2018 Year in Review for the St John Real Estate Market
2018 was a wild year for St John and all of the Virgin Islands. A year of recovery, rebuilding, and regrowth. The island started 2018 with a positive note with electricity being restored to most of the island in late December of 2017. Things just kept going up from there. The magic of the recovery and the energy of the people to make that happen was simply astounding. Within our small company alone, we rebuilt or recovered 16 properties, which now have a combined market value of over $30 Million. Without our team’s immense and dedicated effort, many of these homes would not have recovered their value. Our pride for the recovery of these properties is great, but there are hundreds of other people who took the same initiative and helped get the island back together. We are proud that our homes were 100% open for business by May of 2018. You might think that this would lag the St John Real Estate Market, but instead, the market took a lot of people by surprise with the significant increase in the volume and number of sales for 2018.
“While we saw a lot of sales on properties that were sold as damaged, what we also saw was a large number of transactions on properties that were previously a bit dated and got a facelift after the storm, making them more attractive to the hungry buyers that circulated during 2018” – Jared Warren – President of the St John Board of Realtors
Check out the stats below or contact us for in depth details about the history of the market and where we think it is going.
THE STATS
RESIDENTIAL SALES
· There were 60 home sales on St John in 2018. The only year with more sales on record was 2002 with 62. This is huge jump from 2017 when there were 38 total sales. Click here to see the Listing for the 60 sales in 2018
· The total dollar Volume of Residential sales increased by a whopping 86% from $33.9M to $62.9M!!
· The average home on St John sold for $1.049M in 2018
LAND SALES
· 31 total land sales in 2018 compared with just 19 in 2017
· Average sold price of a lot increased from $203,000 to $286,000 for a 41% gain
· The increase in building activity post storm has bolstered the power, skill and availability of builders on island.
CONDO SALES
· The Condo Market remained fairly flat with 5 units sold in each of 2017 and 2018 and a decrease in average sold price by 13%
CURRENT ON THE MARKET
· There are currently 122 homes on the market on St John with prices ranging from a Storm Damaged home that needs a new roof for $375K to a stunning private beachfront estate in the exclusive North Shore enclave of Peter Bay
· There are 18 condos on the market from $415K for a small studio to $2.1M for a 3 bedroom/3.5 Bath condo with a private pool.
· There are 204 parcels of land on the market ranging from a ¼ acre with no view of the water for $45K to $8M for a commercially zoned 4.5 acre lot within the National Park at Maho Bay
To Scan the MLS for the perfect property for you or just to dream a bit, try our ADVANCED MLS TOOL