Mortgage Interest Rates Triples Hawaii Refinances
April 7, 2009 by admin
Filed under Positive Real Estate
Hawaii homeowners lured by historically low interest rates have been rushing to refinance their home mortgages in recent weeks.
The drop in rates, combined with a sluggish real estate market, now means that up to 90 percent of business for local title and escrow companies is coming from refinancings and not home purchases.
The trend toward refinancing started in January and February, when interest rates began to drop.
Then, after a slow start in March, activity began to surge around midmonth when lenders — including local banks such as Bank of Hawaii, First Hawaiian Bank, Central Pacific Bank and American Savings Bank — dropped the rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage to as low as 4.25 percent.
“Our volume has tripled in the last two weeks,” said David Pietsch, president of Title Guaranty, Hawaii’s largest title and escrow company.
From Pacific Biz Journal
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