Local real estate brokerage and management firm Hawaii Life has acquired Maui property management company Island Oasis Realty.
Hawaii Life said it is assuming Island Oasis property management arrangements and that the Island Oasis team will become part of what Hawaii Life calls its vacations division.
Hawaii Life was founded in 2008 on Kauai and now claims to be the third-largest residential real estate brokerage firm in Hawaii. Other acquisitions in recent years by the company include Hawaii Realty Professionals on Oahu and Maui Estates International in 2016.
Delta Air Lines’ earnings fall 8 percent
DALLAS >> Delta Air Lines reported Thursday that fourth-quarter profit slipped 8 percent, but the results still beat expectations as average prices for passengers continued to creep higher.
The airline also raised its forecast of 2018 earnings, partly because it expects that a new, lower tax rate on businesses will help spur corporate travel.
Delta, which earned nearly $3.6 billion in 2017, doesn’t pay income taxes because it is able to offset income with billions of dollars in losses from previous years. But the company expects to start paying taxes in 2019 or 2020 and believes that the new law eventually will cut its tax bill by $800 million a year or more.
Delta earned $572 million in the fourth quarter, down 8 percent from $622 million a year earlier. The airline took a $60 million hit in income from a power outage that shut down the Atlanta airport, its biggest hub, on Dec. 17, and a winter storm in early December.
Revenue rose 8 percent to $10.25 billion, also topping forecasts.
30-year mortgage rate rises to 3.99%
WASHINGTON >> The cost of borrowing money to buy a home rose slightly this week but remained historically low.
The average rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose to 3.99 percent from 3.95 percent last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said. This week’s rate matches a five-month high set two weeks ago. A year ago the 30-year rate averaged 4.12 percent.
The low rates — anything below 4 percent is low by historical standards — are some consolation for homebuyers dealing with rising prices amid a shortage of supply.
The rate on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to an average 3.44 percent from 3.38 percent in the prior week. The 15-year rate averaged 3.37 percent a year ago.
ON THE MOVE
Porter McGuire Kiakona & Chow has announced that Taylor W. Gray is a new associate attorney for its Honolulu law firm. Gray recently obtained his Juris Doctor degree from the William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawaii.
Central Pacific Bank has announced the promotion of Kenneth Leung to vice president and sales manager of the Home Loans Division. He has been in the financial industry for 12 years, including six years serving as an assistant vice president and production manager for Pacific Access Mortgage. Prior to CPB, Leung was a consumer credit analyst at Bank of Hawaii.
Goodsill Anderson Quinn & Stifel has promoted Elizabeth Lee to partner as of Jan. 1. Lee has been with the firm since 2013 and has served as counsel and helping clients in the areas of corporate securities, business, finance and real estate. Lee previously practiced law in Seattle.