BUSINESS BRIEFS
Home prices up, sales down
Advertiser Staff
The Honolulu Board of Realtors reported that the total dollar volume of previously owned homes sold on O'ahu in the second quarter declined by 5 percent, or $79 million, to $1.47 billion compared with $1.55 billion in the 2005 second quarter.
The drop was in contrast to a year-over-year gain during the first quarter, when dollar volume increased by 14 percent, or $167 million, to $1.34 billion.
Home prices for the second quarter were higher — by 11 percent to a median record of $640,000 for single-family homes, and by 19 percent to $305,000 for condominiums. But the number of sales was lower — by 12 percent to 1,074 for single-family homes, and by 15 percent to 1,830 for condos.
HONOLULU FIFTH ON DISASTER-RISK LIST
Honolulu's vulnerability to hurricanes, storm surges and tsunamis earned it a fifth-place ranking on a new list of major U.S. cities at risk from natural disasters.
The city with the highest disaster risk was Miami, followed by New Orleans; Oakland, Calif.; and San Francisco, according to a report published by SustainLane.com.
The list was drawn up based on SustainLane research and information from Risk Management Solutions, a provider of products and services for the quantification and management of catastrophe risks.
BANK EXECUTIVE ON KAISER BOARD
Edward Pei, executive vice president of the Consumer Banking Group of First Hawaiian Bank, has been named to the board of directors of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Inc. and Kaiser Foundation Hospitals.
Pei, who joined First Hawaiian Bank in 1971, has an extensive experience in financial services management. He is a member of the bank's senior management committee and oversees the bank's card services, business services, residential real estate and the retail credit product divisions.
Pei also is president-elect of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii and chairman of the board of trustees of the Academy of the Pacific.
