The Island of Roatan continues to change. As tourism and development grows, so does the population. As more people are migrating to the Islands, not just from the USA and Canada, but from mainland Honduras, 
more services are needed to feed, clothe, house and care for these migrants. Someone told me today the population is nearly 70,000 on Roatan... more than double the amount 10 years ago, when Shelley and I moved here from Canada! New shopping malls, grocery stores, building supply and hardware stores are all being built right now to offer us more selection, better prices and better service.
And who is building all this infrastructure? More than 60% of the new commercial construction is being done by the large families from the mainland who already own these type of businesses over there. Large, wealthy families whose fortunes have been made, in part, by supplying Hondurans both every day staples and luxury items like televisions, automobiles, and electronic appliances. Just 3 weeks ago, KIA opened Roatan's FIRST car dealership across from the airport, and I'm sure other car companies (franchise stores owned by Honduras' elite) will follow suit.
That is good news.... that means Roatan is now confirmed a great place for solid investment. It means, we are finally getting those amenities bigger cities have boasted for years... Prices here are still about 1/4 of other Caribbean destinations like Caymans, Turk & Caicos, St. Thomas, etc. That means we could theorectically double our prices, triple them, or even quadruple them before we can compare to these other islands.... and I think in the next 3-5 years, you'll see prices on Roatan triple.
That being said, there are a number of possibliities to invest in. I have a client looking for partners to buy a resort right now and needs to come up with about $5M.
Another client wishes to sell 20% of a kick butt resort on West Bay Beach worth about $10M. There is some debt involved with the company which ALL profits are going towards to pay down for the next 2 years, so there won't be a return until year 3, but the potential to bulldoze and put up 60+ luxury condos is definately there, with more than $15-20M profit at today's pricing. He is asking $900k for 20%, and may finance part of it.
There are good land and condo deals right now on Roatan. Rental rates are climbing, but most properties don't pay for themselves in rental income as yet.... property values are rising at a faster rate than rental rates.... typical in an emerging market like ours.
Right now, Roatan is booming. Construction is everywhere and the big families from Tegucigalpa and San Pedro are now investing and opening businesses here as well. That is very important because they are the last to come, but the biggest indicator of a successful economy as well.
