Quantcast
StarBulletin.com
Monday, November 23, 2009

Search

HiLife Online

Give us YOUR Weekly Opinion

Reader Poll

How much will you spend on Christmas presents this year?

Sell your stuff in Hawaii classifieds
Subscribe to the Honolulu Star-Bulletin

Hawaii late paying off mortgages

By Dave Segal

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Jun 02, 2009

(Single Page View) | Return to Paginated View

Hawaii mortgage loan delinquencies jumped by the greatest percentage in the nation last quarter from the prior three-month period as homeowners continued to struggle to make their payments amid the economic downturn.

Melting mortgages

Loan delinquency growth in the first quarter versus the fourth quarter:
1. Hawaii +34.4%
2. Oregon +30.7%
3. Nevada +28.9%

Highest average mortgage debt per borrower:

1. California $365,192
2. Wash., D.C. $360,217
3. Hawaii $314,269

Source: TransUnion.com

Traditionally seen as a precursor to foreclosures, Hawaii delinquencies rose 34.4 percent from the quarter that ended Dec. 31, according to an analysis by TransUnion.com. Hawaii also ranked third nationally with the highest average mortgage debt per borrower at $314,269.

Mortgage loan delinquency -- the ratio of borrowers 60 or more days past due -- rose nationwide for the ninth straight quarter with the nation's average delinquency high of 5.22 percent up almost 14 percent from the previous quarter's 4.58 percent.

Hawaii foreclosures have risen by triple-digit percentages year over year for the last 10 quarters. State bankruptcies have surged 42 percent through the first five months of this year, while unemployment in April was 6.9 percent, just below the 31-year high of 7.1 percent in March.

Harvey Shapiro, research economist at the Honolulu Board of Realtors, said Hawaii is posting a higher delinquency percentage now because other states had their downturns earlier.

Still, Shapiro said Hawaii home prices are holding up.

"We haven't seen the tremendous price declines that have been rearing their ugly head on the mainland," he said.

 

Hawaii mortgage loan delinquencies jumped by the greatest percentage in the nation last quarter from the prior three-month period as homeowners continued to struggle to make their payments amid the economic downturn.


Melting mortgages

Loan delinquency growth in the first quarter versus the fourth quarter:
1. Hawaii +34.4%
2. Oregon +30.7%
3. Nevada +28.9%

Highest average mortgage debt per borrower:

1. California $365,192
2. Wash., D.C. $360,217
3. Hawaii $314,269

Source: TransUnion.com

Traditionally seen as a precursor to foreclosures, Hawaii delinquencies rose 34.4 percent from the quarter that ended Dec. 31, according to an analysis by TransUnion.com. Hawaii also ranked third nationally with the highest average mortgage debt per borrower at $314,269.

Mortgage loan delinquency -- the ratio of borrowers 60 or more days past due -- rose nationwide for the ninth straight quarter with the nation's average delinquency high of 5.22 percent up almost 14 percent from the previous quarter's 4.58 percent.

Hawaii foreclosures have risen by triple-digit percentages year over year for the last 10 quarters. State bankruptcies have surged 42 percent through the first five months of this year, while unemployment in April was 6.9 percent, just below the 31-year high of 7.1 percent in March.

Harvey Shapiro, research economist at the Honolulu Board of Realtors, said Hawaii is posting a higher delinquency percentage now because other states had their downturns earlier.

Still, Shapiro said Hawaii home prices are holding up.

"We haven't seen the tremendous price declines that have been rearing their ugly head on the mainland," he said.

(Single Page View) | Return to Paginated View



Story tools

Email  Email   Print  Print   Save  Save   Popular  Most Popular   Reprint  Subscribe

Share this story