US Virgin Is.: Price History

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The American Dream- Paradise mode

The US Virgin Islands is composed of three main islands: St. Croix, St. John, and St. Thomas, provides an alternative to the traditional American Dream. While it is a US territory, this group of islands is a true blue Caribbean nation with gorgeous beaches, idyllic setting, and laid-back lifestyle. Much of the US Virgin Islands is protected from development.

St John is the most expensive island, because it is extremely small. Two thirds of St John is a nature reserve, which cannot be built on. In addition everything is very steep, so buildings are more expensive. In 2005, houses on St. John started at around US$400,000. A one-bedroom/one-bath residence on the market cost around US$415,000 and US$527,000 in 2006 and 2007, respectively.

The average price of homes in St. John has increased significantly in the past 5 years - by 171% to US$1.982 million in 2007, from US$0.732 million in 2002, according to Islandia Real Estate. A 12% dropped in home sales was recorded in 2007.

However the condominium market has been weaker. Following weak performance in 2006, the average sale price again fell slightly in 2007, falling by 3.7% to US$635,667 from US$613,000 in 2006.

St. Thomas has a much higher population density than the other two islands. It has the deepest harbour in the world, so there are a lot of cruise ships, creating a general commercialization.

Apartments in St. Thomas sell for around US$3,312 per sq. m., according to research by the Global Property Guide, Houses in St. Thomas sell for an average of US$4,320 per sq. m, with 200-sq. m houses selling for US$2 million.

St. Croix is a very beautiful island with an area of 34 square miles. There are wide open spaces, a lot of undeveloped property and have not experienced all the consumerist development there is elsewhere. St. Croix properties are cheaper. A 180-sq. m apartment sells for around US$2,026 per sq. m.; a 200-sq. m house sells for around $1 million.

Tourism as primary economic activity

Today tourism is the primary economic activity, accounting for 80% of GDP and employment. The islands hosted around 3 million visitors in 2007. Between 1995 and 2006, total visitors rose by 47.9%, but that has recently shown signs of training off - stay-over visitors were down by 6.5% in 2007. Meanwhile, the number of cruise passengers in 2007 was 1.918 million, up only 0.89% on the 1.901 million in 2006.

Tourist room occupancy rates have risen (to 68.4% in 2007 from 59% in 1995), according to the Bureau of Economic Research (BER). Average visitor stays are about 4.4 nights.

Island Destinations Rated

In the fourth annual Destination Scorecard Survey, Traveler and National Geographic Center for Sustainable Destinations rated St. Croix, St. John, and St. Thomas as follows:

"St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands scored 70, one of the best in the Caribbean. Much of its natural environment has been saved by the Park Service and ecologically minded business people…. There's almost no trash along the roads, you can hike for a couple of miles without coming across structures, and there are fabulous bays reachable only on foot (or boat); snorkeling is outstanding. However, Cruz Bay is losing its ramshackle charm to newer buildings containing shopping malls and real estate developers."

St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands received a score of 53. This suggests that in terms of sustainable tourism and destination stewardship, St. Croix is in moderate trouble. The panel of experts noted that this island hosts one of the largest petrochemical plants in the Caribbean and has significant environmental problems. Coastlines are stunningly beautiful, whereas inland shows significant signs of mismanaged land and environmental degradation.

The panelists gave St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands a score of 37. "A mess—too many cruise ships disgorging their passengers into the small town. Totally spoiled and low-quality, high-volume destination," as the panelists puts it. "The main town is essentially one big, ugly jewelry store, but the island is nice outside of the main town."

Once upon a time, St. Thomas was the most beautiful island in the Caribbean, with sculpted peaks and deep coves. It's all developed now. The pressure of up to ten cruise ships in a day (almost 2 million arrivals a year) has had a significant impact on natural beauty. The native population is also unfriendly, with a coldness that borders on outright hostility.

Residential property taxes are being reduced from their current 1.25% of market value, to 0.38 percent of its value.

US Virgin Is. - more data and information

• US Virgin Is. house prices, rents, and letting income - real data!
• How expensive are houses in US Virgin Is., compared to the rest of Caribbean?
• How much rent can be earned from US Virgin Is. Reproperty, compared to the rest of Caribbean?

Your Comments

posted by Bret Bartolotta | 2007-04-13

Attorney/Real Estate Broker, California, USA

posted by Megan Jankowski | 2007-06-16

restaurant manager, St thomas

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