WASHINGTON » Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates rose this week to their highest level so far this year as new data showed strength in the housing market.

Mortgage giant Freddie Mac said Thursday the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage increased to 3.87 percent from 3.84 percent a week earlier. The rate on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages advanced to 3.11 percent from 3.05 percent.

Rates have risen in recent weeks amid signs of improvement in the economy.

A government report issued Tuesday showed that more Americans bought new homes in April, evidence that the stronger job market is propelling the housing market. New-home sales climbed 6.8 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 517,000. Rising demand has created a supply crunch, and the limited inventory of homes for sale has pushed up prices.

Hawaiian Air designates permanent CFO

Hawaiian Airlines has removed the interim title from Chief Financial Officer Shannon Okinaka.

The Hilo native had been serving as senior vice president and interim CFO since January following the departure of CFO Scott Topping.

The board of parent company Hawaiian Holdings Inc. voted unanimously to elevate Okinaka at the company’s May 21 meeting. She also was promoted to executive vice president from senior vice president.

"This promotion recognizes Shannon’s strong and insightful leadership of the finance department here at Hawaiian Airlines," said Mark Dunkerley, president and chief executive officer. "Her knowledge of our islands, as a kamaaina from Hawaii island, has been an additional asset to our executive team."

Okinaka previously had served as vice president-controller of Hawaiian Airlines since 2011.

King of Pop’s ranch offered for $100 million

LOS ANGELES » Neverland Ranch is up for sale.

The California property that once served as Michael Jackson’s home and personal fantasyland is being listed at $100 million, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The 2,700-acre ranch in the Santa Ynez Valley features such amenities as a train station, six-bedroom house, 50-seat movie theater and a pair of lakes, It has been in limbo since Jackson’s death in 2009.

Jackson originally paid $19.5 million for the oak- and sycamore-studded property in 1988 and rechristened it Neverland after Peter Pan’s island dwelling. He soon added such over-the-top amenities as a zoo and small amusement park, which have since been removed.

The real estate company Colony Capital LLC bailed out Jackson in 2008 after he defaulted on the $24.5 million that he owed on the property.

Despite rumors after Jackson’s death that the hilly property might be transformed into a Graceland-like homage to the King of Pop, Colony Capital has quietly maintained the ranch located about 150 miles north of Los Angeles.

The estate was built in 1981 by real estate developer William Bone, who called it Sycamore Valley Ranch.

Jackson distanced himself from the ranch after his 2005 acquittal on charges that he molested children at the property. The singer opted to live elsewhere until his death. Colony Capital spokeswoman Caroline Luz declined to comment about the sale.

Move into drones drives up GoPro stock

NEW YORK » Shares of GoPro jumped to a five-month high Thursday after the company’s CEO said it is getting into the drone and virtual reality business.

The company already dominates the action-video camera market and its entry into the fast-growing field of drones and virtual reality sent shares up 3 percent early Thursday.

Nick Woodman, who also founded the company, said at the Code Conference in California that GoPro will come out with a quadcopter drone geared toward consumers in the first half of 2016.

GoPro is also introducing six-camera technology for use in virtual reality, using its HERO4 cameras, which may be available this year. GoPro said last month it was buying Kolor, a French company that makes "stitching" technology that allows users to combine multiple photos or videos into a high-resolution panoramic or spherical whole.

GoPro said that Kolor’s technology will be an important part of virtual reality media. Shares of GoPro Inc. rose $3.53, or 6.6 percent, to close at $56.81 on Thursday. Its shares are up 35 percent in the past three months.

On the Move

» Hawaii Pacific University has hired Stephanie Blakeman as a programming and marketing director for Aloha Tower Marketplace. She previously served as a Hawaii expert in destination and communication management with HOJSKOLENDK, an international education program in Denmark, as well as a lecturer and adjunct professor at Aalborg University in Copenhagen, Denmark.

» Wilcox Memorial Hospital has announced that Alyssa Schaffer has joined its medical staff as an orthopedic surgeon. She is board- certified in orthopedic surgery and obtained a subspecialty certificate in surgery of the hand. Through the American Foundation for Surgery of the Hand-Health Volunteers Overseas Young Surgeon Traveling Fellowship program, Schaffer volunteered by teaching hand surgery to residents at Mulago Hospital in Kampala, Uganda.

Ship Ahoy!

Friday’s ship arrivals and departures: