Applications sought
for KVBID board
The Kailua Village Business Improvement District (KVBID) is seeking eligible candidates who wish to serve on its 17-member volunteer Board of Directors. Thirteen of the 17 board seats are elected by the fee simple owners and/or lessees of land within the Kailua Village Business Improvement District.
Six board seats are opening for a two-year term and will be elected at the upcoming KVBID annual meeting in March. Three board seats are open in the Fee Simple Owners/Lessees of Land category and three seats are available in the Commercial Tenant category. All eligible candidates will be included on the ballot and members of the District will elect directors during the upcoming March Annual Meeting.
To be eligible, Board applicants must own or lease land within District boundaries or lease commercial space within the District. Boundaries of the District are roughly the former Kmart to Royal Kona Resort.
A Board of Directors Candidate Application Form is available online at www.historickailuavillage.com. All Candidate Application Forms must be submitted no later than Jan. 22 to kailuavillage@gmail.com.
To learn more about the Kailua Village Business Improvement District and initiatives outlined in its five-year strategic plan, visit www.historickailuavillage.com
FHB employees, retirees donate $877K to nonprofits
First Hawaiian Bank recently announced bank employees and retirees gave a donation of $877,457 to 32 charities in Hawaii, Guam, and Saipan as part of the bank’s annual Kokua Mai campaign in 2020.
The bank’s Kokua Mai giving program allows its employees to contribute to causes and charities that are personally meaningful to them. Established in 2007, employees and retirees have donated over $9.5 million through Kokua Mai in support of thousands of people who receive assistance through nonprofit organizations that are a part of the program.
The program is run completely by employees and the bank covers all program costs so that 100% of every employee contribution goes to their local charity of choice in the communities FHB serves. This year, Kokua Mai ran Oct. 13 through Nov. 13 and benefited the following organizations that focus on health, education, self-sufficiency and life-sustaining services.
US home sales listings
drop 40%, hit record low
The number of homes for sale across the country has fallen to the lowest level on record.
Fewer than 700,000 homes were listed for sale with U.S. real estate agents in December, according to a new report by Realtor.com.
Nationwide home sales listings are down almost 40% from December 2019 levels.
“The shortage of homes for sale has been an ongoing issue for the last couple of years, but in December the combination of the holiday inventory slowdown and the pandemic buying trend caused it to dip to its lowest level in history,” Realtor.com chief economist Danielle Hale said in a new report. “Looking forward, we could see new lows in the next couple of months as buyers remain relatively active, but a surge of new COVID cases may slow the number of sellers entering the market. Newly listed properties have shown mixed trends.
“We eventually expect to see improvements in the supply of homes for sale, especially in the second half of the year,” Hale said. “Until then, finding a home will continue to be a top challenge for buyers across all price ranges”
The shortage of homes for sale in many areas has caused prices to jump.
Nationwide the median listing price of homes for sale was up 13.4% year-over-year in December.
