Real Estate Comparison to the States

Here in St Thomas, Virgin Islands, we sort of play by our own rules. What happens here doesn't necessarily translate to the States, nor does what happens in the States necessarily translate to down here. Easier said- we beat to our own drum, and this includes Real Estate.

I get calls almost daily asking about foreclosures. Do we have them down here? Occasionally. But not frequently. It is nothing like the hard hit areas in the States, where as many as three quarters of sales are through foreclosures.

Ken Wiseman, a friend from Reno, Nevada, that owns a home down here, works primarily with foreclosures. His company is called Reno Rancho Realty. We are constantly comparing the differences in our two areas, and they are vast. The large majority, if not all of his business, comes from foreclosures.

So while I was away, I decided to see what was going on in other places. I don't need to explain the situation with the Las Vegas real estate market. It got absolutely hammered, and there are still tons of foreclosures available for purchase. Then I was off the California, which was also hit very hard. It didn't seem quite as bad as Las Vegas, but it was a big difference from here in St. Thomas.

I am not saying that our market didn't get hit. It did. And it took a pretty good hit. But prices did not fall as drastically as most places in the States. And we have very few foreclosures. So remember this when investigating a purchase here in the Virgin Islands. You can still get great deals, but there isn't anything available for pennies on the dollar.