B4 • Friday, April 7, 2023
thegardenisland.com
THE GARDEN ISLAND
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Julie Black, Principal Broker & Owner (808) 652-6174 with daughter Kela Caspillo, Realtor Sales Person (808) 652-6173 kauaidreams.com
Featured Wall Street bets on better days ahead Homes Stocks of U.S. homebuilders are on a tear this spring Alex Veiga ASSOCIATED PRESS
Kapaa
5295 Kahala St. A 3 bedroom, 1 bath home located on a corner lot. The lowest priced 3 bedroom house currently for sale on Kauai’s east side. The home is in original/ average condition and could use cosmetic updates. Close to schools, the beach and Kapaa town. Sold AS IS. MLS # 668926; $579,000. Call Julie Black, RB-14203; (808) 652-6174 or Kela Caspillo, RB-23365; (808) 652-6173 Kauai Dreams Realty, to see this property.
LOS ANGELES — Homebuilder stocks are on a tear as investors bet that a dearth of previously occupied homes on the market and moderating mortgage rates will boost builders’ prospects in the spring homebuying season. KB Home, PulteGroup and Tri Pointe Homes are among more than a dozen U.S. homebuilders whose stock price is up by more than 20 percent this year. One prominent exchange traded fund, the SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF, is up nearly 10 percent. Meanwhile, the benchmark S&P 500 index is up about 7 percent. “We think homebuilding stocks may be looking ahead, perhaps crossing the valley from recession to potential recovery in (the second half of) 2023,” CFRA analyst Kenneth Leon wrote in a recent research note. Builders are coming off a lousy 2022 as mortgage rates skyrocketed to a two-decade high, sidelining many would-be homebuyers. The surge in borrowing costs after years of soaring home prices pulled the housing market into a deep slump. Sales of new U.S. homes fell about 17 percent last year from a year earlier to the lowest seasonally adjusted annual rate in four years, according to the Commerce Department. At the expense of less healthy profit margins, homebuilders reduced prices and began offering incentives like covering
DAVID J. PHILLIP / ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE
Construction workers build a new home in Houston on March 15, 2021. buyers’ closing costs. An easing in average mortgage rates this year has also helped entice some buyers. After climbing to an average of 7.08 percent in November, the rate on a 30-year home loan averaged around 6.37 percent in the first three months of this year, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac. New home sales rose on a monthly basis in December, January and February, though sales in February were still down
19 percent from a year earlier. While many economists project this will be another down year for sales of new and existing homes, some builders are dialing back buyer incentives and raising prices. They’re encouraged by the modest easing in mortgage rates and the prospect of capitalizing on demand this spring at a time when the number of existing homes for sale remains near historic lows. Consider, from 2000 until the
pandemic, new homes represented about 11 percent of all homes for sale. This year, that’s risen to 27 percent. “We’re so far below where we were pre-COVID in terms of existing home inventories, the notion is the builders have a chance to take market share in this environment,” said Wedbush analyst Jay McCanless, who has “Outperform” ratings on several builders, including KB Home, Taylor Morrison and Tri Pointe Homes.
Hawaiiana Management Company, Ltd. Serving Kauai’s Condo & Community Associations with award-winning service
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Average 30-year mortgage rate dips as spring season opens
awaiiana currently serves nearly 60 residential and commercial associations on the Island of Kauai. Kauai native Sunshine Ruiz Hatto serves as Hawaiiana’s Vice President of Kauai Operations from its office at the Kukui Grove Executive Center in Lihue.
ASSOCIATED PRESS The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate dipped for the fourth straight week, a good sign for potential home buyers and a real estate market that’s been mostly cold since the Federal Reserve began raising interest rates more than a year ago. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the average on the benchmark 30-year rate dipped to 6.28 percent from 6.32 percent the previous week. The average rate last year at this time was 4.72 percent. The average long-term mortgage rate hit 7.08 percent in the fall — a two-decade high. The recent decline in mortgage rates is good news for prospective homebuyers, many of whom were pushed to the sidelines during the past year as the Federal Reserve cranked up its main borrowing rate nine straight times in a bid to tamp down persistent, four-decade high inflation. Though supply remains low, home prices appear to be leveling off, another development that could lure buyers back into the market. The national median home price slipped 0.2 percent from February last year to $363,000, marking the first annual decline in 13 years, according to the National Association of Realtors. Rising borrowing costs can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for homebuyers and put the brakes on the housing market. Before surging 14.5 percent in February, sales of existing homes had fallen for 12 straight months to the slowest pace in more than a dozen years. In 2022, existing U.S. home sales fell 17.8 percent from 2021, the weakest year for home sales since 2014.
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Sunshine Ruiz Hatto Vice President Kauai Operations
99% retention rate among clients Local (vs. mainland) banking All employees are in Hawaii Serving nearly 60 associations on Kauai
www.hmcmgt.com
BOB WILSON SR. MANAGEMENT EXECUTIVE
LUCY TAYLOR SR. MANAGEMENT EXECUTIVE
AMY CAMPBELL MANAGEMENT EXECUTIVE
KRISTEN KURZ MANAGEMENT EXECUTIVE
MIRISHAE MCDONALD MANAGEMENT EXECUTIVE
KATHRYN MILLER MANAGEMENT EXECUTIVE
RICHARD ROBERTS MANAGEMENT EXECUTIVE
WHIT VAN BLARGEN MANAGEMENT EXECUTIVE
HINAHEA LANGI OFFICE MANAGER, SENIOR ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT
RACHELE BURNS TOGUCHI OFFICE/LEAD ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT
MARISA YOUNG ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT
ASHLEIGH-MORGAN SHIGETA FRONT DESK ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT
Hawaiiana’s Kauai Properties: Alihi Lani Alii Kai at Hanalei Alii Kai II Aliomanu Estates Apopo Hale Emmalani Court Halaulani Condominium Hale Honu Halelani Village at Puhi Halemalu at Puhi Hanalei Bay Villas Hooluana Condo at Kohea Loa Hookena at Puhi Kahala at Poipu Kai Ka‘iulani of Princeville Kakela Makai Oceanview Kalaheo Pali Kai Kalihiwai Ridge Kamahana Kauai Beach Resort
Kauai Beach Resort Association Kawaihau Sports Villa K.G. Enterprises Condominium Kiahuna Plantation AOBO Kohea Loa Master Association Koloa Garden Apartments Kuhio Shores at Poipu Kukui‘ula Lae Nani Makanui Manualoha Marriott’s Kauai Resort and Beach Club AOAO Nawiliwili Estates Pali Ke Kua Paliuli Pikake Pili Mai at Poipu Plantation at Princeville Poipu Crater
Poipu Kai Association Poipu Kai Racquet Club Poipu Kai Water Reclamation Poipu Kapili Poipu Sands Princeville II Community Association Princeville II Community Association - Queen Emma Bluff Princeville Makai Ranch at Halele‘a Princeville Paniolo Princeville Sealodge I Puamana
Puhi Industrial Park Pu‘u Po‘a Regency at Poipu Kai Regency Hule‘ia Regency Villas at Poipu Kai Sandpiper Village I The Villas at Poipu Kai Villas at Puali Villas of Kamali’i Villas on the Prince Waikomo Stream Villas Wailua Bay View Waipouli Beach Resort
For more information about Hawaiiana’s services, contact Sunshine Ruiz Hatto at 792-0515 or email sunshine@hmcmgt.com.