Prudential acquires Rental Solutions

Residential real estate firm Prudential Locations has increased its property management business with the acquisition of the firm Rental Solutions.

Prudential announced the transaction Thursday. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Rental Solutions was established about four years ago and had an office on Ward Avenue. The company was headed by Ian Bigelow, who is now Prudential’s vice president of residential property management.

Prudential said it manages about 2,700 units in Hawaii.

Sunetric CEO starts electric-vehicle outfit

The chief executive officer of one of Hawaii’s leading solar companies has launched a new venture that will work with auto dealerships to improve their techniques for selling electric vehicles.

"Most Americans do not fully understand the value propositions of EV ownership, nor how the vehicles connect to the home and how the process works," according to a news release from Autowatts, a company formed by Sunetric CEO Alex Tiller. "The traditional auto sales model does not account for educating, pricing, engineering, scheduling and installing required componentry at the buyer’s home," according to the release.

Tiller said Autowatts "simplifies a complicated process for the salesperson so they can reliably convert interested consumers in to proud EV owners."

Autowatts also uses proprietary software to size solar photovoltaic systems to match customers’ driving habits, geographic location and car model, Tiller said.

The Autowatts software will be demonstrated at the 2013 First Hawaiian International Auto Show, set for today through Sunday at the Hawai‘i Convention Center.

Dell buyout more likely as deadline hits

SAN FRANCISCO » Michael Dell is about to find out whether other bidders think his company is worth more than he does.

The answer could come today, which marks the end of a 45-day period that Dell Inc.’s board of directors settled on to allow for offers that might top a Feb. 5 agreement to sell the personal computer maker to CEO Michael Dell and a group of investors for $24.4 billion.

With the deadline looming, buyout specialist Blackstone Group is emerging as the most likely candidate to trump the current bid of $13.65 per share.

Average for jobless claims at 5-year low

WASHINGTON » The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment aid barely changed last week, while the average over the past month fell to a five-year low. The decline in layoffs is helping strengthen the job market.

Weekly unemployment benefit applications rose by 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 336,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. Over the past four weeks, the average number of applications has dropped by 7,500 to 339,750. That’s the lowest since February 2008.

Homes sales highest in more than 3 years

WASHINGTON » U.S. sales of previously occupied homes rose in February to their fastest pace in more than three years, and more people put their homes on the market. The increases suggest a growing number of Americans believe the housing recovery will strengthen.

The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that sales increased 0.8 percent in February from January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.98 million. That was the fastest sales pace since November 2009, when a temporary homebuyer tax credit boosted sales. The February sales pace was also 10.2 percent higher than the same month a year ago.

Steady hiring and near-record-low mortgage rates helped boost sales and prices in most markets. The Realtors group says the median price for a home sold in February was $173,600. That’s up 11.6 percent from a year ago.

Rate on 30-year mortgage declines to 3.54%

WASHINGTON >> Average U.S. rates on fixed mortgages fell this week and remained near historic lows, a trend that has supported a recovery in housing.

Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average rate for the 30-year loan fell to 3.54 percent from 3.63 percent last week. That’s near the 3.31 percent reached in November, which was the lowest on records dating to 1971.

The average rate on the 30-year loan has been below 4 percent now for a year.

The average rate on the 15-year fixed mortgage slipped last week to 2.72 percent from 2.79 percent last week. The record low is 2.63 percent.

The lowest mortgage rates in decades are spurring more home purchases and refinancing. That’s helped the broader economy. Increased sales are also pushing home prices higher.

TV RATINGS

Nielsen ratings for the Honolulu market for February. “Ratings” are the percent of all TV households watching a particular show at a particular time, and “share” is the percent of households with TVs turned on watching a particular show at a particular time. Honolulu is the No. 71 U.S. TV market.

(a) Both KGMB and KHNL air “Hawaii News Now Sunrise” in this time slot.
(b) Both KGMB and KHNL air “Hawaii News Now” at 5 p.m.
(c) “KITV4 News at 5” displaced “KHON2 News at 5” from its year-ago rank of second place.
(d) KHNL also airs “Hawaii News Now” at 5:30 p.m.
(e) KFVE airs “Hawaii News Now” at 6:30 p.m.
(f) The second half of the hourlong “KITV4 News at 10” weeknight newscasts
(g) KFVE’s late edition of “Hawaii News Now” airs from 9 to 9:30 p.m.