Category Archives: Finance

Congress should renew the $8k cash back for home buyers program

The latest data on home sales in the US from Realtor.org show that the Stimulus money aimed at getting Americans to start buying houses again is working. Sales of existing homes nationwide rose 7.2% in July 2009, compared to July 2008. Condo sales have also increased. In the West sales rose  16.3% over last July.

The picture is Hawaii is not as rosy. The market continues to decline, despite an increase in sales pace reported by Prudential. Let’s consider Maui as an example. At the peak of the housing bubble in 2006, single family homes on Maui were some of the most expensive in the state, with a median value of $625,000. In Prudiential’s mid-2009 report, the median price is $499,053, down 14.7% and sales volume dropped 32.5% from the same period in 2008. 

However, there is a 3-month lag in reporting so any new trends in Hawaii’s housing market won’t appear until the next report due out in December 2009.

Experts credit the slight pulse in the housing market to a Stimulus package program, which gives buyers $8,000 cash back for a purchase in 2009. This program seems to be working, at least in the short term, and Congress should renew or extend it when they resume session in September. Another popular Stimulus program was Cash for Clunkers, which was extended once doubling the federal money allocated to it from $1 billion to $2 billion dollars. If a carrot works, use it.

But prices of homes are still down, a trend that likely won’t reverse until excess inventory sells. In most markets, including Hawaii, the prices appear to be either flat or inching up. James J. Cramer penned an article in September 2008 for the New York magazine predicting the bottom of the housing market as June 30, 2009. It appears that he was correct.

Comparing Electricity Rates with Solar Power

Photovoltaics (PV), also known as solar panels, become increasingly competitive with electric utilities as electricity rates continue to rise. PV becomes cheaper over time while retail electricity (like the kind from your local utility company) becomes more expensive. By 2015, even the cheapest electricity rates in the US will likely be comparable to the cost of renewable solar power.

In the tables below, the orange boxes show the range of costs for solar power, and the colored bars show the current utility rates in various cities across the country.

Here in Hawaii, solar power is already far cheaper than electricity from the local utility. My house runs entirely on solar power, and I estimate a pay back for the initial investment in the PV system of $11,000 to happen within three years of installation. So for the rest of life of the solar power system, which could be another 10 or 15 years, my power is free. In other words, I’ll keep over $2,000 per year in my pocket to invest elsewhere.

Tax Time: Forms, Deadlines and Extensions in Hawaii

The 2008 federal tax filing deadline is April 15, 2009. But residents of Hawaii have until April 20, 2009 to file state tax forms. If you’re going to miss either deadline, you can file an extension with the feds and the state. Just follow these links:

Federal

Note that there are separate forms for individuals and corporations.

States

  • Select your forms by state at the Federation of Tax Administrators (or FTA)

This site has direct links to all state tax forms and state tax agencies. 42 states provide links to filing via the internet, including Hawaii.

State of Hawaii

Hawaii’s eGov.org website contains all you need to file state taxes online, including business taxes, general excise taxes and personal income taxes.