated to close Tuesday.

The Federal Reserve this month gave BofA permission to buy the subprime mortgage lender. The Fed said BofA will be the largest deposit-taking institution in the United States after the $4 billion purchase, with about $773.4 billion in deposits.

In late April, Countrywide reported a first-quarter net loss of $893 million, or $1.60 per diluted share. In the same period last year, it posted a profit of $434 million, or 72 cents per diluted share.

The company's provision for loan losses rose to $1.5 billion from $152 million a year ago. Residential charge-offs, or loans written off as not being paid, rose to $606 million in the latest quarter from $39 million in the year-ago period.

In August, Charlotte, N.C.-based BofA (NYSE: BAC) invested $2 billion in Calabasas, Calif.-based Countrywide (NYSE: CFC), the country's largest mortgage lender, for a 16 percent stake.

The first 14 loft apartments in a new urban redevelopment project on Kapiolani Boulevard go on sale this weekend.

The 32-unit Vanguard Lofts includes a new six-story building along with the newly renovated former National Cash Register Building, which featured an addition designed by architect Vladimir Ossipoff.

The project has been under construction since last fall and the first units are expected to be ready in April 2009. JN Automotive is buying the ground-floor retail space, where it plans to relocate its exotic car dealership, which will include the newest nameplate in Hawaii, Bentley.

The loft apartments range from 835 square feet to 2,058 square feet, have one, two or three bedrooms and are priced from $755,000 to $2.1 million. There are 26 different floor plans among the 32 units, and 17 units have either walk-out decks or walk-up roof-top decks, which developer Chris Deuchar, president of U.S. Pacific Development LLC, likens to an "urban yard." A skydeck features a tension-edge pool, grill area and a bar.

Interiors were designed by John Staub from Philpotts & Associates and feature exposed concrete and ceiling heights between nine and 11 feet. Heyer & Associates is handling the sales for the project.

Deuchar has two other redevelopment projects in the works, including the 95-unit Skyline Honolulu project on the slopes of Punchbowl that he said will be similar to the lofts project.

Deuchar is also in the planning stages for The Cove Waikiki, a 119-unit project for the horseshoe-shaped Kaioo Drive off Hobron Lane, which will feature one-, two- and three-bedroom "dwellings" in three mid-rise buildings.

Oahu's single-family homes and condominiums unit sales continued to slow, but prices remained steady in the three-month period ending in May.

The number of single-family homes sold in the period dropped 24.5 percent compared to the same period last year, 762 this year compared with 1,009 in 2007.

Condominium sales slipped 31.4 percent from 1,604 the previous year to 1,101 this year.

The median price for single-family homes was down 1.5 percent to $640,000. Condo prices remained steady at $325,000.

Hawaii ranked No. 42 in the nation for foreclosures in May, up from 36 in April, according to the latest report from RealtyTrac.

Hawaii had 162 foreclosure filings in May, down 22 percent from April and up 25 percent from May 2007. There were 210 foreclosure filings last month and 129 foreclosures in May 2007.

Hawaii had a foreclosure rate of one filing for every 3,087 households, said the latest survey by California-based real estate research firm RealtyTrac.

Nevada again had the highest foreclosure rate in the country with one filing for every 118 households.

California had the second highest foreclosure rate, with one for every 183 households receiving a filing in May. Arizona ranked third, with one filing for every 201 households.

California had the highest number of foreclosures at 71,930.

Nationwide there were 261,255 foreclosure filings for the month, up 7 percent over April and up 48 percent from May 2007, according to the report.

Mortgage rates at Hawaii's four largest banks remained for the most part unchanged this week, varying by just an eighth of a point in both directions.

First Hawaiian Bank lowered its rate for a 30-year fixed rate loan slightly to 5.75 percent with 2 points, down from 5.875 percent last week, according to data from the Honolulu Board of Realtors.

Bank of Hawaii remained at 5.875 percent with 1.625 points, while Central Pacific HomeLoans bumped its rate on the 30-year loan up an eighth to 5.875 percent with 1.75 points.

American Savings Bank also inched its rate up to 6 percent with 1.625 points, up from 5.875 percent last week.

The Hawaii banks' actions mirror what's going on nationally, in which the 30-year fixed-rate loan averaged 6.09 percent with an average 0.6 point, compared to 6.08 percent last week, according to mortgage giant Freddie Mac.

"Interest rates for fixed-rate mortgages were nearly unchanged this week over reports of continued inflation," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. "Although the gross domestic product grew at a faster rate in the first quarter than originally reported, consumer spending rose only 1 percent, representing the smallest increase since the 2001 recession."

**Honolulu Board of REALTORS® Releases May Residential Resales Statistics**

Central Pacific HomeLoans and First Hawaiian Bank dropped their rates for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage by a quarter-point this week as the national average for mortgages dipped.

First Hawaiian Bank offered the 30-year loan for 5.5 percent with 2 points, down from 5.75 percent with 1.875 points last week, according to data from the Honolulu Board of Realtors.

Central Pacific HomeLoans also offered a rate of 5.5 percent for the 30-year, fixed-rate loan, with 1.875 points, down from 5.75 percent and 1.75 points last week.

American Savings Bank and Bank of Hawaii each dropped an eighth of a point to 5.625 down from 5.75 percent last week. American Savings Bank charged 1.75 points on its rate, while Bank of Hawaii offered 1.625 points.

Nationally, the 30-year mortgage averaged 5.98 percent with an average 0.5 point, down from 6.01 percent last week, and down from 6.37 percent last year, according to mortgage giant Freddie Mac.

"Interest rates for fixed-rate mortgages fell slightly this week on news of both weaker industrial production in April and consumer sentiment falling in May to its lowest level since June 1980," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist.

The latest read on the national housing market shows home values are continuing to drop at historic rates.

The Washington-based Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight reported Thursday that home prices fell 3.1 percent nationwide in the first quarter compared with the same period last year. The index also fell 1.7 percent from fourth-quarter 2007 to first-quarter 2008, the largest quarterly drop on record.

Prices fell in 43 states, with California and Nevada showing the biggest declines, at more than 10 percent.

Hawaii prices held steady, down just 0.3 percent in the past 12 months.

"The large overhang of real estate inventory awaiting sale continues to force price declines in many areas, but particularly in places that had seen very sharp appreciation," Patrick Lawler, the agency's chief economist, said in a prepared statement.

The government index is calculated by tracking mortgage loans of up to $417,000 that are bought or backed by the government-sponsored mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Legislation enacted in February temporarily raised the limit to $729,750 in high-cost areas.