Tanya Van Blake-Coleman, 2015 President

Contact:

Tanya Van Blake-Coleman, 2015 President

Cell: 340-344-2959

Belton Jennings, CEO

February 10, 2015 Cell: 407.227.3457

For Immediate Release

Sales show real estate marketing rebounding

The Virgin Islands real estate market is rebounding nicely from the recent recession, according torecent territorial Realtor® association market reports.

Condominium sales led the way in 2014 with a 43% increase in total units and a 39% jump in total sales volumecompared to 2013. Meanwhile, 19% more single family home sales were sold in 2014 and reflected a 34% increase in total sales volume.

The median price of a single family home edged up by almost six percent, while the median for condos declined by nine percent. The median is the point at which there were as many sales above as there were below that price.

Association analysts attribute the median price decline in condos to the effects of the Hovensa shutdown on St. Croix’s overall housing market which resulted in a larger than usual unsold inventory. However, given that real estate is very much a supply-and-demand based market, the surplus inevitably brought prices down, which sparked significantly more sales.

2013-2014 Virgin Islands Real Estate Sales
2013 / 2014 / Change from 2013
Units / Sales Volume / Median Price / Units / Sales Volume / Median Price / Units / Sales Volume / Median Price
Single Family / 239 / $ 132,202,650 / $ 390,000 / 284 / $ 177,473,808 / $ 412,000 / +19% / +34% / +5.6%
Condos / 162 / $ 33,257,100 / $ 160,000 / 231 / $ 46,208,058 / $ 145,000 / +43% / +39% / -9.0%
Land / 129 / $ 18,967,430 / N/A / 130 / $ 23,196,043 / N/A / 0% / +22% / N/A

As reported through the St. Croix, St. John and St. Thomas multiple listing services. This information is deemed reliable, but is not guaranteed.

“The good news is that we’re on the upturn,” reported 2015 territorial Realtor® association (VITAR) president Tanya Van Blake-Coleman, “Our members are very encouraged atthe level of increased interest and activitythat’s taking place in the market today.”

She said another indicator of a positive future is that sales of vacant lots and land remained steady over the two year period. “That means future-oriented buyers such as investors, builders and developers still believe in the VI as a viable and worthwhile investment,” she commented.

Van Blake-Coleman said the release of these statistics is a first for the territory and the result of a cooperative effort by the St. Croix, St. John and St. Thomas Boards of Realtors® to better inform consumers about market trends. “From this point forward, we’ll be compiling and releasing these and other territory-wide market statistics on a semi-annual basis,” said Van Blake-Coleman.

VITAR CEO Belton Jennings explained that individual island statistics will not be used since there are not enough total sales to make them useful to consumers, and is also why the association elected to go with semi-annual and year-end reporting periods. “Our July release will compare the 2015 January through June sales with 2014,” he said.

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Frequently Asked Questions about

VI Housing Market Statistics

1. Why semiannual reporting and not monthly or quarterly?

A: A key to making suremarket reports are “statistically valid” is having a sufficient number of transactions from which to draw them. Given the VI’s relatively small number of annual sales compared to other markets, this meant selecting a time period with a statistically meaningful number of transactions. Then, too, there are unforeseen events such as a change in FHA lending practices and insurance requirements, new tax laws or incentives, the occasional hurricane and a major economic blow such as the Hovensa closing, that can have a temporary effect on the market. Using a longer six-month timeframe tends to balance out the effects of these unpredictable, one-time events.

2. Why no breakdowns by island?

A: Again, the determining factor was the number of sales needed to make the statistics useful to buyers and sellers. Taken individually, none of the individual island’s total transactions were sufficient enough to warrant publishing them individually and may be prove to be more misleading than helpful.

3. Are all the sales in the VI included?

A: No. Only those properties listed through Realtors® in their multiple listing services (MLS) are included. Private sales and auctions that take place without the services of a Realtor® are not. However, a comparison against government records would make it fairly safe to say that nearly all sales in the VI are handled by Realtors®.

3. Why Year-Over-Year and not Month-to-Month comparisons?

A: The real estate market can be affected by a number of outside factors and experiences seasonal “peaks and valleys” over the course of a year. For example, sales usually decline significantly during the summer “low season”. Imagine the detrimental effect on the market of headlines that read “Summer Housing Sales Plummet”. Yes, but the truth is they always “plummet” in summer. The more meaningful and useful measure would be that sales were actually up 15% over last summer.

In the VI, we also must take into account the huge influx of potential buyers that come with each tourist season. To account for those historically seasonal variations, statisticians prefer to compare market activity to the same period the previous year as it “dampens” the influence of seasonal swings.

4. Why “median” instead of “average” price?

A: The “median” is that price point at which there were as many sales above it as there were below it. For example, if there were 300 sales, you would arrange the prices in descending order and the “median” would be the price of 150th property. Statisticians find this a much more accurate measure than using average prices. That’s particularly true in the VI where one or two mega-million dollar vacation or second-home sales would dramatically inflate the average, even if most of the sold properties were actually in the $300,000 range. Using median price greatly lessens the impact of a few unusually high (or low) sales.

6. Why provide only total transactions and sales volume for land sales?

A: Land sales are reported in the aggregate and should only be used as a rough gauge of the market’s health. There are several reasons:

1. There simply are not enough sales to provide statistically meaningful data.

2. Zoning and actual use of the property adds another layer of complexity, i.e. land zoned for single-family residential, multi-family or perhaps commercial or industrial all have their own unique sets of factors that make the compilation of relevant statistics almost impossible in a smaller market like the VI.

7. Why no statistics for rentals and timeshares?

A: Two reasons: First, these are “voluntary” versus “mandatory” listings in that Realtors® are not required to enter them as they must with single family homes and condos. Second, not all brokerages engage in timeshares or rentals. Hence, the available statistics do not represent a true picture of those market segments.

9. How reliable are these statistics? Where do they come from?

A: The statistics are drawn from sales reported to the cooperative multiple listing services (MLSs) owned and operated by the St. Croix, St. John and St. Thomas Boards of Realtors®. Since Realtors® must accurately report all sales of listed properties within one or two days of closing, MLS data has long been regarded as the “gold standard” for real estate market information. VI Realtors® are justly proud of the accuracy, timeliness and reliability of their MLS data and work hard to see that these high standards are maintained.

10. Where can I get more detailed information about my local market?

A: The best source for market information is, of course, your local Realtor®. Being in the market every day gives them a distinct advantage and they are always alert to the sometimes subtle factors and local market conditions that can influence buying and selling decisions. Through the MLS, they have access to local market statistics, as well as instant access to complete and up-to-the minute information on every property listed by other Realtors®.

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For assistance in interpreting these housing statistics, contact CEO Belton Jennings at the Virgin Islands Territorial Association of Realtors® at . 407.227.3457.