Real estate misleading?

For $400,000-$500,000 on St. John, you're going to get a 1 or 2BR fixer-upper that's either in Coral Bay or mid-island involving a very long, bumpy ride on a dirt road. IF you can find one in that price range.

We just spent 2 years seriously looking and finally bought last September. I don't know what real estate sites you're referring to, but look at the 7 that handle real estate in St. John (Holiday Homes, Islandia, Cruz Bay Realty, St. JOhn Properties, Tropical, Town and Country, American Paradise).

The current MLS has only 38 homes, only 4 of which are under $500,000. Of those 4, 1 is literally a shack with no view at all, 1 is a duplex with decent but not awesome views, 1 is far away from everything and doesn't seem to have any water view, and the last seems to be on the east side of coral bay (45 minutes+ from the ferry), with low-lying water view, and no shots of the house, so you can imagine what kind of condition it's in.

Don't mean to be discouraging but rather offering a reality-check. St. John is beautiful but it's very, very expensive; with 2/3 National Park, what remains is valuable, and views don't come cheap.

Cynthia

Hello,

I am not sure however I think perhaps ocean view and oceanfront property descriptions may have gotten confused. As you can read in the clips below....

On St. Thomas the average price of a home is $325,000. The market on St. Thomas is very active. The topography of St. Thomas lends itself to more ocean views and therefore higher prices.

The topography of the island provides excellent views of the island, the ocean and other neighboring islands. Prices average around $1,000,000. The market on St. John is very active. It would be difficult to find a home on St. John for less than $500,000.

Beachfront properties are scarce but when they do become available they go fast and are priced at about $100,000 an acre on St. Thomas, $250,000 on St. John and $75,000 on St. Croix.

Beachfront property is scarce however do to the topography of the island many parcels will be in view of the ocean or water BUT NOT a Beach! Why I say water.... well I have visted homes that from one corner of their sliding glass windows to the other corner was a view of the ocean, to houses that a full 180 angle of ocean view exsisted and to homes that were out on a penisula so has more ocean view AND I have been to some that you can see the ocean a little bit of it. So prices of houses would depend on 1. How much of the ocean is to be seen, and if its the ocean, or a salt pond, or a mangroove area (but they will all be advertised I would imagine is ocean-view) 2. what area is it in - because there are homes in not so great areas that have a view of the ocean!! if fact not to scare you however but to give you a realistic appreciation of the topgraphy and of the island, the St. Thomas garbage landfill has a wonderfully magnificent view of the ocean and mangroove lagoon - beautiful!!.... but I am quite certain property there would NOT be terriable high in value. Now a Frenchman's Bay property with ocean view will not be the same as say a Hull Bay ocean view home or a Peterborg Ocean View or a Mandahl Peak.... you see what I am saying much has to do with Where the house is located as well. 3. Another factor is how accesiable is it - several years ago when development began in the far Bourdeaux areas of the west end of St. Thomas parcels could be gotten for great prices, I visited a home there and the view was increadable however the road (a dirt road) was crazy and it took almost 35 minutes to get from where the house was to the main road, and I was certain that my car would fall apart if I traveled that road too often, then another 20 minutes to get to town!!! So accesiablity would also affect cost. The size and age of the home would also affect house values.

I would suggest perhaps of the properties that you look at and like post here and state where it is at and such so you can get opinions - But overall you should go down and visit the various properties!!!!

I think perhaps depending on location on St. Thomas you could find such properties at the price you mentioned with some sort of view in a good area, but not a full ocean view in the really expensive areas, St. John would be quite difficult to find an ocean view of any kind at 400,000 with out some catch (having to really fix up the house, road terriable, far out there from everything else)....

--Islander

As a person who is currently searching the market on St Thomas, I can say that you would definitely be able to find something on STT with an Atlantic view in that price range. Newer construction with maybe even .5 acre lot. You might even be able to get something on Peterborg around $450K.
From what I hear of St John, on the other hand, forget it.
Check the MLS or realtor.com

I know my rental property with two homes is for sale on St. John.
I believe it is 400k and it is about an acre.
It is a 15 minute drive to the main road.
There are three factors I think why it is cheap, for STJ.
1) The road can wear new tires down from new in three months just making two trips a day. For a quarter mile, it is a horrifying road, people have blown out many tires and lost control of their vehicles. Literally, my Sidekick bottoms out twice no matter where I drive on the road, a car wouldnt make it. It is pretty scary.
2) The buildings have termites and it is a wood structure.
The electricity needs work and there are several leaks in my building.
3) There is no view because it is deep in a valley sandwiched between the huge hills of STJ by gift hill.

The last people that were involved in the possible deal didn't close because there is a survey dispute.

On the plus side, if you want privacy, you got it. No one comes out here except a few stray dogs here and there.

Also, Chris' post reminded me, be VERY conscious of the material the home is constructed of. Wood is not only problematic for termites and fire, but for hurricanes and your insurance will be astronomical. Masonry is the way to go for a long-term investment.

Great information, thank you all.

So, it appears that if I want the property to be, lets say betwen 400K and 650K, and I want a nice property, in a nice area, with "some" sort of ocean view, then I am really looking at St. Thomas, and not St. John.

Having said that, this will be a retirement home so fast access in and out is not as big an issue as it might seem. Schools, travel to work, etc. will not be issues. Again, not critizing realators, but they tend to tell you what you want to hear. For example, the comment on the landfill was a great one. How would one know? Of course visiting the island is a must, but it would also be nice to maximize time while there by only focusing on properties that meet certain criteria. Do any of you have reccommedations on nice areas of the island that would be more desireable? Again, 400-650K. St. Thomas. Water view. Nice, safe area. Easy access not a huge issue.

Thanks!

Your best real estate values at this time in the usvi is on St Croix. I have recently been shopping for a home on St Croix. I found several acceptable "distant ocean view" homes on the east end for under $400,000. You can find some for even less on other parts of the island, but you need make sure you are not negatively impacted by industry, dumps or bad neighbors.