Real Estate

For the second time in a month, the asking price of a multi-million dollar home on St. John has been reduced. Originally listed at $3.25 million, a 2-bedroom/2-bath with no pool, 12-year-old Peter Bay property has been cut to $2.975 million, according to the Multiple Listing Service. Otherwise, there was little market action. No homes taken off the MLS, nor any added. The week ended with 43 properties on the market. In other categories, the inventory of land increased by two lots to 138. Condominium offerings were steady at 7, timeshares increased 2 to 83, and commercial/business properties were unchanged at 8.

It’s been quiet for the last week, with only one property coming off the Multiple Listing Service and no new residences being added. A 4-bedroom/3-bath property in Carolina, priced at $2.9 million, came off the market, leaving the MLS with 42 residences being offered. In other categories, the number of land parcels listed rose by 3 to 136, condominiums were unchanged at 7, timeshares increased by 4 to 81, and commercial properties were unchanged at 8.

Median house priced at $1.4 million

It may be the off season, but there’s lots of real estate activity on St. John. Since our last issue, 5 properties came off the Multiple Listing Service while 9 were added. The bulk of the new listings have asking prices between $1 million and $1.6 million. The median listed house is asking $1.399 million. There are 41 properties available, a relatively high number.

Among the new listings are a 1-bedroom, 1-bath property in Carolina for $575,000 (pictured); a 22-year-old 3-bedroom, 3-bath residence in Fish Bay for $1.1 million, and a new 2-bedroom/2-bath/pool house in Carolina at $1.5 million.

On the commercial side, Dr. Cool apparently decided he’s got a hot business. Originally listed for sale at $250,000, this island air conditioning service is now asking $350,000, according to the MLS. Mongoose Junction’s Wicker, Wood & Shells gift shop is being offered at $295,000.

Gym in Paradise, on the third floor of the Marketplace is being offered at $300,000 by Holiday Homes, added to the Multiple Listing service in the past week. Meanwhile, the Wicker, Wood & Shells, gift shop at Mongoose Junction I came off the listing.

On the residential side, one home came back on the market, while another property’s price was cut. The returning property is a 3-bedroom, 3-bath property which, from its offering photos, looks to be under construction. Asking price is $895,000. Meanwhile, a newly-completed 3-bedroom, 3.5 bath house with waterfall (!) overlooking Rendezvous Bay was repriced on the MLS at $2,250,000, down almost $350,000.

The overall market’s statistics: 37 residential listings, one more than last week; 123 land lots, unchanged; 9 condos, also unchanged, and 94 timeshares, also steady.

Despite the fact the island was kind of shut down from Tuesday on, due to Tropical Storm Jeanne ("The wind and rain machine"), some business did get done.
A 3-bedroom, 3-bath property in Chocolate Hole came off the Multiple Listing Service.  The newly-constructed property was listed at $895,00, but if memory services, it’s not a completed project.  In other words, a DIYer for $900K.

The biggest news is the listing of Coral Bay’s upscale Voyages de St. Jan.  But instead of being offered as a commercial property, the owners are emphasizing the fact there’s a 4-bedroom, 3-bath residence on the floors above the restaurant.  The listing asks $2.95 million for the property which an optimist could buy as a home and then hope to lease, or even operate, the restaurant business below.  There was one other new listing, too, a 12-year-old 3-bedroom, 2-bath with pool property in Enighed.

Read moreVoyages de St. Jan for sale

The United States Postal Service is soliciting formal proposals for a new main post office on the island. A formal request for submissions was published by the St. John Source. It invites developers to propose a building that is “approximately 5,100 square feet on a site of approximately 52,000 square feet” within an area bounded by North Shore Road, the 104 Junction, Centerline Road and Wharfside. That suggests there are no plans for a mid-island facility or Coral Bay substation. Acceptable proposals would include a long term lease, or a new building constructed to U.S. Postal Service specifications. Offers will be accepted until Oct. 22.

Nothing happened in the last week. Could be perhaps because most peoples’ attention during part of the time was focused on tracking Hurricane Ivan, fearing it might decide to come north.

On the Multiple Listing Service, there were no additions or subtractions. No new listings, no indications of sales. As this week started, there were 35 residential properties listed.

Last week’s real estate report did NOT contain an error, it turns out. I reported there was a contract to buy the 1st Floor Bookstore. The deal fell through when a contingency was not met. So, the retail outlet at the Marketplace is back in the MLS’s commercial listings, offered at $200,000. There are five other businesses for sale, including two water sports opportunities.

The rest of the market is pretty quiet. Two more land listings came onto the market, bringing the total to 122. No change in condos, at 8 available, and one more timeshare bringing that category to 94.

A VI Senator alleged St. John’s major contractors are not paying taxes.

During a hearing this week on proposals to strengthen the building code, Sen. Louis P. Hill challenged Brent E. Blyden, permits director at the Planning and Natural Resources Department, to have his inspectors check pay stubs at construction sites. Blyden responded, “That’s out of our jurisdiction,” the St. John Source reported.

The charge came during a meeting of the Senate Planning and Environmental Protection Committee. On the agenda was a proposal for the VIs to adopt the International Building Code, already used by 44 states and the U.S. Defense Department. The update would be the first since Hurricane Marilyn in 1995. Island engineers said that they did not think the new code would “substantially” increase construction costs.

The growth in construction is, of course, noticeable to any resident. But during the hearing, director Blyden revealed the value of building permits issued in 2000 was $120 million. This year, he said, it will be $250 million.

Concern about Hurricane Frances appeared to dampen residential activity during the past week: only one new residential property was added to the Multiple Listing Service while two commercial properties came off the list. Agents added another multi-million dollar Peter Bay property to their offerings, 4-bedrooms, 4.5-bath, listed at $5.5 million.

At the Marketplace, Holiday Homes reportedly closed a contract for the sale of its neighbor across the hallway, the 1st Floor Bookstore. It had been listed at $200,000. Meanwhile, the pizza and sandwich shop, the Rolling Pin, listed for months, came off the Multiple Listing Service. No word yet whether it was sold, or the owner – who also has the new pizza place in town at Boulon – is just giving the sales effort a rest.

Since early this month, and before Frances, five residences went on the market: 5-bewdrooms, 4-baths in Contant at $1.4 million; 2-bedrooms, 2-baths in Calabash Boom at $545,000; 4-bedrooms, 4.5 baths in Fish Bay for $1.7 million; 3-bedrooms, 3.5 baths for $2.4 million in San Souci, and in the same expensive neighborhood, a 5-bedrooms, 5.5 bath San Souci property at $4.2 million.

The average house for sale on St. John, offered thru the MLS, is priced at $2.5 million. The average listed property has 3 bedrooms, 3 baths, and a pool. There were 35 listings at the start of the week.

The inventory of land for sale increased by 2 to 120 parcels. Condo listings, steady at 8. Timeshare unit listings down 6 to 93.

A trade group representing participants in the government’s Economic Development Commission has met with Department of the Interior officials in Washington to clarify rules for EDC beneficiaries. Since an official of the IRS warned companies they had to meet a residency requirement to qualify for generous tax benefits for EDC companies, some firms have considered closing. “That’s an important loss of revenue to the territory,” said Benjamin Rivera Jr., executive director of the USVI Economic Alliance. He told the St. John Source, attorneys for some EDC companies have recommended they halt operations for fear the currently-unstated residency requirements may eventually be a problem. Richards said EDC companies contribute as much as $75 million a year to the territory, in addition to donations to local charities of another $25 million. The Alliance official said, “We were very well received and believe that Interior heard our message. (We now) will state our case to the Treasury Department.”