POSTED: 6:55 a.m. EDT, March 21, 2007

HONOLULU, Hawaii (AP) — Japanese billionaire Genshiro Kawamoto has selected the first four of eight Native Hawaiian families that will each rent one of his multimillion-dollar homes in the exclusive oceanside Kahala area for $150 a month.

The low-income families could move into the furnished Kahala Avenue homes, purchased in 2005 for $2 million to $3.4 million each, as soon as this weekend.

“They will be living in heaven now,” said Kawamoto, a 75-year-old real estate tycoon.

Among Kawamoto’s four rental homes is one with five bedrooms and 5½ bathrooms. The 6,489-square-foot home was built in 1989 and is more than three times the size of the average house on Oahu. It was purchased by Kawamoto in August 2005 for $3.4 million.

The families were selected from 3,000 people who wrote him in response to his plan announced in October to rent to low-income Hawaiians.

Kawamoto said it was difficult to choose families because there was so much interest. He also expects to select four more tenant families as early as next month.

He said he is renting the homes “because the affluent people can help the least fortunate people.” (more…)

The base is huge, the conditions are great for a long spring ski season.  Last weekend, we had great powder on Mansfield and Spruce.  The Mountain has received over 12 feet of snow since Valentine’s day!

By Brian-Logan Reid, Broker

In the time that I’ve lived on Nantucket, I’ve witnessed Nantucket become ever more a playground for the rich (or what is becoming more so the case, the VERY rich).  After some conversations with friends and colleagues, I began thinking about all the ways that Nantucket may just be becoming a secluded playground for the affluent:

• The Nantucket Yacht Club - Members only - you could imagine what it’s like trying to get into this club (I’ve heard the wait list is over 30 years…) 
• The Great Harbor Yacht Club - Members only (still under construction) - 300 members, membership cost is $300,000… 
• The Sankaty Head Golf Club - Members only - I’ve heard the membership cost is only $30,000 (and maybe I’m missing a 0), but the wait list is extremely “extensive”…
• The Nantucket Golf Club - Members only - Membership cost is $450,000 and a five year wait list…
• The Westmoor Club - Members only - This most recent tennis club does not have a wait list, but the membership cost is $250,000 (last I heard)…
• The Sconset Casino - Sconset residents and renters only - a tennis club located in Sconset; nominal membership cost…
• The Nobadeer Swim and Tennis Club - Members only - a facility located in Mid-Island with tennis courts, full gym and spa - membership cost is $25,000 (at least that’s what it was 2 years ago)…
• The Point Breeze Hotel is undergoing an enormous renovation that will convert it into a luxury hotel with full spa and five star restaurant; memberships will probably be available…
• Time and Place Homes owner Mitch Wiley recently purchased several condo units and outbuildings on Nantucket Harbor.  I believe he will be creating a truly unique collection of high-end condos/houses/cottages located right in Town and right on the harbor…

Wow!  I didn’t realize how exhaustive the list really is!  Well the good news…I think…is that because of a lack of large contiguous property left to build on Nantucket, no more golf courses will be built! (hmm…on second thought, don’t hold me on that). 

There definitely is some cache in saying “I’ve got a house on Nantucket”…maybe it has to do with this exclusive mentality…

Just some of my thoughts…

By James R. Hagerty
From The Wall Street Journal Online

About 1.1 million foreclosures are likely to result from jumps in monthly payments on adjustable-rate home-mortgage loans made in 2004 through 2006, according to a study by First American CoreLogic.

Christopher Cagan, director of research at the real-estate-information concern based in Santa Ana, Calif., said those foreclosures are likely to occur over six to seven years and won’t be enough to damage the national economy. (Financial markets could be hurt, however.

Dr. Cagan analyzed 8.4 million adjustable-rate loans made during those three years and estimated that 13% of them, totaling $326 billion, will end in foreclosures. After lenders resell those properties, the total losses for lenders or investors holding the loans will be $113 billion, he estimated. That is about 1% of total U.S. home-mortgage loans outstanding.

“The vast majority of borrowers will be fine,” Dr. Cagan said.

The estimates are based on an assumption that average home prices will remain about level with the December 2006 level over the next five years. If prices drop 10%, the number of foreclosures would jump to 1.9 million, Dr. Cagan projected. But a 10% rise in prices would cut foreclosures to 489,000, he estimated. When prices rise, people struggling with loan payments are more likely to be able to refinance into a loan with easier terms or sell their homes for more than the loan balance.

The projections include only foreclosures expected to result from jumps in interest rates that occur when loans “reset” from their initial interest rate to a higher one, usually after two to five years. They don’t take into account foreclosures that will occur for such reasons as job losses, deaths, divorces, illness or fraud.

The worst-performing loans will be those that started with low “teaser” rates, below 4%, the study predicts. On such loans, the typical rise in monthly payments at the reset is 118%, Dr. Cagan calculates.

Email your comments to rjeditor@dowjones.com.

– March 20, 2007

How the Subprime woes affect you
The impact of rising defaults is already being felt on Wall Street.  Here’s the impact on home buyers and sellers.

By Gerri Willis, CNN

March 15 2007: 1:23 PM EDT

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Stock markets have been struggling because of worries about lenders who underwrite mortgages for people with bad credit. Some two dozen companies have been affected.

Worse, the crisis is also hitting better known banks and Wall Street brokerages that invested in these loans. The reverberations are being felt from Tokoyo to London.

Video More video CNN’s Gerri Willis how a meltdown among U.S. subprime mortgage lenders affects consumers. (March 14) Play video

A recent study predicted that one in five subprime mortgages issued in 2005-2006 will fail.

For home buyers…

For this consumer, this means, there will probably be a tightening of credit.

It will be harder for you to get a mortgage, if you have less - than - perfect credit.

And if you do, the terms won’t be as favorable (think higher rates and more money down).

In addition, It could be harder to get an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) because it can be seen as risky.

For home sellers…

If you’re trying to sell your home, there will be fewer buyers out there - and those buyers may have less to spend because they have less favorable mortgages. All that could lead to a lower selling price for your home.

The Mortgage Bankers Association predicts that housing won’t even regain its footing until near the end of 2007.

And there is an impact beyond the housing market. Remember, people don’t just borrow to buy homes. They take out home equity loans to pay for college education for their kids. Or home repairs, or to buy a new car.

Stowe gets a needed lift

By Gene Sloan, USA TODAY

STOWE, Vt. — Rod Kessler doesn’t mince words when he talks about the old chairlift to the summit of Spruce Peak.

		Small-town Vermont: The Stowe Community Center looks peaceful under a mantle of snow, which typically blankets the village from Nov. through April.
		Gene J. Puskar, AP

“It was a tough ride,” says the head of operations for Stowe Mountain Resort, recalling the infamously frigid crosswinds that would buffet skiers on the 13-minute trip to the top.

Like so much else in this aging grande dame of New England resort towns, once known as the Ski Capital of the East, the slow-moving Big Spruce lift hadn’t gotten an overhaul since the area’s heyday in the ’50s. It wasn’t just old; it was a relic.

	SKIING STOWE
	Vertical drop: 2,360 feet Skiable acres: 485 Annual snowfall: 333 inches Trail mix: Beginner, 16%; intermediate, 59%; expert, 25% Ticket prices: One-day adult pass, $74; five-day pass, $224. Information: 800-253-4754; stowe.com.

But now, as Kessler eagerly points out in a midday ski tour, things finally are beginning to change — and change big — both on and off the mountain.

Big Spruce is gone, replaced this year by a new high-speed lift that reaches the summit in under 6 minutes. And that’s just a small piece of a $300 million, 10-year extreme makeover of the ski area now underway that developers hope will catapult Stowe back to the top spot among Eastern resorts.

“There’s not a resort in the world that we will not compete with,” boasts hotelier James Horsman, the Ritz-Carlton veteran tapped to run a new ski-in, ski-out luxury hotel and spa that will form the cornerstone of a posh new pedestrian village. It’s designed to lure vacationers from across the USA and even Europe.

The 170-room property, now under construction at the base of Spruce Peak, won’t open until next year. But already, the first elements of the new base area — luxury ski-in, ski-out cabins — are beginning to bustle with well-heeled skiers.

And there have been significant changes on the mountain over the past year, (more…)

Asking:  $24,000,000

Almost two miles long with five miles of shoreline, this 230 acre island paradise is located just a half mile off the southeast coast of St. Thomas.

Thatch Cay is currently divided into two 57 acre parcels and one 115 acre parcel, each zoned for residential use. The island offers surf crashing at the foot of dramatic cliffs, a white sand beach, scenic strolls, prevailing breezes and views of nearby islands. The island rises to almost 500 ft. on its eastern peak. On the south side, gentle slopes face the city lights of St. Thomas.

The surrounding crysal clear waters provide some of the best swimming, sailboarding, scuba diving, snorkeling and deep sea fishing. The island hosts a variety of wildlife.

Just 5 minutes by boat from the marina facilities of St. Thomas which offers easy access via ferry service, an international airport and private jetport. St. Thomas boasts historical and cultural sites, golfing, fine dining and renowned nightlife.

In the 18th Century, Thatch Cay was part of a Dutch plantation; in the 19th Century it served as home to a small fishing village and since the early part of the 20th Century the cay has been left entirely to Mother Nature.

Ideal for a secluded tropical retreat, a family compoung or a world-class low density residential development.

The second half of winter has continued to be a blessing.  Stowe received almost 3 feet of snow since Friday.  The conditions on the mountain are tremendous.  With a bit of snow Monday/Tuesday, spring skiing will be excellent this year.�

by Brian-Logan Reid, Broker

I personally do not know if this is a record or not (it’s GOT to be close), but someone rented a house on Nantucket for 10 days, for $100,000!  Yes folks, that’s $10,000 PER DAY…must be SOME house…

Most recently, I’ve heard that there is a house for rent for $50,000/wk and it’s not even waterfront!!  The compound is located in Quidnet with water and Sankaty Head views, but come on…no direct beach access?? 

Oh and it happens to be on the market for $19,500,000…here’s a photo and the description:

“Extraordinarily private compound on 14+ rolling acres with views of Atlantic, Sankaty Light, Sesachacha Pond and Moors.  Large pool, hot tub, cabana with fireplace, and a tennis court.  Spectacular new construction with every imaginable amenity and plenty of room for guest house, barn, riding trails, etc.”

Within the last two years, the Nantucket Lightship (yes the restored boat that was docked in the harbor) was able to be rented…for a cool $150,000/wk…

Low Season rates are approaching!!! April 16th prices drop, and the weather in the Northeast is still cold!!!-the perfect time to take advantage of a trip to St. Barth’s!!