Prior to Hurricane Irma, some of the most popular stories on newsofstjohn.com had to do with real estate. The listing of a business or rental property, or a story about someone purchasing a popular business all garnered quite a bit of attention. Now that we’re living in a post-Irma world, there are several questions about the current state of real estate and its future. I’m clearly not the expert on this topic, so I asked my friend Tammy Donnelly to help. Tammy has lived on St. John since 1978 and owns 340 Real Estate Co. Here are Tammy’s thought on what’s currently happening in real estate on St. John:
One month to the day after the passing of Hurricane Irma, and we are seeing signs of life advancing in the surrounding landscapes and wildlife populations, in conjunction with interested customers (one being currently on island) and clients that have new motivation to buy and sell.
While much of our housing, rental, commercial and condo inventory suffered minimal or little damage from the hurricanes, there does exist considerable stock that endured some type damage (to varying degrees), and will sell at reduced rates based on the extent of that damage and the type of property involved .
(Note from Jenn: When Tammy referred to minimal or little damage from the hurricane, she was referring to the properties she personally has listed, not the island as a whole.)
We believe that prices in general will drop some in the near term and then will slowly start to stabilize.
As the situation on the island improves and basic services are restored, businesses reopen, and normalcy starts to return, ongoing assessments by property owners and insurance adjusters will reveal just how significant these reductions will be.
We firmly believe that this will be a good time for interested parties to enter our St. John real estate market at a much reduced rate, where it may have previously been cost prohibitive to do so. Just to give a quick example, one of 340 Real Estate Companies commercial listings, The Fish Trap restaurant, which went unscathed in the storms, has lowered its list price from $350,000 to $290,000. In addition, the landlord has made significant rent reductions to accompany this drop in price. This could prove to be a great opportunity for an existing damaged business to start anew, or for new owners to get into the lucrative Cruz Bay restaurant trade at ground level.
340 Real Estate co is fully committed to St John and the rebuilding process in the aftermaths of hurricanes Irma and Maria. Our extensive network and 40 years of on-island experience ensure knowledgable and professional services. We encourage those with thoughts or questions about the current climate or specific interests to contact us at [email protected] or via cell at 340-643-6068.
If there are any other on-island realtors who would like to share their thoughts, please email us at [email protected].
Losing value and losing rental income for at least a year, maybe more. Where do I sign up?
Exactly, life and business moves at a faster pace today, even in the Caribbean. It is unfortunate but most cannot risk a year or more of declining equity and or profits.