Rate on 30-year mortgage slips to 3.38 percent
WASHINGTON >> The average U.S. rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage inched closer to its record low this week, helping to keep home buying more affordable.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac says the rate on the 30-year loan dipped to 3.38 percent, down from 3.40 percent last week. It is slightly above the 3.31 percent the rate dropped to November, the lowest on records dating to 1971.
The average on the 15-year fixed mortgage was unchanged at 2.66 percent. The record low is 2.63 percent.
The rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage averaged 3.66 percent in 2012, the lowest annual average in 65 years, according to Freddie Mac.
Cheaper mortgages are a key reason the housing market began to come back last year. Many economists predict the housing recovery will strengthen in 2013.
Kaiser finalizes plans for Pearlridge Clinic
Kaiser Permanente Hawaii has finalized plans for a new clinic fronting Moanalua Road in Pearlridge Center.
Construction of the 12,000-square-foot Pearlridge Clinic is under way with completion scheduled for late this year. The new clinic will provide family medicine and pediatric care as well as behavioral health, lab and pharmacy services.
"This new Pearlridge Clinic, along with our expansion in Kona and Kaneohe, improves access for our current members and positions us well for future growth," Kaiser Hawaii President Janet Liang said Thursday.
The state’s largest health maintenance organization recently celebrated groundbreaking of a new 40,000-square-foot clinic in Honokohau in North Kona. That clinic is expected to be complete by early 2014, and the renovation and expansion of its Koolau Clinic in Kaneohe is due for completion late this year.
Surfboard storage site to open in Waikiki
Nalu Storage, a surfboard storage operation, will open in March just steps from Waikiki Beach in the walkway next to The Cheesecake Factory on Level 1 of Building C at Royal Hawaiian Center. More than 260 lockers will be available for rent.
Nalu Storage is now accepting reservations online at nalustorage.com. Surfers will have 24-hour access to the lockers. Lockers are available for $35 per month for an annual payment plan or $40 per month for a biannual payment plan. Payment and renewals can be made easily through a secure online application. Nalu Storage is offering the first 100 rentals one month’s free rent. For more information, call 675-6633 or visit nalustorage.com.
Navatek system boosts turbines’ output
Honolulu-based naval architect Navatek Ltd. said it has created a system that has the potential to increase the power production of a wind turbine by as much as 25 percent.
Navatek developed the "plasma actuation system" built into wind turbine blades using $800,000 in federal funding from the Office of Naval Research, according to a news release from the company. Navatek demonstrated the technology Thursday at an event attended by Gov. Neil Abercrombie and U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz.
If the demonstration project goes well, Navatek might seek additional federal funding, said Martin Kao, Navatek president and chief executive officer.
"We will target both the commercial and military markets," Kao said. "The Defense Department is a huge energy consumer, and all the armed services are committed to diversifying their energy sources and reducing their carbon footprint," he said.
A&B to give Damien $30,000 over 3 years
Damien Memorial School’s capital campaign will receive a $30,000 gift from Alexander & Baldwin Inc.
The money will be presented in $10,000 increments over three years. A $10,000 check will be presented today.
The money will help the school begin its first major construction project in three decades. The project will include a new athletic building, library, student services building, resurfaced football practice field and track, as well as additional parking spaces.
Damien is a coed school with students in grades 6 to 12. It was founded in 1962.
U.S. home construction highest in 4 years
WASHINGTON » U.S. builders started work on homes in December at the fastest pace in 4 1/2 years and finished 2012 as their best year for residential construction since the early stages of the housing crisis.
The Commerce Department said Thursday that builders broke ground on houses and apartments last month at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 954,000. That’s 12.1 percent higher than November’s annual rate, and nearly double the recession low reached in April 2009.
On the Move
Aston Hotels & Resorts has announced Tara Dine as director of marketing. She was an account executive with Destination Marketing Hawaii, where she worked closely with Aston Hotels & Resorts, and worked on the Hawaiian Airlines account with Laird Christianson Advertising.
Shimokawa + Nakamura has announced the promotion of Jennifer Toba-Davila to associate from project architect. She has been with the company since August 2009 and is currently the project architect for the University of Hawaii Cancer Center LEED program, Kilauea Lighthouse Village and Hyatt Regency Waikiki.
Big Brothers Big Sisters Hawaii has announced the appointment of the following people on the 2013 Board of Directors: Ann Botticelli of Hawaiian Airlines; William Froelich of Colliers Monroe Friedlander; Todd Nitta of First Hawaiian Bank; and Gordon Takaki of CU Hawaii Federal Credit Union, which will help lead the agency during its “50th Anniversary” year.
