Foreclosures rise

Real estate foreclosures in Hawaii rose during the first three months of 2016, disrupting a trend of fewer foreclosures over the past two years.

The latest statistics from the state Judiciary show that the number of new foreclosure cases filed in Circuit Court statewide jumped 21 percent during the quarter, to 529 from 437 in the same period last year.

By month the increases ranged from 10 percent to 42 percent.

In March there were 202 new cases compared with 174 a year earlier. In February the count was 162 compared with 147. And there were 165 cases filed in January, up from 116 a year earlier.

The increases are troubling given that the local economy and residential real estate markets are doing well. However, Gary Dubin, a Hawaii attorney representing homeowners challenging foreclosures, said earlier this year that foreclosure case volumes were on an upswing.

Dubin noted in February that his firm was receiving more requests for assistance in foreclosure cases.

“I have noticed a sizable increase also in cases on (court) foreclosure calendars on all islands,” he added in an email at the time.

It remains to be seen whether a rise in foreclosure cases will continue. Last year there were four consecutive months where case volume rose over the comparable months a year earlier. Yet volume declined 12 percent for the whole year.

One company that tracks other measures of foreclosure suggests that Hawaii homeowners might not be in worse shape collectively than they were a year earlier.

The firm, CoreLogic, said in its most recent foreclosure report that 4 percent of Hawaii mortgage loans had payment delinquencies of 90 days or more in January compared with 4.5 percent in the same month last year.

CoreLogic also said 2.3 percent of Hawaii properties were in some stage of foreclosure in January, down from 2.8 percent a year earlier.

Hawaii foreclosure cases reported by the Judiciary involve mostly residential properties but also can include commercial real estate. Also, the cases can include foreclosures initiated by homeowner associations against homeowners who are delinquent paying maintenance or association fees in condominiums, though it is more common for these kinds of foreclosures to be conducted out of court in a nonjudicial process that state lawmakers effectively abolished for mortgage lenders in 2011.