Foreclosures, delinquencies down in Washington

Fewer Washington homeowners are falling behind on their mortgage payment and fewer face losing their homes as foreclosure and delinquency rates continue to decline.

Real estate firm CoreLogic Inc. says the foreclosure rate in the Washington metro was 1.25 percent in January, down from 1.56 percent a year ago and lower than the national foreclosure rate of 1.46 percent.

Mortgage delinquencies, loans that are 90 days or more behind, fell to 3.53 percent in the Washington metro, compared to 4.25 percent…

Mortgage rates head back toward record lows

Longterm borrowing costs took another turn lower this week, following the decline in 10-year Treasury yields.

Freddie Mac (OTC: FMCC) says the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 3.69 percent in the week ending March 26, down from 3.78 percent last week. A year ago, 30-year rates averaged 4.4 percent.

A 15-year fix averaged 2.97 percent this week, down from 3.06 percent. A one-year adjustable rate mortgage averaged 2.46 percent this week, unchanged from last week.

Falling rates…

Washington home values rise 7 times faster than wages

Incomes across the country aren’t growing much, but rebounding home prices may be offsetting the negative impact of stagnant wages on consumer confidence.

Real estate firm RealtyTrac says home price appreciation is outpacing wage growth by 13 to one, on average.

Nationwide, wages between the second quarter of 2012 and the second quarter of 2014 rose an average of just 1.3 percent. Median home prices have increased 17 percent nationwide in the two years ending in December 2014.

In the Washington…

Colorado drilling rig count down 48% from October, says IHS

The number of oil and gas drilling rigs in operation in Colorado continues to drop amid low energy commodity prices, and planned capital spending by energy companies also is on a downward trend.

A report Monday from IHS Global Insight — a unit of Douglas County-based global analysis company IHS Inc. — says the rig count in the state has dropped from 75 on Oct. 31 to 39 as of March 6, a 48 percent drop.

That compares to a 39 percent drop in rig count nationwide over the same period, from 1,876…

Former First Hawaiian Bank CEO moves ahead with Waikiki retail center project

Former First Hawaiian Bank CEO Don Horner is in the final stages of planning for a 5,000-square-foot, single-story retail complex with on-site parking on land his real estate investment firm owns in Waikiki, he told PBN Monday.

Malu Investment I LLC, which he formed along with his family about three years ago, owns the 13,461-square-foot vacant lot at the corner of Kapahulu and Kuhio avenues across from the Honolulu Zoo.

Horner, who retired from First Hawaiian Bank in 2012, currently sits on the…