2025 Year in Review

2025 was another stand-out year in Real Estate and Vacation Rentals on St John. We know many of you look for this blog each year, but as we pulled the statistics and went to write this year’s story, the story hadn’t changed much from our year end summary blogs from the last couple years.  As we have always told our customers and clients, the market here is simply not subject to big swings up or down, and this years stats told that same story again.  This is a great thing.

 The market has had a stable and steady realistic climb.  Since 2002, when online Real Estate records began, our appreciation rate has seen values climb a healthy 5.49% on average year over year.  Still, as we have explained to many of you, we prefer to run our pro formas conservatively and are still using 3% to project any future values. 

Unique Island Assets is celebrating 2025 Real Estate sales with Broker/Owner, Jared Warren, taking home the honor of selling the highest volume of real estate, outpacing  70+ realtors on island and taking a 15.6% share of the market. 

Window to the Sea Pool Patio

What was notable in 2025 was the vacation rental market.  Overall, on St John, the last 1/3 of the year was pretty down for vacation rentals.  For Unique Island Assets properties, we pushed it through though and our properties finished about on par with the busy 2024 year at a 7% increase in sales in 2025 (not including our new properties.)  2026 is forecasting to outpace this. We welcomed nearly 2500 guests and our villas averaged 233 nights of rental or 33.4 weeks of occupancy.  All of this with our owners enjoying their homes with their families alongside that income.  

Buyers should take this info into account, as those stats (among a host of other amazing reasons) really make a great case for why investing in Real Estate on St John is a good bet.  

Sea Dream Infinity Pool Villa

 2026 has some exciting things in store for Unique Island Assets. For one thing, we completed some amazing and substantial upgrades to many of our properties in 2025 for our clients and ultimately for our 2026 guests too. We have on-boarded some stunning new homes, WINDOW TO THE SEA, VILLA INSATIABLE, and SEA DREAM.  We are also super excited to launch a new beachfront villa in Peter Bay around the middle of the year.  Be sure to follow us on social media for that announcement! 

Villa Insatiable Primary King Suite

We have some super cool listings for sale right now – check out our featured for sale listings HERE.  

Just a few winter weeks are still available if you haven’t booked 2026 travel yet.  We would like to remind our guests that 2026/2027 holidays are already booking fast and we encourage you to plan ahead to get the rental property of your choice.  Winter of 2027 is starting to book as well, BOOK TODAY! 

2023 St. John Real Estate Wrap Up

As St. John celebrated Old Year’s Night as it is called here in the Virgin Islands, we took some time after the festivities to run the year-end numbers.  I always like to wait until the very end to make sure we capture any of the last-minute closings.  We have a house under contract scheduled to close tomorrow as we speak, but that data will have to wait until next year.  

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Sales remained strong overall in 2023 with almost $120 million in total volume market-wide on St. John!  The average home price bolstered a 13% jump from the previous year, and the marketplace of actively listed homes is following that trend.

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Land sales dipped, not only in total sales, but also in average price, which was down 19%. While the decline in land sales and uptick in home values are likely a reflection of the higher costs of construction, new home builds are very busy island-wide with some stunners expected to complete in 2024. 

Cliffhanger - 3 Bed 4 Bath - $1,699,000

Secret Seashell - 3 Bed 3.5 Bath - $2,100,000

As I processed all the numbers, the data point that seems most significant to discuss is the stability of the marketplace.  Looking back 21 years (the complete history of the digital MLS on island), we have certainly seen a few dips and climbs, but ultimately the market is dependably stable. When I look at median sales prices, rather than average, to get the truest feel of value trends, the median home price increased 58% over the last 21 years. An average 2.75% year over year.  What gives me confidence in the market is that this is not too high and not too low.  It slightly outpaces the national average of 2%.  I use this number to forecast appreciation and see what you could expect 10 or 20 years into the future. 

At 2.75% annual non-compounding growth, if you purchased the average-priced home on St John in 2023 for $1.7 million, you could reasonably expect it to be worth $2.17 million in 10 years. 

When I run that home through a proforma including conservative vacation rental income and all expenses of owning a home you are looking at a capital gain of $830,000 or a 62% return on your investment.  A 6.2% annual return on your cash is pretty hard to beat when you take into account that you would also be able to enjoy 8-10 weeks a year at your new Caribbean home. 

Want to talk about it deeper?  Give us a call at 340-626-8229 or schedule a virtual or in person showing of your favorite listings.

Plan the Tropical Thanksgiving You Will Never Forget

Thanksgiving is a time to gather with friends and family and take a little well deserved down time to reconnect. Sometimes it’s all about tradition like always going to Grandma’s house for the same pumpkin pie year after year. However sometimes traditions need a little revamping, a little spice to make them even more memorable. How about reconnecting over turkey dinner and grandmas pumpkin pie with palm trees swaying outside and the warm Caribbean sunshine on your back. 

After over two decades of welcoming guests to St John, we have witnessed over and over the elevated connection that families and friends have when staying at our villas. Once you leave the hustle bustle of the frigid North behind, the relaxed pace and quiet natural beauty of St John creates a magic that bonds you together and creates lifelong memories. 

Our typical Thanksgiving on island consists of heading to the beach for a quick morning swim or snorkel and then come back to cook and gather with our family and friends for a feast under the tropical sunset. If you don’t want to cook this year, our full concierge service can help you book one of the multitude of private chef offerings for Thanksgiving meals. These range from formal dining with a server, pre-prepared drop off service or just simply having the house provisioned with what you need.  Most of our amazing restaurants also offer special menus for Thanksgiving Day. 

This holiday season, trade the hustle bustle for palm trees and sandy beaches and join us on island for an unforgettable Tropical Thanksgiving Getaway that you'll cherish forever. 

Our exclusive villas offer the perfect blend of luxury, comfort, and tranquility, providing the ideal backdrop for you and your loved ones.  Whether you prefer a cozy hilltop house with massive views an oceanfront retreat or a spacious villa with a private pool, we have a wide selection of vacation rentals still available to book this holiday season on our website. Discover your dream villa today!

Let us be your ultimate holiday host and we'll ensure every detail of your Holiday is taken care of!