TJ's BuyRoatan.com Blog

"Upscale" now a common word in roatan listings

I can remember just a few short years ago, the normal verbiage one would find on a listing sheet, or MLS advertisement of development properties included terms like "very nice", "quaint", "modern", "Island-style", "local charm" and "power and water available". This was a time where buildings were modest, yet comfortable... affordable, yet clean and neat... and cozy, yet modern. It seems with the influx of Ex-pats wanting all the luxuries of home, our building schemes are rapidly changing here on the Islands.

To quote a proposed development, currently in permit stages, it seems sophisticated buyers are now looking for more sophisticated properties... "...The development features the most state-of-the art services, including high-speed internet access, tank-less water heaters and water filtration systems. Also, the development will feature one of the Island’s first desalination systems, resulting in not only cleaner and fresher water, but a cost savings as well. The project will also feature the most reliable back-up power supply in the event of any loss in Island power.

The beachfront condo project will also feature a full-service health spa, fitness center, coffee bar, general store, business center, restaurant, and bar...." - business center???? Who in the world would have thought a hotel/condo facility on Roatan would offer it's guests a business center? It seems Roatan is finally growing up... "Up"scale, that is.

Condo starts an all time high on roatan

Just drive around the lovely island of Roatan and you'll see a lot of activity in the jungle. Trees being marked and cleared, new roads being cut in, and development billboards displayed "coming soon" messages seem to be everywhere! And what is the number one item on the drawing boards this year? CONDOS! More and more baby boomers are searching Roatan for "pain free" investments... and what's better than a condo that you can use anytime you wish to, and get some rental income when you're back at home.

And developers are listening with more than 2,000 units currently on the books and more coming it appears. And the condo boom is not restricted to the "AAA" locations like West Bay anymore--they are popping up throughout our 79 square mile isle. Developments like Blue Ocean Reef, with their Nikki Beach affiliation, Oceano, Parrot Tree Plantation, and even Pineapple Villas (all located on the east end) are jumping on the condo bandwagon and are offering some very nice, and expensive abodes.... One thing is for sure, nobody told any of these guys there is a slow down in the States that may be limiting buyers... or at least, they don't seem to care.

Honduras adds another major cell phone company

Locations are being secured right now throughout Roatan for the installation of Cell towers. Leases are being presented and signed and we believe this improvement to communications will only benefit the continued investment into Honduras. The article below is courtesy of Digicel...

DIGICEL CENTRAL AMERICA WINS COMPETITIVE BID FOR A MOBILE LICENSE IN HONDURAS

TEGUCIGALPA, HONDURAS--(Marketwire - December 19, 2007) - Digicel Central America Holdings Limited, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Digicel Honduras S.A. de C.V., is pleased to announce that it has won a competitive bid process for a license to operate a GSM mobile network in Honduras. The highly competitive auction took place on Wednesday, Dec. 19th, with Digicel bidding US$80.1 million. It is expected that the decision to grant the fourth operator license to Digicel Honduras will be approved by Congress in the coming weeks.

Significant investment in Honduras is planned to build a world-class network and operation that is set to stimulate growth in the mobile market by increasing mobile penetration within the next five years from approximately 38% to 75%. Honduras has a total population of close to 7.5 million.

Struggling US economy ripples downstream

For some time now, the US has been under the ominous blanket many experts are calling a recession. Home starts are almost non-existent, mortgages are being foreclosed on, and house prices are dropping through the floor. Some areas in the States are seeing homes that sold for over $2.1M two years ago... now being listed for under $950k. (Idaho area) To say this has not trickled down to us on the Islands would be incorrect.

After more than 10 years in the Real Estate market here on Roatan, I can honestly say, I've not seen anything affect the sales conditions more than the present state of affairs in the USA. Emails from my colleagues offering "selling bonuses", reduced prices, and excellent seller financing terms are being distributed through our MLS board almost daily. Many sellers are realizing that the buyers we had a year ago, are far and few between. That's good news if you're in the market for a second home, vacation destination, or have some spare cash to invest in an up and coming Caribbean Island. Roatan's median price is still far below the rest of the Caribbean Islands out there so, although there may be some corrections taking place right now, you can bet that our market will continue to climb... at least until we are on par with the rest of the Caribbean. Now is the time to make offers, secure your dream property, and invest in paradise... more than ever!