Michael S. Mackey REALTOR® ABR, CRS, GRI, RSPS

When the FBI said in mid 2008, that they would be making more arrests for cases they had been investigating since 2004, they weren't kidding! Originally when I first blogged about this in June, 2008, the FBI announced that they had arrested five people who all worked together perpetrating a scam that I detailed in that post. Then, just three days ago, I reported on the latest FBI bust, involving a couple who owned a mortgage financing company here in Honolulu.

Now today, the FBI has announced that yesterday they have arrested five more people associated with four lending companies, for participating in alleged foreclosure bailout schemes. The lending companies named were:

• Asian Pacific Funding
• New Horizons Financial
• Accel Mortgage LLC
• Walter P. Yim and Associates

The five persons arrested have all pleaded not guilty to multiple charges of mail fraud, wire fraud, money laundering, conspiracy and making false statements on a mortgage application. To date, more than 17 people have been arrested on similar charges. The FBI investigations have been active for the past 18 months.

I hope that all of those shady individuals that have perticipated in these kinds of fraud, who have not yet been arrested, are shaking in their boots! I believe there are many more perpetrators out there. I know I met a few lending agents, whom I refused to do business with because they were not shy about their willingness to stretch the truth on mortgage applications. A couple of them even went so far as to say that if the borrowers were willing to sign the applications, they could care less if they lost the property later!

Well, now it looks like the day of reckoning is about to land on their heads! More arrests are surely on the way. If any of those loan officers are reading this blog, what do you think about that?

Of course, I would rather hear from everyone else regarding their thoughts about these arrests!

The day has come. The Honolulu City Council, by a margin of 6 to 1, has passed a ban on using mobile electronic devices while driving. Personally, I'm split down the middle.

I applaud the ban, because how many times has my blood pressure risen because of some other idiot, slowing down the single lane of traffic behind them, because they can't drive at the speed limit and talk at the same time? I wonder, do they talk slower while they're driving, too?

I resent the ban, because I need to use the phone for my business! I can't pull off the road just to answer a call! Oh yeah, the ban exempts users with handsfree devices, like my cherished Bluetooth! Whew! Nevermind!

The bill also allows for other exemptions:

c) The following persons shall be exempt from the provisions of subsection (a):

1. Emergency responders using a mobile electronic device while in the performance and scope of their official duties:
2. Drivers using two-way radios while in the performance and scope of their work-related duties:
3. Drivers holding a valid amateur radio operator license issued by the federal communications commission and using a half-duplex two-way radio.

All in all, the bill looks like a straight forward and well written piece of legislation. The problem will be in the area of enforcement. The Mayor has stated his intention to sign it, after he reviews it further and consults with the Police Department and the Prosecutor's Office regarding any issues they may have regarding enforcment of it's provisions.

The bill will become law on July 1, 2009 after the Mayor signs it. Hawaii will join California and New York with such bans. First time offenders will face fines of between $40.00 to $100.00.

There's a great newly revised website, that lets you find all kinds of information having anything to do with Hawaii. It's called e-Hawaii.com.

I just had to share that with you, as well as this piece of Local Style Hawaiian humour:

"U Know U Local Eef" - e-Hawaii Joke

1. You have a separate circuit breaker for your rice cooker/warmer.
2. Only NOW you know that cilantro is the same as Chinese parsley.
3. You measure the water for the rice by the knuckle of your index finger.
4. You know which market shave poi on which days.
5. You know that Char Hung Sut is closed on Tuesday.
6. You can handle shoyu with green mango, li hing gummy bears, raw egg on hot rice and pearl tea (Carnation milk in hot water with sugar) with creme crackers.
7. Your refrigerator has a half-empty jar of mango chutney from the 1993 Punahu Carnival.
8. The condiments at the table are Shoyu, ketchup, chili peppah watah and kimchee. Also, takuwan, Hawaiian salt, slice onion and pickled onion.
9. You go to Maui and your luggage home includes potato chips, manju, cream puffs and guri-guri for omiyage (gifts).
10. You think the four food groups are starch, Spam fried food and fruit punch.
11. A balanced meal has three starches, rice, macaroni and bread.
12. You know 101 ways to fix your rubber slippers...50 using tape, 50 using glue and one using a stick to poke the strap back in.
13. You sometimes use your open car door for a dressing room.
14. You wear two different color slippahs together and you no mind.
15. Nice clothes means a T-shirt without pukas.
16. You are barefoot in most of your elementary school pictures.
17. You have a slipper tan . . . an upside down "v" on top of both your feet.
18. Your only suit is a bathing suit.
19. You drive barefoot.
20. You have at least five Hawaiian bracelets.
21. You never, ever, under any circumstances, wear socks with slippers, or an aloha shirt that matches your wife's muumuu.
22. You still call the Blaisdell Center, the HIC and its Sandy's, not Sandy Beach
23. You say "I going for lawnmower da grass" when you mean "I'm going to mow the lawn."
24. You can understand every word Bu La'ai says and you know what his name means, too.
25. You have a sister, cousin, aunty or mom named "Honey Girl" or, someone in the family named "Boy," "Tita," "Bruddah," "Sonny," "Bachan," "Taitai," "Popo" and/or "Vovo."
26. You still chant "Hanakokolele" when a friend or co-worker goofs up.
27. You say, "Shtraight," "Shtreet," and "Shtress."
28. You say "Da Kine," and the other person says "Da kine" and you both know what is "Da kine."
29. The "Shaka" and the "Eye Flash" are worth 1,000 words.
30. You're shopping at Epcot Center at Disneyworld and you may say something to your sister and a complete stranger says, "you're from Hawaii, aren't you?"
31. You feel guilt leaving a get-together without helping clean up.
32. The idea of taking something from a heiau is unthinkable.
33. You call everyone older than you "Auntie" or "Uncle" and you kiss everyone in greeting and farewell.
34. You let others cars ahead of you on the freeway and you give shaka to anyone who lets you in.
35. Your philosophy is "Bumbai."
36. You'd rather drag out the compressor and fill that leaking tire every single morning than have it fixed at the local gas station.
37. The only time you honk your horn is once a year during the safety check.
38. If a child needs a home, give him one. He becomes "Hanai."
39. You can live and let live with a smile in your heart.
40. Your male best friend's name is either Kimo, Kaipo, or Big Al.

I was frustrated with my attempts to load excel files data on the last posting I made on Mililani resale statistics. In order to make amends, I am posting less data here, but with graphs which I hope will make the data more useful.

Month to Month Price Changes show that prices rose in Mililani (+4.1%) for Single Family Residences, while overall prices for Single Family Homes on Oahu declined (-7.1%).

	Mililani SFR's	Overall Oahu SFR's
Feb-09	550000	628000
Mar-09	572500	600500

The Month-to-Month comparisons for Condos in Mililani was not as cheerful. Prices declined for both Mililani (-13.6%) and Oahu (-7.4%) overall.

	Mililani Condos	Overall Oahu Condos
Feb-09	320000	329300
Mar-09	276500	305000

Month-to-Month data is essentially a snapshot of the market for a specific window of time. Drawing conclusions from monthly or weekly data is simply a thumbnail sketch of overall activity. More accurate inferences, such as Market Trends are made by analyzing longer periods, such as 3, 6 and 9 month activity.

Year-to-Year data is a common tool used to compare the snapshot analysis at a certain time to the same period a year earlier. A useful analogy is to think of it as looking at market activity in the rear view mirror. It tells you where we were, but not necessarily where we are headed.

	Mililani SFR's	Overall Oahu SFR's
2008	550000	620000
2009	585000	570000

Just as the Month-to-Month data showed, the Year-to-Year price changes are again favorable for Mililani. Mililani SFR prices rose 6.4%, while on Oahu overall SFR prices dropped 8.1%

Year-to-Year	Mililani Condos	Overall Oahu Condos
2008	316000	330000
2009	314500	300000

Condominium Price are down from a year ago both for Mililani (-0.5%) and for Oahu (-9.1%). However, comparatively speaking, Mililani condominium prices are doing well.

Mililani Market Statistics Comparison Between March 2008 and March 2009

The Planned Community of Mililani continues to be one of the more resilient neighborhoods on the island of Oahu., Although the volume of sales is lower by about one third compared to a year ago, the sales prices of Single Family Homes is actually up slightly (+6.4%) compared to one year ago, and Condominiums prices are nearly flat, declining by a mere 0.5% from the same time last year. Here are the numbers:

I apologize for the chart, It's been awhile since I posted a chart here, and the functions seem to have changed. I will have to re-format this next time.

Single Family Homes

2009		2008		Year-to-Year Percentage Changes
Year-to-Date
Number Sold	Median Sales Price	Number Sold	Median Sales Price	Number Sold	Median Sales Price
24	$585,000	36	$550,000	-33.3%	6.4%

2009		2008		Month-to-Month Percentage Changes
Monthly Sales
Number Sold	Median Sales Price	Number Sold	Median Sales Price	Number Sold	Median Sales Price
12	$572,500	13	$550,000	-7.7%	4.1%

Condominiums

2009		2008		Year-to-Year Percentage Changes
Year-to-Date
Number Sold	Median Sales Price	Number Sold	Median Sales Price	Number Sold	Median Sales Price
49	$314,500	80	$316,000	-38.8	-0.5%

2009		2008		Month-to-Month Percentage Changes
Monthly Sales
Number Sold	Median Sales Price	Number Sold	Median Sales Price	Number Sold	Median Sales Price
23	$276,500	25	$320,000	-8.0%	-13.6%

Overall Oahu

Single Family Residences

2009		2008		Year-to-Year Percentage Changes
Year-to-Date
Number Sold	Median Sales Price	Number Sold	Median Sales Price	Number Sold	Median Sales Price
439	$570,000	673	$620,000	-34.8%	-8.1%

2009		2008		Month-to-Month Percentage Changes
Monthly Sales
Number Sold	Median Sales Price	Number Sold	Median Sales Price	Number Sold	Median Sales Price
188	$600,500	282	$628,000	-33.3%	-4.5%

Condominiums

2009		2008		Year-to-Year Percentage Changes
Year-to-Date
Number Sold	Median Sales Price	Number Sold	Median Sales Price	Number Sold	Median Sales Price
567	$300,000	1,037	$330,000	-45.3%	-9.1%

2009		2008		Month-to-Month Percentage Changes
Year-to-Date
Number Sold	Median Sales Price	Number Sold	Median Sales Price	Number Sold	Median Sales Price
248	$305,000	392	$329,300	-36.7%	-7.4%