A generally positive mixture of news has created speculation that the Kauai real estate market and the Garden Isle economy may finally be recovering strongly from the recession. According to a May 8, 2010 article in the Garden Island, “Foreclosures are on the rise and buyers are scooping up properties across the island, recent statistics show, but the two may not be correlated, said University of Hawaii-Manoa Associate Professor Economics Dr. Carl Bonham Friday.” The article by Coco Zickos went on to say that “While another wave of foreclosures descended upon the island, rising from around 600 in January to almost 1,000 in April, according to data from RealtyTrac, many of the foreclosures ‘probably haven’t gotten into the market yet,’ he said. ‘Very low home prices and incredibly low interest rates’ are likely reasons for the rise in residential sales, neither of which will ‘last forever,’ Bonham said.”

Kauai home prices may also begin to stabilize of the economy continues to recover, a possibility that may be moving towards reality, according to a May 15, 2010 article in the Garden Island. This piece noted that “Slipping back into a recession is unlikely, according to a recent report from First Hawaiian Bank. Apparently the recession is over, some economists say. ‘The prospects of a double-dip recession for us have diminished a lot,’ said University of Hawaii Associate Professor of Economics Dr. Carl Bonham. But ‘obviously there are still risks.’” The piece, also written by Coco Zickos, continued to say “Though no official date was announced in terms of when it was considered to be over, ‘Hawaii probably left the recession’ during the fall of 2009, Bonham said…During the first quarter of 2010, a net loss of 300 jobs was recorded on island, even though the ‘job count has been trending positively’ since January, Costa said.”

The rate of foreclosures in the Kauai real estate market mirrored the jump in foreclosures across the state of Hawaii, according to a May 13, 2010 article from the Honolulu Star Bulletin. This piece, composed by Gene Park, found that “There were 1,474 Hawaii properties that received foreclosure notices last month, according to RealtyTrac, an online foreclosure marketplace.”