Bankruptcy filings continue decline

Hawaii bankruptcy filings plunged to their lowest monthly total of the year as the state’s low unemployment rate appeared to be keeping consumers out of financial distress.

The number of statewide cases declined 21.7 percent in April to 94 from 120 in the year-earlier period to mark their second consecutive monthly drop after three straight months of increases, according to data released Monday by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Hawaii.

It was the fewest filings in any April since 2006, when just 73 were filed. Statewide filings now have been flat or down from the year-earlier period for 67 of the past 73 months.

Honolulu bankruptcy attorney Blake Goodman said business has dropped off.

“Our point of view is it’s just brutal,” he said. “But I guess for the rest of the world, it’s good.

“Single-family homes and condo median prices are very high. Real estate seems to be selling at record prices. That, coupled with low unemployment (2.7 percent), mortgage rates at a five-month low and general consumer optimism translates to a very fertile economy and a low bankruptcy filing rate.”

Chapter 7 liquidation — the most common type of bankruptcy — declined 30.8 percent in April to 63 from 91 in the year-earlier period.

Chapter 13 filings, which allow individuals with regular sources of income to set up plans to make installment payments to creditors over three to five years, rose 14.8 percent to 31 from 27.

There were no Chapter 11 reorganization cases in April compared with two in the year-earlier period.

Goodman said the types of bankruptcies filed seem to be “the traditional run-of-the-mill cases.”

“Maybe the debt loads are a little lower,” he said. “People are filing bankruptcies for maybe $20,000 or less. There’s very few foreclosure cases we are seeing. Employment seems to be strong, but we seem to be getting more construction unemployment cases. Maybe the construction sector is taking a little breather.”

Across the state the number of filings fell in three of the four major counties from the year-earlier period and remained the same in the other. Bankruptcies in Honolulu County decreased to 62 from 80. Hawaii County filings fell to 12 from 15, and Maui County filings dropped to 15 from 20. Kauai County filings remained at five.