News and Insight

For the Weekend of May 30^th, 2026

Hawaii’s Most Read Mortgage, Real Estate, and Finance Publication for 18 Years

 

Volume 18 – Issue 35

A Bittersweet Weekend

My son graduated from high school this weekend along with thousands of students across the state that have already or will be next week.  Many graduates will enter the workforce, while others will opt for more education.  Of those continuing their education, the majority will access Hawaii’s university and community college system.  But a fortunate group of Hawaii’s keiki have opted to continue their education at mainland universities.

 

A small percentage of Hawaii’s graduates have the talent to obtain full athletic scholarships.  An even smaller group will get full academic scholarships.  For the rest, and my son is in this other group, us parents must bear the costs of what a modern university degree will cost.  The sacrifice we make for our children is great.  Why do we do it?  Because we want our kids to succeed.  We hope they will use their talents to make the world a better place.

 

But why this moment brings conflicting feelings of joy and sadness is that for many, like my son, the reality of returning to Hawaii after college is unlikely.  As with so many professional degrees – my son wishes to obtain a mechanical engineering degree that focuses on aerospace, there’s no jobs in Hawaii that can utilize his knowledge.  Many other graduates will obtain their degrees in medicine, or law, or other engineering degrees such as ship building at Pearl Harbor.  But Hawaii’s rate of pay for professionals is generally 25% less than what they can receive on the mainland.  Couple that with a cost of living 35% higher than on the mainland, and anyone with brains would need an illogical reason to come back home.

 

Hawaii is losing its brightest and best.

 

I work with a lot of former Hawaii residents who have followed the path above.  Many, now in their 50’s, successful, and their own kids forging forward with their own lives, have decided to return home.  For most, the choice came because of the need to care for elderly parents.  If you think college is expensive, check out how much assisted living care for the elderly in Hawaii costs.  To care for parents, they give up significantly better paying jobs on the mainland.  Most sell big, beautiful homes to buy something smaller here, but will still work for multi-generational living.

 

Part of this newsletter is to educate people on real estate, finance, and mortgages.  The other part I am deeply passionate about is pointing out issues we face that we can address.  I realize that people are busy with their own lives and the last thing they have any interest in is politics and the people that control our taxes.  But that control is not just fiscal.  Government guides an agenda that has huge ramifications on the quality of life we have here.

 

Hawaii has two big industries and a couple other small ones.  The big ones, tourism and the military, are not great industries to sustain a heathy economy.  Almost all the jobs in tourism pay poorly.  And for the military, while they bring lots of dollars to the island by way of spending, very few jobs – except the Pearl Harbor Shipyard, pay well either.  Yet our political leaders seem rudderless in guiding Hawaii into new opportunities to bring good paying meaningful jobs to our state.  Have you ever heard any political leader ask for a special task force of experts to be formed to determine how to bring high paying jobs to Hawaii?  Maybe they’re too busy worrying about carbon emissions and driving up the cost of living here instead.

 

If I sound angry, I am.  I, like so many other Hawaii parents will not just be sending our kids off to college, but in reality, we’re saying goodbye.

 

Hawaii can’t keep doing what we’ve done since statehood.  We should stop the cultural warfare between the haves and the have nots.  We should try and make Hawaii’s educational system one of the best in the country.  Promote responsible development to make buying a home affordable.  Use the power of government to create new industries that offer good paying jobs - not only to those that stayed, but jobs our kids can come back home to.

 

 

 

 

 

And now the week’s economic news…….

 

Inflation Calmer Than Anticipated

Reports of progress to end the conflict in the Middle East continued to be the primary influence of mortgage markets, while the economic data caused little reaction.  As a result, mortgage rates ended the week lower.

 

Fed officials carefully monitor inflation, and the PCE price index is their favored indicator.  Core PCE in April was 3.3% higher than a year ago, up from an annual rate of increase of 3.2% in March and the highest level since November 2023.  Progress toward the 2.0% target of the Fed has not been easy, and this desired level has not been achieved since February 2021.

 

One consequence of higher prices for everyday items such as gasoline, groceries, and utilities is that consumers are saving less.  The personal savings rate (the share of income Americans have after taxes and expenses) dropped to just 2.6% in April.  This was down from 5.8% a year ago and the lowest level since June 2022 during the reopening of the economy after the pandemic.  With the boost to incomes from larger tax refunds this year beginning to fade, investors will be keeping a close eye on the spending habits of consumers.

 

The latest confidence survey published by the Conference Board revealed that consumers remain worried about higher prices, the labor market, and geopolitical tensions.  In May, the index dropped to 93.1 from 93.8 in the prior month.  The decline was sharpest for lower-income households, for whom higher gasoline prices are eating up a greater share of their budgets.  Two-thirds of consumers reported a reduction in spending by cutting back on discretionary items or delaying expensive purchases.  Also notable, the share of respondents viewing jobs as not plentiful rose to the highest level since 2021.

 

 

 

Next Week

Looking ahead, attention will remain fixed on the conflict in the Middle East.  Investors also will monitor comments from Fed officials about future monetary policy.  For economic data, The ISM national manufacturing sector index will be released on Monday and the services sector index on Wednesday.  JOLTS will come out on Tuesday.  The key Employment report will be released on Friday, and these figures on the number of jobs, the unemployment rate, and wage inflation are always closely watched.

 

Until next week….

 

*** Please note that Freddie Mac publishes their weekly rate report on Wednesday mornings from data received Monday and Tuesday. 

The graph above is intended to shown rate trends, and not “today’s current rate”. ***

 

 

Reviews From Our Past Clients

With every client, we promise to provide you with a comprehensive analysis of your mortgage needs, the best service possible, and the best rates we can find.  We make it our mission to have every transaction close with our clients happy with the service we provided.  Browse through the hundreds of reviews we’ve received from our clients posted on both Google and Zillow.com, and read what they thought of their experience using Hawaii Mortgage Company.

 

 

Google Link:

Hawaii Mortgage Company Review on Google.com

 

 

Zillow.com Link:

Hawaii Mortgage Company Reviews on Zillow.com

 

 

 

Our Rate Quote System is Available to You

Our automated rate quoting system is live.  Now you can check rates and try different scenarios 24-hours a day.  Remember, it’s just a computer.  For non-standard rate quotes, such as construction, vacant land, and other specialty programs, you’ll still need to give a call.

 

Here’s the link:      https://www.hawaiimortgage.net/todays-rates/

 

 

Do you think all lenders are the same?

There is a difference when you use Hawaii Mortgage Company for your financing.  Here’s a short video telling you why:

 

https://youtu.be/c7AKQ5wa2_U

 

 

 

Broker vs. Banker?

Click the link below to get a quick lesson on why working with a Mortgage Broker will benefit you on your next transaction.

 

https://youtu.be/iH3igW5v2jE