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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Monday, April 1, 2002

Project to help Hawai'i's first-time home buyers

By Dan Nakaso
Advertiser Staff Writer

Planning has begun on a project designed to get more first-time home buyers into houses and raise Hawai'i's ownership rate toward national levels.

The nonprofit Pacific Housing Assistance Corporation hopes to establish a Hawai'i Homeownership Center on O'ahu in spring 2003 to help people with lower and moderate incomes buy their first homes.

As part of the 16-month planning process, a steering committee hopes to identify the best location for the center and estimate how many first-time buyers are in Hawai'i, said Janis Reischmann, a consultant with the Pacific Housing Assistance Corporation.

"We don't know how many people are eligible or how big the market is," she said. "That will be part of our market research."

Developers on the western side of O'ahu who have built some 1,000 entry-level homes, however, told Pacific Housing Assistance Corporation officials that about half went to first-time buyers, Reischmann said.

The ratio follows state-wide averages.

"Hawai'i's home ownership rates continue to be significantly lower than the national average," said Michael Flores, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Community Builder. "Home ownership rates have hovered between 50 to 55 percent for the past 15 years in Hawai'i. That compares to a national home ownership rate of 67 percent in 2000. We want to see our state average increase."

Home ownership centers around the country offer a variety of services, including affordable mortgage financing, neighborhood tours, access to real estate agents and insurance services.

Financing for the planning phase of the project is being underwritten by American Savings Bank, Bank of Hawaii, Central Pacific Bank and First Hawaiian Bank.

"During the planning phase, we will be learning from the home ownership centers developed around the nation," said Corbett Kalama, senior vice president for First Hawaiian Bank. "These home ownership centers have been very successful in helping new home buyers in becoming successful homeowners."