US Virgin Islands - St Thomas St John St Croix

The basics – St Thomas is the second largest (approximately, 32 square miles), most well-known and most visited of the US Virgin Islands. St John is the most expensive, smallest of the big 3 islands and has the largest percentage of protected land (approximately 2/3 of the island). St John has the added benefit of 5,650 submerged acres protected in addition to the roughly 7,000 acres of land. The island of Saint Croix is larger in size than all the other U.S.V.I islands (most notably St Thomas and St John), put together. St Croix is located approximately 40 miles south of its smaller siblings. While St John has becoming very expensive over the past ten years and St Thomas has recently seen significant price appreciation, St Croix remains relatively undiscovered. As all three are United States territories, the currency is the US Dollar and mail services are by US Post. English is also the official language, though local "patois" or "creole" is common. It is also somewhat exempt from some of the recent changes to passport and immigration rules governing travel to and from the United States (never a bad idea to check with tsa.gov for updates). There have also been recent (federal court mandated) changes to tax provisions - offering Virgin Islanders the same protections against the IRS as mainlanders and removing a territory tax on imported items over $1,000 (e.g., cars, appliances, etc.).

St Thomas is roughly 12 miles long and 3 to 4 miles wide in the center. It has numerous picture-postcard beaches and lots of hilly terrain (the open-air taxis that run around the island can feel like rollercoaster rides on the narrow roads, frequent switchbacks and meandering routes from place to place). It also has more than half of the total USVI population and gets significantly more tourist-visits than the other islands. St Croix is approximately 23 miles long west to east and ranges from a 1/2 mile wide (north to south) in the far eastern end of the island to about 8 miles wide in the central west. Topography is rolling hills with a few “mountains” with heights up to around 1,165' above sea level in the northwest central area of the island - also home to a significant area of tropical rain forest. St John is quite small at roughly 20 square miles and has similar topography to St Thomas. It is much more sparsely developed and, due to the limited available private land, all costs of ownership are significantly higher. There are few real MDU/Condo developments here.

Weather throughout is Caribbean predictable – highs from 75 to the upper 80s (23-32 degrees Celsius) throughout the year. September can be hot when the trade winds don’t blow as much and September to November is the official rainy season (usually short duration showers) - e.g., STX averages around 40 inches per year. St Croix is located in the Atlantic Standard Time Zone, which is one hour ahead of Eastern Standard except during daylight savings time when they are the same. The USVI has a permanent population of about 110,000.

The capitol (and center of everything) of St Thomas is Charlotte Amalie with significant development in the Magen's Bay and east end/Red Hook areas. Cyril E. King International Airport is located just a few minutes west of Charlotte Amalie. The two largest cities on Saint Croix are Christiansted, the capitol, in the north center of the island and Frederiksted to the far southwest. The airport is located in the south, southwest and there is a large Hovensa refinery located just to its east in the south center of St Croix. As you might expect, neither area is popular with homeowners or land investors (including the editors of this e-magazine) due to impaired views. St John's major town is Cruz Bay with most development being counter-clockwise between Cruz to the west and Rendezvous Bay to the southwest. The northern half of the island along with the majority of the central and southern parts of the island are all within the Virgin Islands National Park boundaries.

Accessibility/Getting there – The USVI are located about 1,000 miles from the southern tip of Florida. St Thomas and St Croix each have international airports offering direct access from the US (significantly more traffic and flights come in to St Thomas than St Croix). St Thomas' airport is Cyril King (airport code STT) and the primary airport in St Croix is Henry E. Rohlsen International (airport code STX), both of which are about average by Caribbean standards. Flights from North America come directly into both - with limited, direct service from Miami (American), Atlanta (Delta) and Charlotte (US Air) coming into STX and much more regular traffic from the New York area, Dallas, Houston and Memphis in addition to the same options as STX available into St Thomas. You can also connect-in to both via Puerto Rico. Recent improvements have been made to both airports and there is considerable development of the resort/hotel infrastructure side of the equation in the works (mostly complete or underway on St Thomas and just getting underway on St Croix). As more of these resorts come online, the airlines will increase their direct flights into STX. [There has been an ongoing, economic game of "flinch" going-on between hoteliers, the government of St Croix and the airlines as to who will build-up which service first. Airlines don't want to expand flight service before more hotel rooms are available and hoteliers and the government don't want to build-up the number of hotel rooms without guarantees of more flight service to fill them.] St John has no airport and access is via ferry from either Red Hook or Charlotte Amalie on St Thomas to Cruz Bay (or contract service direct into the Westin property for their guests).

St Croix is increasingly frequented by cruise ships, though the government is acutely aware of the crowding and infrastructure strain put on by too much cruise ship tourism on its sister island of St Thomas, which may have as many as 11 ships in port at once, according to one local (and 8 ships at once is not uncommon at all during cruise season). St Croix has invested considerably in its infrastructure at both the airport and cruise ship terminal area in Fredericksted. Once on the island, rental cars are recommended as the island is fairly spread out and the various tourist spots and activities are scattered around the island. Remember to drive on the LEFT side of the road – British style. You may also visit nearby islands via high-speed ferry or short flight. On St Thomas, rental cars are less useful than taxis unless you spend weeks at a time there and on St John rentals are not of much use near the Caneel Bay or Westin areas, but more useful for homeowners.

OTHER ISLANDS - There is a new development pre-selling on Water Island (500 acre island just south of Charlotte Amalie on St Thomas) though very little infrastructure on the island (no hotels, developments, etc. and a permanent population of less than 500). For the ultra-wealthy, you can also buy Thatch Cay off the northeast coast of St Thomas. It is 230 acres in size and available for $24 million. There are a few other islands, which are primarily available for day-trip snorkeling or sailing adventures, but they are factually insignificant for most prospective investors.

Desirability for investment – Aside from the usual Caribbean beauty and activities, the USVI have the many advantages of being US territories, including the currency, postal system, immigration and customs and the fact that there is no state income tax for those who reside here. The road system is very good by Caribbean standards, though the topography often makes for some interesting stretches of roadway, like "Scenic Road" on St Croix, which often runs atop the mountains and is frequently no more than a single-lane dirt road virtually impassable after heavy rains. Infrastructure - including electricity (primarily US 110 volt, 60 cycle), telephone, architects, developers, builders and such - are above average for the Caribbean in general. Water is typically drawn from cisterns and telephone and electricity are widely available, though known to have periodic outages. Conventional mortgages are available, though at slightly higher rates than for mainland US investments. Typical down payments are 20-30% of the purchase price.

Activity-wise, St Thomas is well-known for its beautiful beaches and the bustling Charlotte Amalie shopping, restaurants and entertainment options. St Croix is among the very best Caribbean dive and snorkeling destinations with a good variety of conditions, including wall dives. Many of these sites are protected areas ensuring the preservation of many pristine diving, snorkeling, day excursion, beach and other activity sites - among these are Buck Island, Green Cay and Point Udall. St John has its gorgeous beaches, national park areas for hiking and sight-seeing and protected areas for scuba and snorkeling activities.

ST CROIX - Several new developments are purportedly in the works for St Croix... including one by Foxwoods (the Mashantucket Pequot tribe) that they will build a 600-acre resort and casino including 400 hotel rooms. Additionally, the resort would house a marina and myriad residential options, including lots, condominiums, two golf courses, botanical gardens, etc.. There is also a projected development by a large, Russian investor rumored to be well on its way. Of note, Marriott (under its Renaissance brand) is also in the process of taking-over the Carambola Resort, offering the first significant, branded resort on St Croix in some time (there is a Divi property at Carina Bay, but Divi does not enjoy the same notoriety as a Hilton, Marriott, Ritz or similar property). We believe this is particularly significant as branded resorts seem to lead large gains in infrastructure, development and overall real estate growth (e.g., Grand Cayman, St Maarten, the Dominican Republic, the Bahamas, etc.).

ST THOMAS - Notable condo developments and/or timeshares are Point Pleasant, Sapphire Village at Sapphire Beach, the Ritz Carlton at Great Bay, the Mandarin (pre-construction golf course oriented development) east of Magen's Bay, Frenchman Bay, etc.. There are a number of high-end residential housing developments (e.g., Mahogany Run) and a fair number of - mostly less than one acre - plots of raw land available for purchase. St Thomas is in a clearly "soft" market and opportunities for buyers are definitely improving in quantity and quality.

ST JOHN - Residential options are primarily villas and homes with very few remaining raw land lots available (usually carved-out of a developed parcel). Prices are much higher evidencing a premium for the more laid-back, more pristine environment and for the scarcity of land.

Closing costs, legal fees, title insurance and the like are approximately the same as mainland US closings. There are property taxes (in theory) of about 1.25% of assessed value per annum (assessed value is fixed at 60% of actual value, so figure on about $750 per $100,000 in value). Implementation of the taxes has been haphazard at best and the 2004 tax bills are current, at this time. Examples of most recent taxes are $30-40,000 lots having a most recent annual assessment of $120/year.

Numerous condo developments, fractional ownerships (timeshares) and subdivisions have been springing-up on St Thomas over the last 7-8 years. Most notable are the Ritz fractionals near Red Hook, Sapphire Beach and Yacht Club developments to the northeast and in East End. Villas and homes are also frequently rented and there a number of rental management companies available to represent your condos, villas, houses, etc.. There are few significant condominium developments in St Croix and most are of very sub-standard quality by mainland or more developed island (e.g., St Thomas, Grand Cayman) standards (rumors of a new 20-unit development are circulating). Houses are more the norm and are available in a broad price range and location. On any island, spacious, beachfront mansions garner a substantial rental rate and are often rented direct from the owner with no management fees. It is more common, however, to rent through a realtor or other agency, which may take anywhere from 20-40% in fees and offer services from simple key delivery, to full maintenance, housekeeping and marketing services.

Ownership is typically in fee simple and very similar to typical mainland US transactions. Occasionally, one will encounter a long lease, but these are infrequent. Title can be insured, again, as is typical in the US.

There is a fairly good MLS system on the island, though it is sometimes lacking in up to date information. A good online version is available at www.housesvi.com. The largest realtors appear to be:

St Thomas - Century 21, Coldwell Banker, ReMax, David Jones, etc. (many to choose from and a good MLS);

St Croix - Farchette & Hanley, Coldwell Banker and ReMax, though a number of others have interesting listings and relationships; and

St John - Holiday Homes, Islandia, ReMax, St John Properties, Cruz Bay Realty and John McCann.

Like most places, there are good and bad neighborhoods and everything that comes with them. Some areas of the islands have very little land for sale at any time - notably all of St John and the northwestern portion of St Croix. St John is just plain expensive, regardless of where you look and the variation is more mild. On St Thomas, variations tend to be from quieter to busier areas, ones more or less accessible from the airport, Charlotte Amalie and the most desirable beaches. Prices tend to vary more in St Croix and often appear virtually random in their ranges. By way of example, Judith's Fancy is a rather expensive development on the north central part of the island. It does have nice, near-constant breezes, but commands a significantly higher price tag/acre than most of the rest of the island for no apparent reason (nice neighborhood, but is not 2-5 times nicer than others, in our opinion). There are also areas around Frederiksted, which appear to be priced below market, simply because the area is not as touristy, developed or "busy" as others. There have been some reports of "bad elements" in the William's Delight area in the southwest.

Homeowner's association dues and utilities are VERY expensive when compared to mainland properties (expect over $1,000/month) at most places.

All prices in US Dollars (Location shown is the quarter the property is located in)

Land (building costs can be estimated at $125-300 per s.f., with $175 being about average)

(Current listings from $29,000 to upwards of $10 million and ranging in size from 0.33 acres to over 60 acres)

A number of 1/3 to 2/3 acre lots around the island are normally available and prices appear to be dropping.

Holiday Homes has several larger parcels from 4 to 18 acres from $3.5 to $13 million.

3 Bedroom, 2 1/2 bath ranch with pool and downstairs apartment, located in Judith's Fancy, asking $850,000

3 Bedroom, 2 bathroom home in Concepcion, across from the University, asking $289,000

Multiple homes/villas above $1 million throughout the island offering myriad amenities

Some very small cottages (*square footage from 300-almost 2,000) can be had from $300-500,000

Pre-construction "Mandarin" Development with PGA golf course. Condos from $700,000 to almost $2 million

Gallows Point, Palm Terrace, Mango Terrace and Grande Bay condos from $1.1 to 1.6 million

Kim Lucas - Coldwell Banker Land-de Wilde Realty

Gallows Bay Marketplace, St. Croix, US Virgin Islands

kim@coldwellbankervi.com

Coldwell Banker Land-de Wilde Realty

340-626-3758 cell

340-778-7000 ext. 118 office

340-778-7001 fax

LAND:

0.36 acre lot in La Vallee - Nice, gently sloping lot with view of sea, sugar mill, and sugar mill stack. Lovely rural area and feel. Minutes to desirable Cane Bay and walking distance to several restaurants/bars.

Perhaps the most dramatic, beautiful and breath-taking waterfront lot on the entire island of St. Croix. Amazing panoramic views of the ocean, Buck Island and Christiansted harbor. Faces east, so breezes are fabulous. Pad with cistern in place. Totally private and very unique. Located in the prestigious gated community of Judith's Fancy. Three-quarters of an acre - $550.000. Photos show east and west views from lot and a view of the pad that's on the lot. Contact Kim 340-626-3758; kim@coldwellbankervi.com.

CUL-DE-SAC LOT WITH VIEWS OF BOTH SOUTH AND NORTH SHORE! Well over an acre of beautiful ridge top lot overlooking north shore, Hamm's Bluff, with south shore views over Carambola Golf course. Nice building spot with gentle slope and lots of privacy. Underground utilities. Sketch of house plans available. $190,000. Owner a licensed Realtor. SOLD!

Gorgeous, gentle terrain right off of Mahogany road. Lush, green land with huge trees, including fruit trees. Easy to build, close to beach (10 minutes), your own private 2+ acre retreat in the rainforest! Now priced to sell at $110,000.

BEACHFRONT! Gorgeous, sandy beachfront (166 feet) in a nice, sheltered cove. Land is flat and very build-able, with views of two shorelines from highest point, and mountains to the north. Very private and peaceful. Nearly 2 acres just $450,000 - Reduced!!

Judith's Fancy Mill House - A unique opportunity to own your own 'sugar mill house' - which is currently a successful vacation rental. (www.stcroixvilla.com) Top it off with 3 more bedrooms and baths, an office, and a wonderful 2500 ft. deck, pool, and hot tub with amazing views of Christiansted Harbor...all nestled in the hills of the gated community of Judith's Fancy! 0.77 acres.

INCOME PRODUCING WATERFRONT VILLA! Now's your chance to own a 6 bedroom, 5.5 bath waterfront, income producing villa in the historic area of Salt River! This property provides so many different opportunities for new owners! Convert to a single family water-front residence; use the entire house as a vacation or long term rental property; live there and rent out the rest of the villa. There is NO better value on the waterfront that lovely Villa Margarita! Only $895,000 - and on half an acre.

LOVELY LOT IN GATED COMMUNITY OF SHOYS! This gently sloping three quarter acre lot in the prestigious community of Shoys affords lovely views of the lagoon and the twinkling lights of Christiansted at night. Peaceful, serene, quiet, yet minutes from everything and a very solid investment. $209,000 - Reduced!.

Nearly two acres of gently sloping land with beautiful panoramic views of the valley and south shore. Located in the gorgeous gated Robert-Trent Jones golf community of Carambola. Owner is a licensed Realtor in the VI. $125,000. Contact Kim 340-626-3758; kim@coldwellbankervi.com.

INCOME PRODUCER! This newly remodeled apartment complex located in Christiansted town is ready to produce income for you! Two of the units have amazing views of the harbor and are so convenient to everything! The building contains two two bedroom two bath apartments, and one 2 bedroom one bath apartment, and a separate laundry room for two of the apartments. One apt. has its own washer/dryer! Off street parking, security lighting, separately metered, with potential income of at least $4,300 a month. $459,000.

Level SEA VIEW lot under $50,000!!! Near Cane Bay and popular restaurants and bars. Very level and easy to build on. Fruit trees on property (lime, banana, papaya, mango, prickly pear). .25 acres listed at $49,000. Call Kim at 340-626-3758 or email Kim@coldwellbankervi.com.