St. John Facts

Size: 20 square miles – 7 miles long, 3 miles wide.

Highest Point: Bordeaux Mountain 1,277 ft above sea level

In 1917 the United States bought St. John from Denmark. By the 1930’s, news of the beautiful American island had spread to the United States mainland and the beginning of what was to become a tourism boom on St. John.

Laurence Rockefeller in 1956 donated land to the Federal Government to establish a National Park. The 5000 acres became the nation’s twenty-ninth National Park. The land was presented to Fred Seaton, who was the Secretary of the Interior, he promised the government would ‘take good and proper care of these precious acres and verdant hills and valleys and miles of sunny, sandy shores’. Since then other donations have been made and presently the Virgin Islands National Park includes 7200 acres of land and 5600 acres of underwater lands.

There’s no passport required for U.S. citizens. With accommodations ranging from resorts and hotels to eco-tents and campgrounds, you can enjoy the natural splendor or indulge in a lavish romantic getaway. St. John also believes that everyone deserves to enjoy paradise, and the island offers many wheelchair-accessible beaches, including Trunk Bay – one of the Caribbean’s most beautiful and photographed beaches.

Today St. John thrives as a favored tourist destination. A construction boom in the past couple of years is changing St. John from a quiet, sleepy island to one with a little more traffic and development.

Whether renting a vehicle or simply crossing a street, it is vital to remember that you must drive on the left side of the road!

Real Estate Ownership

Ownership is “fee simple” being under the U.S. flag here. There are no restrictions against purchasing solely for investment, and no laws dictating when, if ever, you must build on undeveloped land.

Property taxes are relatively low compared to many stateside areas. The property tax is based on the purchase price multiplied by following mill rates:

Homes/ Condos .003770 Commercial .007110

Timeshares .014070 Land .004946

All real estate transactions require a Government Transfer Tax (stamp tax), which can be paid by the buyer or seller; however, the Government holds the seller responsible for the payment at closing.

2% for property valued up to $350,000
2.5% for property valued from $350,001 to $1,000,000
3% for property valued from $1,000,001 to $5,000,000
3.5% for property valued over $5,000,001

Mortgage loans are available with banking institutions doing business in the Virgin Islands and with stateside lenders such as North Point, First Liberty, Leeward Island Mortgages and Virgin Bay Mortgage. The buyer is responsible for the payment of a property appraisal, a survey and surveyor’s certificate, title search and title insurance, and bank attorney fees.

Windstorm and earthquake insurance is required for all home mortgage loans. The cost is approximately 3% of the replacement value. The cost varies due to types of construction, hurricane shutters and more.

All new construction must be engineered and built to VI building code to withstand at least 110 mph wind speed and Zone 4 earthquakes.

Building costs are approximately $600.00 per square foot and up, depending upon finishes.

Residential Properties: Approximately 73 properties available ranging from a modest one bedroom cottage priced at $399,000. to luxury villas listed for $12,000,000+/-.

Condominiums: Approximately 14 properties ranging from $525,000. to over 1 million.

Land: The MLS has over 180+/- listings all very different properties starting at $50,000. up to $7.5 million for waterfront and or multiple acreage development parcels.

Commercial: Most commercial real estate for sale or leaseholds. Occasionally an actual building or business is listed for sale.

Fractional/Timeshare: At least 98 dates and timeframes to own your piece of the Rock. “Timeshare” generally refers to the Westin, but there are others.

Read More about the different areas of St John……………..

340 Real Estate Co

About St. John, Virgin Islands

St. John Facts

Real Estate Ownership