land prices and market

You can look at lots for sale on the MLS on various realtor web sites. I haven't followed lot prices closely but there does seem to be a good number for sale and I've seen some for sale for years. Building from scratch is a big challenge and it seems more and more various contractor/subs are moving off island.

Both sales and prices have increased significantly in the past 4 years per a long time on- island realtor friend of ours. We now own a small condo that where we "winter". However we had owned a 1/2 acre on STX where we had a home built. We lived in the home from 2005 to 2012. When we a signed contract to sell 2/28/12 it had been on market since 12/1/11 and been shown 22 times. We took lot less than our asking price because prices were bottoming out due to refinery closing 1/1/12. This same home just resold for a significantly higher amount and was on the market for less than 2 weeks.

As for building from scratch I would go a bit further than Scubadoo and say instead of a challenge, our experience was terrible. We had spent 2 yrs researching contractors & ended up selecting one of the islands most dependable and reputable builders. With our home about 70% complete he walked off the job bankrupt. He had been sued by another client who legally had most of his assets seized.

What ever you decide to do sasd23 I wish you good luck.

Jumbie

Land seems stagnant. Mine is worth about what i paid for it 10 years ago.

I find that land is quite cheap here compared to other islands. Building on that land, however, is a different story.

This site has a lot of market data.

http://www.american-virgin-islands.com/Team_Times_market_report.htm

Thanks to everyone. A lot of helpful information. Seems like the land plots under $50k are the most sold.

most local homes are not built on big acreage expensive lots.

Thanks to everyone. A lot of helpful information. Seems like the land plots under $50k are the most sold.

I bought the 0.75 acre lot next door to my house for $45k a few years ago.

In real estate you make your money when you buy. If you like the property offer a price 40 per cent less than they are asking (assuming asking is the market value). The real estate agents don't like when you are submitting a low offer, but who cares what they like you are the one who will be making the mortgage payments. You may get allot of rejections but you will eventually get an acceptance. Remember never fall in love with anything that can't love you back. There are allot of lots available on the island, ones that have been listed for years. I've noticed that sometimes Realtor will re-list the property under the current year to make it look like its a new listing, don't fall for that gimmick. Do your homework and be aggressive in your offers. The Realtor will hate my comments but once again they aren't the ones paying the mortgage.

The agents might not like to submit low offers but it's really the sellers that don't like them.

There's a fine line between submitting a low offer or an insulting one.
If you want a response from a seller, submit something reasonable if you truly like the property otherwise your offer shall be ignored and if you come back again, the seller is already pisssed off and insulted so it's harder to negotiate a deal.

Seen it happen, many times.

What people tend to forget is that it is not the seller who sets the final price but it's actually the buyer as he/she/they are the one's with the money and money talks! The seller can ask whatever price they want but they won't sell the home/property until it is priced at a level someone is willing to pay (and that someone is the buyer).

While an offer 40% below asking price seems a bit low I see nothing wrong with submitting a low offer. There are only three possible outcomes and 2 of them are essentially the same.

Result 1 - The offer get's accepted and the buyer pays a good price. Both parties are happy and the agent get's a commission (but not necessarily as big as he/she would like - so what, not your worry).

The other two being:

Result 2) - The seller is insulted and doesn't respond. Neither party has any joy.

Result 3) - The seller makes a counter-offer (which for the sake of this discussion is rejected by the buyer). Again no joy!

Both of these scenarios result in No sale and the the seller "loses". The buyer (the party with the money) still controls the potential for a positive outcome since he can either make another offer or walk away (and perhaps purchase someone else's property). Either way, the seller doesn't sell his/her property for the asking price or any other price for that matter.

If the seller doesn't respond with a counter offer he/she is shooting himself/herself in the foot. This is not the time to let ego or personal pride get in the way. The seller has a live "fish on the hook" but for the sake of pride he let's it get away. One never knows when or if the next fish comes along. If you want to sell your home better to sell the property for a lower price than not sell it for a much higher price. A good realtor should never recommend any offer be ignored.

A seller should strive to keep the negotiations open as long as possible rather than close them down because they feel "insulted".

I know but it happens.
It doesn't help that both the buyer and seller are stressed at the prospect from their respective sides. Nothing like watching a buyer and seller go at
it at the closing table! Luckily, I haven't had that particular scenario happen but things can get contentious.

If you're buying thru a mortgage loan, the lender actually has the last say on price after they send in their appraiser.

Afriend

You could not have said it any better. Everyone should read your comments

As for the seller, there are two kinds: 1. Want to sell and 2. Need to sell. The first kind probably owns the property out right, or has almost paid down the mortgage and just wants to see if they can get a good price. They can wait out the market and won't take a lowball offer. The ones who need to sell are either relocating or they are selling due to a death or estate sale. They are the ones who might take a low offer but if a lot is still owed on the mortgage they don't want to take a loss at closing.

Actually, the seller has a right to refuse to come down on price to please a mortgage company. Buyer has the right to make up the difference or find another house.

I know but it happens.
It doesn't help that both the buyer and seller are stressed at the prospect from their respective sides. Nothing like watching a buyer and seller go at
it at the closing table! Luckily, I haven't had that particular scenario happen but things can get contentious.

If you're buying thru a mortgage loan, the lender actually has the last say on price after they send in their appraiser.