Kauai Real Estate and Local News September 8
*****Freddie Mac Fannie Mae Government Takeover*****
On Sunday the federal government took control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to keep the two leading mortgage companies from failing thus avoiding a catastrophe that would have made home loans harder to get and taken the nation’s housing situation to a new level of crisis. The federal government will put billions of taxpayer dollars into Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and assume responsibility for trillions of dollars of their debt and control of the companies will belong to the federal regulators. This serious move was done because the fall of these two giants would have had a devastating effect on the rest of our economy.
Experts said the takeover could stabilize the home loan market making mortgages cheaper and easier to get and that in turn would have a positive effect on the housing pricing. “The housing and mortgage market should benefit from the actions,” said Sung Won Sohn, an economist at California State University Channel Islands in Camarillo. “Mortgage rates should be lower than they would be without the government guarantee.”
On Oahu the number of houses and condos dropped but the median price for a home dropped 2.3 percent and condos rose 0.9 percent. For a list of what was listed and what sold here on Kauai last week CLICK HERE FOR KAUAI REAL ESTATE SPREADSHEET
*****Turn Off Those Lights!*****
Kauaians pay the highest in the state for their electricity at a rate of $0.466 per kilowatt hour as opposed to Oahu who pays $0.297 an hour. Statewide the rate averaged $0.333 per hour. So why is out electric so high? Kauai Island Utility Cooperative because they do not burn coal or heavy oils which is cheaper then diesel or naptha. Also; Kauai has fewer customers to share the cost, we only have 64,000 residents to share the cost of power generation and we are still paying for post Hurricane Iniki infrastructure. The Co-op board said the price should go down due to the decrease in oil prices which dropped to $109.71 a barrel on Tuesday way down from the high of $147 a barrel. When visiting Kauai turn the lights off if not in use, it’s appreciated by everybody!
*****California North Shore Builder Facing Challenges***** Judge Kathlen Watanabe said she will rule by September 15 on the preliminary injunction request to halt construction at a home in Wainiha where it’s known to contain 30 ancient Hawaiian burials which date as far back as the 1300’s on the property. Evidence revealed that the concrete jackets have sealed 7 of the graves already. The builders attorneys say their client, a California businessman, has met the State and County requirements all along the way and has been trying to build his home for 7 years and has had encountered financial setbacks in his building costs caused by the delays, example: $400,000 has been spent on foundation compared to the original quote of $255,000. Judge Watanabe said this is an emotionally charged issue and nobody is going to leave the courtroom happy and also cautioned that the court’s jurisdiction in the matter is “very, very narrow”.
*****Cash Now Needed For Rooster Pick Ups!*****
The Kauai Humane Society is going to be charging a $5 fee for each chicken it picks up after 3 years of offering the service for free; dropping off a chicken is still free of charge. Thought to be brought to Kauai for illegal cockfighting the roosters were spread far and wide during Hurricane Iniki in 1992 and their population has been picking up steam ever since. Their inability to tell time has long been a problem for residents and visitors alike as they crow at all hours of the morning. It’s a love/hate relationship they have here with the local Kauai residents. So why are the chickens a problem only here on Kauai? Because we do not have mongooses who feed on ground dwelling birds. This is the main reason Kauai is home to the largest population of indigenous and endangered birds and……chickens!
*****Rowboater Arrives In Hawaii*****
Last week I wrote about Marcus Eriksen and Joel Paschal who sailed from Long Beach to Honolulu in a boat made from junk and their meeting up with Roz Savage who was rowing her way from San Francisco to exchange supplies. Roz arrived in Honolulu early Monday morning completing the initial leg of her journey. To avoid the rough Hawaiian waters she rowed through the night and arrived alone and in the dark Monday morning but Savage said that’s how most of the journey has been so she didn’t mind. Savage, a British citizen, crossed the Atlantic initially and from Honolulu will continue on to with a 2,600 mile row in early 2009 to Tuvalu and then her final destination which is Australia. Roz Savage, like Eriksen and Paschal, is doing this to raise awareness for people to use reusable bags instead of plastic ones for groceries.