September 26th, 2007
Hawaii Unemployment Rate And Foreclosures
Hawaii, once again has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country at 2.6%. A sign of a healthy economy and a healthy real estate market.
With a seasonably adjusted rate of 2.6 percent, Hawai’i was tied with Utah for the No. 2 spot in the country, according to figures released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Idaho continued to have the country’s lowest unemployment rate at 2.4 percent, while Michigan had the highest at 7.4 percent.
If you look at the areas with low home foreclosures, typically you will see areas with low unemployment. Conversely, areas with high unemployment will have a high number of foreclosures. Look at Michigan, for example, has one in every 288 homes goes into foreclosure.
Hawai’i has not had an unemployment rate at or above 3 percent since December 2004. In August 2006, the state’s unemployment was at 2.3 percent.
Our housing market has been relatively level since the beginning of 2007, with a slight 1.8% gain in home prices for the same time last year. Hawaii has a very low foreclosure rate as well. Read more here.
Share ThisPosted by scott on September 26th, 2007 in Real Estate, Economic Info |
November 29th, 2007 at 11:51 pm
[…] That seems like a pretty risky investment. In a market with stable real estate prices, and a stable economy it doesn’t appear worth it. In a market where the economy is depressed and property prices are decreasing, such as in Michigan, it may make more since, but you always have the added risk. Right now in Hawaii, I have gone to several foreclosures, and the banks have set a minimum bid price that no one has wanted to meet or beat. This tells me the lenders aren’t ready to give the properties away because the market is healthy enough to put it on the market as an REO and they will be able to re-coop their money. Here is Hawaii’s Foreclosure Report. […]