With the current stats of more than 13,000 Americans retiring every day, Roatan continues to attract a lot of attention amoungst the silvers....
Our market is not unlike that of the Cayman Islands in the 70's...or Belize in the 80's. We are in an emerging market. That means we are well below the Caribbean average--compared to St. Martin, Turks & Caicos, Aruba, Bonaire, Belize and Costa Rica. We have a long way to climb in our market to reach their sales prices.
Some properties are climbing between 2-10% per month. The average 2 bedroom condo sold last year for $190k....this year...$300k. Our demand is based on increased air lift to Roatan....more than 40 Cruise ship visits per month in peak season...and the influx of 13,000 baby boomers retiring every day!!
Developers, speculatiors, private investors are paying asking prices for anything and everything that has the potential to grow based on forecast demand. Flagged Hotels, Major airlines and tour operators are zeroing in on Roatan as "the" next Caribbean hot spot... especially since our prices are a fraction of the premium prices on other popular Islands....we're just now getting discovered.
You should note in addition, that there are virtually no businesses on the island that can cash flow. We are in an emerging market scenario here. Less than one year old CMA data and even less accurate reportings. Our MLS is young, but getting stronger.
The truth is that we have investors wanting to grab valuable beach properties here, pushing prices are all over the map, almost unrealistically one would say....if it wasn't for the fact that Roatan is a small island....and there's only so much of her....and more and more people are trying to snatch it up before the prices climb to the Caribbean average...(we're quite below as of now) Most investors buy on their gut. Some buy on their emotions...but few, if any, will buy based on any sort of cash flow. Potential yes...but not current or past actuals.
Some of the key projects we are currently involved in are:
* 1st Golf course on its way - confirmed May 2006
* Westin Hotel on its way - confirmed March 2006
* More than 1000 units under construction or in the planning/permiting stage
* Free Port status for the Bay Islands now before Congress - confirmed
* Royal Caribbean paid $17M for the Cruise Ship terminal in Oct '05 and
plans to bring more than 1,000,000 PAX to Roatan this upcoming season.
(Currently, NCL, Carnival, and others bring about 300,000 per season)
DIRECT FLIGHTS TO ROATAN FROM:
Miami - TACA Airlines - since 1997
Houston - TACA and Continental - since 2005
Atlanta - Delta - since March 2006
Toronto - November to March (high season)
Milan, Italy - weekly charter since 2001
Newark - Continental - NEW December 2006
This increase in airlift means more tourists and better occupancy rates. Average room rates are $90/night on/just off the beach. Occupancy levels are between 50%-100% depending on the season.
Most rentals will provide about a 7-15% cap rate this year. With the equity increase in the property values...YOU CAN EXPEXCT TO SEE 30-50% RETURNS in YEAR ONE!!
There are a lot of great opportunities for entrepreneurs and those
seeking a quiet, laid back lifestyle, while enjoying the fruits of
their labor...what a great place to live!!