B4 • Friday, May 5, 2023
thegardenisland.com
THE GARDEN ISLAND
Got House?
Julie Black, Principal Broker & Owner (808) 652-6174 with daughter Kela Caspillo, Realtor Broker (808) 652-6173 kauaidreams.com
Featured Homes
Homebuyers facing very steep borrowing costs despite Fed move Alex Veiga ASSOCIATED PRESS
Kapaa
5515 Kuamoo Road A 3 bedroom 2 bath home located in Wailua Homesteads. Surrounded by mountains and waterfalls, reminiscent of old Hawaii but it’s actually quite modern, light and practical. 1080 sq. ft. of original house and 386 sq. ft. of enclosed lanai. A level yard with hedges gives you privacy. MLS # 668940; $885,000. 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 — Homebuyers should get used to painfully high mortgage rates, despite this week’s signal from the Federal Reserve that it could finally pause its yearlong campaign of rate hikes. The Fed raised its short-term rate to roughly 5.1 percent Wednesday, the highest since 2007. While the Fed stopped short of declaring an end to the hikes, its effectively raised the possibility of pausing them after a streak of 10 increases going back to March 2022. A pause would likely only nudge mortgage rates modestly lower, said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate.com. “Any meaningful and sustained decline in mortgage rates will require further easing of inflation pressures and continued slowing of the economy,” McBride said. While inflation has fallen from a peak of 9.1 percent last June, it’s still well above the Fed’s 2 percent target rate, despite signs that the economy is slowing. The nation’s GDP rose at just a 1.1 percent annual rate in the January-March quarter, down from 2.6 percent growth in the previous quarter. Consumer spending, which accounts for 70 percent of U.S. economic activity, stagnated in March for a second straight month. More weakening could help bring down mortgage rates,
MATT ROURKE / ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE
A residential development under construction in Eagleville, Pa., on April 28, 2023. Homebuyers should get used to painfully high mortgage rates, despite a signal from the Federal Reserve on Wednesday, May 4, 2023, that it could finally pause its yearlong campaign of rate hikes. though the reverse is also true. “There is still uncertainty in the economy,” said Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist at Bright MLS. “There’s a chance mortgage rates come down, but I expect we’re still going to be in the 6 percent (range), though.” Shifts in the Fed’s benchmark lending rate don’t directly affect mortgage rates, but they do influence the yield on 10-year Treasury bonds, which lenders
use as a guide to pricing home loans. That’s because higher rates push bonds prices lower, which then causes their yield to go up. Investors’ expectations for future inflation and global demand for U.S. Treasurys also influence mortgage rates. The average rate on a 30-year mortgage reached a two-decade high of 7.08 percent last fall after months of Fed rate hikes and stubbornly high inflation. This
week, it averaged 6.39 percent, down slightly from last week, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac. A year ago, it averaged 5.27 percent. Higher borrowing costs and a shortage of available homes are largely to blame for a 22 percent drop in home sales in the 12 months ended in March, marking eight straight months of annual sales declines of 20 percent or more.
Hawaiiana Management Company, Ltd. Serving Kauai’s Condo & Community Associations with award-winning service
H
Average long-term U.S. mortgage rate slips to 6.39 percent
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 LOS ANGELES — The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate edged lower this week, a modest boost for homebuyers looking for relief as a stubbornly low inventory of properties for sale fuels bidding wars in many markets. The average rate on the benchmark 30-year fixed-rate home loan fell to 6.39 percent from 6.43 percent last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, it averaged 5.27 percent. The average rate fell for five straight weeks before rising the last two weeks of April. This week’s drop in mortgage rates is welcome news for prospective homebuyers, many of whom have been pushed to the sidelines during the past year as the Federal Reserve cranked up its main borrowing rate in a bid to tamp down persistent, four-decade high inflation. All told, the Fed has raised its benchmark rate 10 times since March 2022, including an increase this week that pushed it to 5.1 percent, the highest since 2007, from virtually zero early last year. Shifts in the Fed’s short-term lending rate don’t directly affect mortgage rates, but they do influence the yield on 10-year Treasury bonds, which lenders use as a guide to pricing home loans. That’s because higher rates push bonds prices lower, which then causes their yield to go up. Investors’ expectations for future inflation and global demand for U.S. Treasurys also influence mortgage rates. The average rate on a 30-year mortgage reached a two-decade high of 7.08 percent last fall after months of Fed rate hikes and stubbornly high inflation. So far this year, it has averaged around 6.36 percent.
• • • •
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 Kulana Lae Nani Lihue Townhouse Makanui Manualoha Marriott’s Kauai Resort and Beach Club AOAO Nawiliwili Estates Paradise Court 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.