Governor: Hawaiʻi's Economy Strong and Improving | Maui Now

Governor: Hawaiʻi's Economy Strong and Improving | Maui Now

The state Council on Revenues revised its forecast, reaffirming its previous General Fund tax revenue projection for the current fiscal year, and increasing its projections for the next three fiscal years, officials from the Governor’s office said.

State officials say the compounded increases would mean $86 million more in revenue over the upcoming biennium.

Over the next two years, tax revenue is projected to grow 8% in 2014, and then 7% in 2015, according to officials with the Governor’s office.

Gov. Neil Abercrombie responded to news saying he expects to see continued improvement in the construction and hospitality industries, the real estate market, and agricultural and business sectors.  “All of our local industries will benefit from our improving economy,” he said in a press release.

The Governor issued a statement upon hearing the positive forecast saying, “Our economy is strong and appears to be getting stronger. Hawaii continues to lead the US amongst states with significant revenue growth possibilities. We must remember that the Council predictions relate to tax revenue growth.”

He continued saying, “I am very optimistic about the prospects for our local economy. My Administration has fostered increased activity in our economy and that translates into increased tax revenue due to that activity.”

The Governor called the forecast a “good sign” saying  he believes the Council forecast “supports the proposition that economic activity is strong and improving.”

Foreclosure Activity Drops to 6-Year Low - Daily Real Estate News

Foreclosure Activity Drops to 6-Year Low

Foreclosure filings dropped 5 percent in April from March, with foreclosure filings down 23 percent in April from year ago levels, RealtyTrac reports. Nationwide foreclosure activity has reached a 74-month low or the lowest point since February 2007. 

"The April numbers indicate that the pig is moving through the python when it comes to deferred foreclosures in judicial foreclosure states," said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. "Foreclosure starts have been increasing for several months in many of the judicial states, and now that increased volume is showing up in the second stage of the process: the public foreclosure auction."

Judicial foreclosure auctions rose 22 percent from March to April and were up 31 percent from year-ago levels, RealtyTrac reports. On the other hand, scheduled, non-judicial foreclosure auctions dropped 7 percent in March and are down 43 percent from last year. 

Foreclosure starts are rising in several non-judicial states, Blomquist notes. While foreclosure starts have fallen nationwide, 22 states are still seeing a rise in foreclosures over the previous month, RealtyTrac reports. Some of those states include: New Jersey (138 percent increase), Connecticut (46 percent increase), Texas (37 percent increase), Georgia (35 percent increase), Oregon (16 percent increase), and California (13 percent increase). 

Hawaii’s Economic Growth Forecast To Outpace Rest Of U.S. - Pacific Business News

http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/news/2013/05/10/hawaiis-economic-growth-forecast-to.html

Hawaii’s economy is forecast to grow faster than the U.S. economy this year, a trend that is expected to continue into 2014, according to a second-quarter report by the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

Hawaii’s real gross domestic product is forecast to grow by 2.4 percent this year, and by another 2.3 percent in 2014, according to the latest report, which was slightly less optimistic than the last economic report.

“We continue to see strength in the overall economy — near previous estimates,” DBEDT Director Richard C. Lim said in a statement. “From our perspective, we believe Hawaii is poised for steady, positive economic growth.”

The state’s unemployment rate, which was 5.8 percent for all of 2012, is projected to decline by a full percentage point to 4.8 percent in 2013, and drop to 4.5 percent in 2014.

While the forecasts for most indicators remained unchanged from the last report. DBEDT lowered its forecast for total visitor arrival growth by 1.1 percentage points to 4.3 percent, which still puts arrivals at a record 8.3 million for the year. The forecast for visitor spending growth also was revised downward, by 1.5 percentage points to 5.6 percent.

Home Building Rises To Key Milestone - CNN Money

http://money.cnn.com/2013/04/16/news/economy/home-building/index.html

The annual pace of housing starts topped 1 million for the first time in nearly five years in March, another sign of the rebound in the sector.

The pace of housing starts came in at an annual rate of 1.04 million in the month, up 7% from February and 47% from a year earlier. It marked the first time since June 2008 that the pace of building crossed the 1 million benchmark.

Even with the recent gains in the sector, the reading was much stronger than forecasts.

But much of the spike in housing starts was due to a surge in building apartment and condominium complexes with five or more homes in them. Those units jumped by 27% from February and 82% compared to a year earlier.

The number of traditional single-family homes started actually fell by 6% from February. The multi-family numbers can be very volatile as each unit in a complex is counted.

But there is strong demand for rental housing, due to a number of factors. Younger workers who were stuck living with parents during the recession are moving out on their own in large numbers. And former homeowners who went through foreclosures or bankruptcies are often unable or unwilling to buy again, forcing them to rent.

Kevin Finkel, executive vice president of Resource Real Estate, which owns 24,000 rental apartments across 18 states, said that even with a surge of multifamily construction, there is likely to be a shortage for years to come.

"We have had a very weak supply of apartments for almost 20 years now," he said.

After years of depressed activity, single-family home building and real estate have turned around in recent months. They have been helped by a combination of near-record low mortgage rates, lower unemployment and a drop in foreclosures that has lifted home prices.

As a result, sales of both previously owned homes and new homes are both up. The rebound in building, sales and home values has helped to lift overall economic growth. 

But there have been some concerns about growing problems in the sector, as rising prices for raw materials and some shortages of construction workers have put a crimp in some builders' results.

Even as they rushed to start homes, builders filed for fewer building permits in March, with the annual rate slowing 4% to 902,000.

"The trajectory for the single-family market continues upward, but builders appear to be struggling with credit issues for lot development and rising construction costs," said Mark Vitner, senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities. He said the pullback in permits could lead to lower housing starts in April.

David Crowe, chief economist for the National Association of Home Builders, estimates that the raw materials costs are up about 10% overall, and some key items are up much more than that.

"Plywood and [particle board] are twice as expensive as a year ago. Lumber is up 50 to 60%. Drywall, up 40%," he said.

Crowe said the combination of higher costs and labor shortages are one of the reason single family starts are down. He estimates if builders weren't facing those constraints, the annual rate of single-family starts would be about 100,000 higher.

"It's not a downturn in building as much as it is a slower recovery than we would otherwise expect," he said.

Stocks in the sector have been mixed so far this year. While shares of some builders, such as KB Home (KBH) and D.R. Horton (DHI), have outpaced gains in the broader market, shares of others -- including Toll Brothers (TOL), Lennar (LEN) andPulteGroup (PHM) -- are down year-to-date. But shares were up across the sector in early trading Tuesday after the report.