Depending on your budget, finding an affordable home in the Virgin Islands can be an adventure. It’s also a matter of addressing what works for you. Three homes on the market now represent a sliver of what’s available in their district, exemplifying the personalities of each district’s real estate.
The stereotypes are there: vast and arid St. Croix, dense and hilly St. Thomas, and St. John, where slivers of available property hug the National Park boundaries.
In Castle Coakley, just off the Melvin Evans Highway, a central St. Croix oasis of sorts hides down a private dirt road. The 1,250-square-foot, two-bedroom, one-and-a-half-bathroom home sits on three acres of fenced-in land. The property used to be a nursery and is surrounded by mature trees and flowering plants, according to Sea Glass Properties. There’s plenty of room for additional gardens or an office, with lots of parking space.
At $399,000, the steel-framed construction sits on relatively flat land. Sea Glass estimated the property taxes at roughly $495. With a 20 percent downpayment, a 30-year loan would bring monthly payments to around $2,342.
On a hillside above St. Thomas’ Caret Bay, a two-bedroom two-bathroom home overlooks the sea. A wooden deck off the living room looks out on Inner Brass Island. Zoned R-2, the home also comes with a detached one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment that could be rented out. The 0.44-acre property is selling for $695,000 and requires about $1,190 in taxes. With a 20 percent downpayment, a 30-year loan would bring monthly payments to around $4,000, according to Sea Glass.
Perched on Sea Grape Hill, Huis Aan Zee (Dutch for House By The Sea) overlooks St. John’s Coral Bay and the green Fortsberg peninsula. Sunrise comes up over the British Virgin Islands. It’s a strikingly modern structure in this somewhat remote location, incorporating the West Indian tradition of maximizing outdoor space.
At just 1,050 square feet stretched over two floors, the one-bedroom, two-bathroom villa sits on less than a quarter acre of land with some 2,100 square feet of wooden decking. It’s easy to imagine stretching out on a towel next to the saltwater plunge pool. Built after the 2017 hurricanes, the heavy masonry construction has a galvanized roof and a 14,000 gallon cistern.
The price? $1.15 million. With a 20 percent downpayment, a 30-year loan would bring monthly payments to around $6,750, according to Holiday Homes of St. John.
