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news of st. john

Average home sale up 17%

There's life in the St. John real estate market.  

And there are bargains!

Data from the Multiple Listing Service shows 15 homes closed in the first six months of this year.  In all of last year, 20 properties changed hands.  

Should the first-half pace continue, a total of 30 homes this year would be the best performance since 2006 when 33 homes were sold.

Bargains?  Did you say bargains?  The MLS shows virtually every villa sold at a discount to its final asking price.  The average difference was 10%.  

At one extreme, a $2.25 million villa sold for $1.7 million, 25% off.  On the other hand, there was a three-bedroom at Chocolate Hole, which went to contract for $13,500 more than the $999,000 asking price.

For the villa market overall, the average selling price this year, has been $1.5 million.  That compares to last year's average of $1.285 million, 17% less.

 

Festival’s over, but the pictures linger on

Several of the island's best photographers, as well as visitors, captured the color, fun, excitement, and sounds of the finale to the St. John Festival over the July 4th weekend.  From J'ouvert before dawn to the final clap of thunder from the fireworks, they've made it possible for you to see what went on.

St. Thomas Blog posted more than two dozen video clips from the big parade. They're all hand-held, sometimes difficult to watch because it's shaky and the sound is rough.  But, if you weren't there in person, try a clip or two, just for fun.  Start watching here.

ChanyVI1025 was up early for J'ouvert on July 4.  On his YouTube video, he said the event "was a little on the small side but hey!! At 4:30 in the morning, let's tramp behind the steel pans anyway. Happy Carnival." See the video here.

And if you want to see hundreds of great still images of the Festival Parade, captured by Bill Stelzer on his new Canon D60, go here.  Bill, who has an exhibition at Bajo el Sol, said the Festival pictures were the first he's taken with a digital SLR.

Farmer’s Market and power outages

  •  "Sloop Fruit" photo, courtesy of Sloop Jones.

    Sloop_fruit 

  • The second monthly Farmer's Market in Cruz Bay will be held Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the lower level of the Lumberyard, where the WAPA office and the liquor stores used to be.  

Not the most "eco-friendly" confines, but it's the real stuff and it's fresh.
Karen Samuel, a St. Johnian who's been active with environmental and historic groups, organized the first farmer's market last month.  She called it a success and told the St. John Source, "The place smelled and looked good, and people had a good time,."

Most of the vendors are from St. Thomas.

  • Electricity is in shorter supply.  Seems the Water and Power Authority has been scheduling some rolling blackouts on STT which, unexpectedly, seem to bleed over to STJ, too.  

WAPA says it's necessary to do maintenance on equipment.  One local, on a St. John travel forum, worried that the outages don't bode well for keeping cool the rest of the summer.

 

 

St. John Fireworks – 30K up in smoke

BOB_4174 As regular as clockwork, if such a thing is possible on St. John, fireworks lit up the sky over Cruz Bay Harbor last night.  

The colorful, sparkly, noisy conclusion to a month's worth of activities known as St. John Festival thoroughly entertained locals and visitors.

Gretchen Labrenz of Cruz Bay Realty Tweeted that the fireworks were "the only thing that ever happens on time on ST. JOHN … 9:00 sharp!"

This photo is courtesy of Bob Schlesinger and is actually of the pyrotechnics launched last year … new images of last night's show 'soon come'. (www.tropicalfocus.com)

Now, as for the cost.  Well, the St., John Source quotes the Festival's chairman saying the budget for all the events was $350,000.  The cost of the fireworks show is about $30,000, said Leona Smith, the chairman.

Sponsors and event fees pay for about a third of the total. The VI government kicks in the rest.

"A lot of the money – about $200,000 – goes to pay for the bands and entertainers that perform at various activities in the (Festival) Village," the Source reported. (Read the full story here.)

Wanted: 23 million Maho Bay Campers

The effort to "Save Maho Bay" seems to be something like the Weather.  Everybody talks about it but nobody does anything about it.

Despite hundreds of people "liking" Facebook Groups dedicated to keeping Maho Bay Camps from going dark in a year, no one has stepped forward to organize an effort to purchase the land or extend the lease.

Kristin Hawk posted on one of the groups she thought Richard Branson could be a white knight "He's close by, a nature lover, and filthy rich."

Read moreWanted: 23 million Maho Bay Campers

A picture of St. John’s real estate history

For those of you who like pictures more than words, take a look at this.

Marty Beechler, an agent at Islandia Real Estate has summarized 18 years of the island's real estate market, including the number of homes sold and their average price.

STJsaleshistory-homes1992-2011-06-copy1-1024x817

Big finish for St. John Festival

This week is the big windup for St. John Festival, 2011. The theme this year is An Astronomical and Cultural Splendor in Heaven. 

The traditional Festival Village in the Cruz Bay parking lot, across rom the Post Office, opens Wednesday evening at 7 p.m.  This year it is to be known as Wadeville, in honor of Ira Wade, the island's deputy Public Works Commissioner.

Vendors will offer conchs and rotis and stews and all manner of other local foods and recipes.  A wide selection of brews, mixed drinks, punches, water and sodas will also be available to wash it all down.

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This photo, courtesy of the Governor's office, is from the opening the Festival Village last year.  It features the Governor, the Festival Queen and her court.

On Sunday, the newly-renovated Franklin A. Powell Sr. Park will be the site of Cultural Day.  Starting at 3 p.m. a variety of musicians and performers will entertain.  Expect to hear pan players, drummers and even the traditional blowing of conch shells.

Parking in Paradise is a big Problem

Dolphin"Another parking shakedown at the Dolphin Market" is generating dozens of comments via the St. John forum of Trip Advisor.

Gabrielle55 of Bethesda, Md. kicked it off with a rant about her vehicle being booted for parking in the food store's Cruz Bay lot while she and her husband went to dinner.  On returning, she was told what-she-called her 'honest mistake' would cost her $175 to get her car rolling again.

She also complained about being unable to get a receipt for the un-booting and that one of the store's 'guards' threatened to smash her camera if a picture was taken of the payment being made.

Many of the comments, perhaps surprisingly, side with Dolphin.  

Pia, a local, said, "Dolphin Market does have signs on all of he walls where to park your car and very clearly states, 'Parking for Customers Only.'" She points out that the new public parking lot at the Enighed commercial dock is now open, "a three-minute walk from town."

Read moreParking in Paradise is a big Problem

Park Rangers are HOT!

Image003 Both the Friends of the Virgin Islands National Park and the StJohnSource are putting the spotlight on Park Rangers.  

The Friends are offering a  free "Ranger in Training Camp" as part of a series of summer eco-camps for children interested in learning about marine and land life.  The Ranger camp begins July 5th and, like the other five programs, it is free for VI residents.

The Source, meanwhile, has published a profile of Dave Horner, a Ranger on St. John since 2006. Horner's background is solid.  With botany, zoology and anthropology degrees from Miami University of Ohio, and completed an assignment in the Pace Corps.

Read morePark Rangers are HOT!

Drinking again

Thumb_cover_sm You can't ignore the obvious.  So Ella Anderson, publisher of the marvelous monthly St. John Sun Times, hasn't.

"To ignore the drinking that goes on here would be to ignore the culture," she opined in her monthly Coconut Wireless column.  "So that's why we tackled it."  

But don't worry, this is no social polemic.

The June issue offers advice on what to eat after a night before, as well as a story about NOT drinking when you're on a boat.  There are a few 'artisan' cocktail recipes, and Bob Tis contributes a remembrance of a priest who enjoyed more than communion wine.

The most practical is headlined Pieces of Ate: Hangover Food.

  • The Burritto That Ate Cruz Bay" from Sun Dog Cafe. "You got your carbs. You got your fat … to help your nauseated tummy."
  • Frito Pie at Barefoot Cowboy. "Rather evil .. chili, cheese and onions dumped over Fritos."
  • The Bloody Mary at Donkey Diner. "The secret donkey-kick ingredient is balsamic vinegar.
  • Visit the Sun Times Web site.