Lynda Gill’s Poipu, Kauai, Hawaii Real Estate at Pacific Ocean Properties

Hawaii Foreclosure, Unemployment and Real Estate Sales Update

Foreclosures in Hawaii fell nearly 15 percent in May compared to the same month last year.   There were a total of 900 homes with foreclosure filings last month, including 87 notices of default, 438 trustee sales and 375 bank repossessions. One in every 573 housing units in the Islands received a foreclosure filing.  For an excel spreadsheet on what our island did last week for new listings, new escrows and closed transactions CLICK HERE FOR SPREADSHEET

Unemployment claims and the unemployment rate are both down island wide.  A total of of 2,328 initial unemployment claims were filed during the week of June 11, down 9.6 percent from the 2,576 claims filed during the same week last year.  Most islands saw decreases in the number of claims filed. Maui saw the largest decrease for the week: 262 initial claims filed, down 35.6 percent from the same week last year. The Big Island had a total of 501 claims, down 6.4 percent, and Oahu saw 1,317 initial claims, down 4.6 percent. Meanwhile, Kauai had a total of 187 claims, up 9.4 percent from a year ago.

The unemployment rate in May dropped to 6 percent, down from 6.1 percent the previous month and 6.6 percent in May 2010, according to the Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.  There were 38,150 people unemployed out of a work force of 635,100 last month. That compares to 41,750 individuals unemployed out of a work force of 628,450 in May 2010.  County by county here are the numbers:

• City and County of Honolulu: 4.9 percent, down from 5.3 percent.

• Hawaii County: 9.2 percent, down from 9.7 percent.

• Kauai County: 8.2 percent, down from 8.5 percent.

• Maui County: 7.2 percent, down from 8.2 percent.

Honolulu to Shanghai Flight Added

The HTA (Hawaii Tourism Authority) is celebrating over the news that China Eastern Airlines is adding a nonstop flight from Shanghai to Honolulu.  The HTA has been working hard to tap into the China market, previously the only route from China to Hawaii was through Korea or Japan.

This flight will start on August 9^th of this year and is the first ever regularly scheduled direct flight.  The flights are estimated to bring in 82,000 Chinese visitors by the end of the year and adding $60 million to the tourism spending.

These flights are currently being sold on CTrip and U-tour.

Hawaii’s Number of 90 Year Olds On the Rise!

The number of people in the islands over 90 years old doubled over the last decade according to the U.S. Census data that was released last Wednesday.  We know have 10,476 people that are over 90 which translates to 1 out of every 100 residents.  10 years ago we only had 5,896 ninety year olds.

If you are a single lady in your 20’s looking for a husband the census data shows you might consider coming here to Hawaii.  Men in their 20s in Hawaii outnumbered women of the same age in last year’s count, there were 113.5 men for every 100 women between the ages of 20 and 29, according to the Census.

Hawaii currently has the eighth-most people over 65 years old in the nation, with seniors accounting for 14.5 percent of the population, according to 2009 estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau. Florida was the oldest state in the nation, with 17.2 percent of the population over 65 years old.

Poipu Surfer Rescues Tourists

Kauai resident Jesse Uemura was eating a sandwich and watching the surf at PK’s ( a local surf spot here by the Prince Kuhio in Poipu ) when he noticed two surfers struggling a few hundred yards away.  He ditched the sandwich and dove in the water and swam out to one of the men and brought him into shore.  He then grabbed his surfboard off his truck and paddled out past PK’s break to the other man who was in trouble and got him safely into shore.

Two visitors reported that the men thanked the surfer who humbly told them “Don’t try that again, OK guys?”  The two men were novice surfers and had rented their surfboards.

Lifeguards had been called but the nearest one is stationed at Poipu Beach, they arrived after Jesse had pulled the two men out of the water.  The crowd that witnessed the rescue — which started around 2:20 p.m. and ended around 2:45 p.m. — gave Uemura a standing ovation.

Follow Up On Kauais Feral Cat Resolution

Last week the Kaua‘i County Council’s Committee voted 4-3 recommending approval of a resolution supporting Trap, Neuter and Release as a component of a humane approach to controlling the Garden Isle’s feral cat population.

This week the council stepped back and unanimously voted to just “receive” the resolution. In other words, the proposed policy statement was shelved without an official endorsement either way.

The point of contention is by neutering the cats and releasing them back in the wild they are perpetuating the endangerment of the endangered birds and this could get them in trouble with the Federal Government over the Endangered Species Act.  Our feral cats are actually alien predators when they are not getting handouts from people.  If someone does not show up to feed them they go hunting as a cat is born to do and sometimes that means a native bird.

Councilwoman JoAnn Yukimura said the council is “ending the resolution but not ending the problem-solving,” adding that the council will be putting together a group of stakeholders.  “There seems to be some commitment to take a leadership role, because we know this problem is not going away,” she said. “We need  both the county and the administration to say ‘We need to work together to make sure this habitat conservation plan is just something not in writing but it’s something we’re working toward.’”