See it to believe it! A home on any of t

See it to believe it! A home on any of these lots is going to have most amazing views! Pumpkin Hill Utila – Tantalizing your 5 senses! Incredible oceanviews! Feel the sea breeze. Smell the salty air. Listen to the lull of the breaking waves. Taste the seas’s moisture in the air.

There’s something about these Pumpkin H

There’s something about these Pumpkin Hill lots on Utila. The feeling is inexplicable. These home sites sit about 20 ft above the ocean and are only $114K each. Listings are coming soon…

One of the reasons why you should use a

One of the reasons why you should use a licensed RE/MAX agent in Utila.

Poisonous palms for dogs! Dog lovers bew

Poisonous palms for dogs!

Dog lovers beware! Although I can’t say I have seen these palms on Utila, I thought it best to warn everyone anyways! The Sago Palm is super toxic to dogs, cats and horses due to the cycasin, which can cause liver failure in dogs.

#utila

Birthday Break from Island Life

I know, life is hard. When you live on a Caribbean island in Utila, sometimes you just need a break. Haha! Well, it wasn’t really a break from Utila, but probably a break from technology and the internet!

So what did we do for my birthday? We went rafting on the Rio Cangrejal near La Ceiba, Honduras. We went up to the Omega Lodge and everyone had the most incredible experience. Countless times, my friends exclaimed how beautiful it is, how the weather is awesome, and what a great change of scenery from tropical temperatures.

Although the hummingbirds didn’t cooperate allowing me to capture them on camera, my favorite bird showed up the day that we were leaving for an extended photo session. This the Turquoise Browed MotMot! I had been telling everybody that I really wanted to see one at the lodge and this male was sitting in the tree quietly the whole time I was looking for other birds and wildlife to photograph!

That was a wonderful end to top off a weekend of fun rafting with family and incredible friends. The lodge, as always, was relaxing & laid back, and Roland the german-speaking Honduran bartender was really attentive, the weather was cool, sunny and bright, the food was superb, and the company was even better!

I had visited the river countless times, but I had never gone rafting. It’s a must do, because nothing compares to the breathtaking beauty of the river than when you’re actually riding down it! The huge rock formations that had been smoothed out by the white water over thousands of years making wonderfully shaped artwork, the rushing white water flowing over and around the boulders were so much fun to ride, and the diversity of the scenery was mesmerizing and unforgettable!

I definitely could have stayed on the river for a couple more days, but going into La Ceiba for some shopping and errands for two days made us all want to return to Paradise ASAP!

It was one of the most memorable weekends of my life, thanks to everyone who shared it with me. But it’s soooo good to be home too! #islandlife #breakfromutilarealestatelife

Top Ten Q’s About Utila Life:

Visitors and people looking to buy property in Utila, often ask me the same questions. So here’s list of the Top Ten Questions I Get Asked about Utila Life:

1. Don’t you get bored?

Ha! I wish I could get bored, but I simply don’t have the time. With a business, a husband, two kids, several dogs and a home, it just never happens. And does the word ‘home’ look

Out til dusk

out of place in that list? Well, having a home in the Caribbean is a lot like having another kid. It needs to be tended to every day, and seems to have a life of it’s own.

2. Do you get Island Fever?

That is similar to the first question, but different. Being on a small island has it’s ups and downs. Being an expat gives me the great opportunity to visit friends and family in other countries, or to visit other places if I do get “Island Fever”. And it happens. However, I can tell you that coming back to the island is one of the best feelings about going away! It’s a bit like the grass being greener on the other side of the fence.

When I visit Toronto, for example, it’s friends, family and food that is the lure. It’s the craziness of traffic, the speediness of every day life and the chaos of so many people trying to keep up with the frenetic pace that allows me to happily return to “The Rock”.

And sure, I miss yummy cheeses, good wine and great food. Well, I’m also lucky because I think my husband is the best chef on the island!

Is the trade-off worth it? Definitely.

Breast Cancer Walk

3. What is there to do besides scuba diving?

Is there anything else???  Haha. I’m just joking. It was like that for me for a time. I lived and breathed compressed air. Now I dive about 3 times a year! Do I still love it? Absolutely. It’s more of a time and effort question. I’ve become spoiled knowing that great diving is probably closer to me than your corner store. And I’ve started snorkeling much more. It’s so much easier to walk off the beach and see fish on my own schedule, than being on a dive boat (plus I get sea-sick)!

My days are filled with:

• Work – which I love!
• Family – I kinda like them too.
• Exercising – Monday thru Friday 4:30-5:30pm on the rooftop of a friend’s home. I sweat and feel like I’m flying as I step to the music while viewing the vast ocean and Pumpkin Hill
• Wood-working – A friend is teaching me how. I love it! See my chair?
• Sewing, crafts, recycled jewellery from plastic 
• Art – one of my best friends here is an artist. A group of us get together weekly (well, they do, and I go when I can) to do whatever type of art we each enjoy whether it be sketching, watercolor, acrylic, oils or sculpture.
• Chillin’ – This is a learned skill for an “A” type personality. It takes awhile to master. I’m still working on it actually, but when you do ‘get it’, then life really becomes amazing.

4. Isn’t Utila a Party Island?

Definitely. Are there bars around where you live? I’ll bet there are. Do you have to go to them? No.

It’s similar here, but most of us looking to semi-retire or retire are fast asleep when the young party crowd comes out! There are a few quiet times on the roads in Utila. Before 7am, and between about 6-8pm. All us older folk are heading into town in the morning, or heading home between 6-8 pm. The partiers seem to come out after 8pm to dine, and after 10pm to party. I’ll admit, arriving to the island at age 30, I was one of those that was up late working at the bars (getting paid to socialize and have fun… if you call $1.50/hour getting paid), to be home at 4-5am, and up again at 7am to go scuba diving.

I cannot imagine staying up past 11pm anymore, and New Year’s Eve has been non-existent until 2013 when the kids begged us to stay up until midnight!

That’s the wonderful thing about Utila and her layers. They all live happily together, and you might not see a whole layer until you venture out to cross the timeline!

5. Is it Safe?

Honduras gets a terrible rap in the press, and it’s true, the mainland is not safe. However being from Toronto, and having a European husband, we both feel Utila nowhere near as dangerous as our cities back home. The Bay Islands are like little oases (is that the plural of oasis? I’m too lazy to look it up). And Utila is even safer because of it’s size. If you look at Utila’s town, it is probably about a half mile by a half mile square. Everyone knows everyone, so it’s difficult to hide!

Also, with two kids, I feel comfortable letting them run around the island freely, like I remember doing when we were young. I think that says it all.

6. How’s the Education System?

Wanting. Just this week a visitor asked what would be the one thing I would change about the island? It would be Education.

First day of school

The kids currently go to a private school, but they seem to come home with homework, without a clue on how to complete it. This requires the babysitter or me, to learn the lesson first, and then teach the children. I thought of starting an international school, but by the time I would have started it, the children would have been leaving it for the next level.

I am now looking into having an online school.

7. Can A Foreigner Buy Property?

Yes. Foreigners may purchase property outright if it’s less than 3/4 of an acre (about 180 ft x 180 ft). More than that and you’ll need to create a corporation.

8. How did you get the courage to move down here?

I went to visit my sister in Guatemala early in 1999, where her and her husband were volunteering just outside Antigua. I met so many travellers from all over the world telling me of their backpacking trips of 3 months to 3 years. I thought I might be missing something, so I decided to see for myself. I took off in September 1999 to take a month of spanish in Xela, Guatemala. I met a Danish guy named Bo who was brushing up on his spanish before going over to work at a dive center in Honduras. When I left Xela, I travelled through Guatemala and ended up on the coast of Honduras, planning to visit Bo.

When I arrived on Utila, I asked for the dive center Sueño del Mar (Sea dreams), and someone replied that I was on the wrong island! Haha!

My answer always makes people laugh. I wish I had the courage to move here like so many have had. My ticket to fly back home was from Chile in March 2000 (yes I know, very ambitious). I came to Utila as a certified diver, and planned on doing a few dives and moving on… Like the video says, “If you come to Utila (I did), you’ll never want to leave (I didn’t)”. I’m sure meeting the love of my life in Utila had something to do with it…

9. Don’t You Miss the Four Seasons?

Nope. Not at all! I haven’t experienced winter in about 18 years, and I’m very happy about that. Although fall is beautiful, bringing with it the excitement of donning your leather jacket or cool boots, I always say, “If I was meant to live in the cold, I would be covered with hair. I’m Asian. No winter.” – insert smiley emoticon!

10. Are You Going to Stay in Utila Forever? 

Do you make decisions forever? I don’t think so. Most people make decisions for some time in the future, but forever is a long time! Am I planning on going somewhere? Nope. Life is too good here! Especially when you can snorkel with dolphins on the way home from a restaurant?!

Homes Selling at 92% List Price in Utila, Land at 95%

In real estate, the Sales Price is really the most important number for both Buyers and Sellers. As a Seller, using the statistics from the Honduras MLS, their real estate agent can suggest, based upon prior sales, what the market is willing to bear for a sales price. As a Buyer, knowing the current Sales Price to List Price ratio will assure that you are paying a fair price for your property.

In Roatan, due to the high number of Condominiums for sale, and the sheer size of Roatan, they seem to have learned how to accurately calculate List Prices. Last year Condo Sales to today’s date showed they are getting 98% of the list price. This means that the Sellers and Buyers both know what a fair price is for a Condo, so that the List Price and Sales Price are almost equal.

In Utila, the real estate market now seems to be recovering from the worldwide economic crash back in 2007-2008. Although sales prices will take awhile to return to their values in 2007, the height of the market, List Prices are increasing. Home Sales for the last year (up to today’s date) are at 92% of List Price. So Sales Prices aren’t too far off the mark.

There are a few reasons why a Seller finds it difficult to properly price their home for sale:

• They often consider how much work and love they put into the home.
• If they bought it in 2007, or at a higher price than the current Buyers are willing to pay, they don’t want to lose out.
• They have an obvious emotional tie to their home. And like a proud parent, they believe their home is the most attractive home available.
• There is also a very limited inventory in Utila for beachfront homes, so the current pricing isn’t quite settled yet.

Land Sales in Utila are at a more accurate pricing of 95% of List Price. This could be due to a much larger inventory of properties for sale, and competing prices are making Sellers more accurately price them closer to what the Buyers are willing to pay.

I get questions all the time on what to offer for Utila properties for sale, and the information that can be culled from the MLS gives the best guidelines on where to start the conversation.

Need any more info or stats on Utila real estate? Or Roatan real estate? Just send me an email and I’d be happy to try to help.

Happy Holidays!

Rothschidia Moth on my Gate

This very cool moth with transparent plastic-like sections on her wings was sitting on our gate as we were leaving the house. She was huge at about 4-5 inches wide!

Posting the photo on this facebook group Entomology Group with over 47,000 members worldwide, identified it as a Rothschildia Moth. I love the entomology group because members worldwide post the coolest photos of insects you could never even imagine!

Kid’s here don’t have a lot of organized activities

Kid’s here don’t have a lot of organized activities, but they have the sea, freedom, and independence. I think that’s a decent trade-off. http://ow.ly/i/dXfHO

Utila Beachfront Properties are Moving

Everyone wants to know what real estate has been sold in Utila in 2015?

As we come into the last quarter of 2015, where the real estate market in Utila usually slows down, we have arrived at 14 properties on the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) SOLD or Under Contract so far this year. That compared with 106 in Roatan!

Of those 14 properties in Utila, all of them have been on the waterfront, or very close to the ocean. Probably the most affordable beachfront properties in the Caribbean!

Affordable Caribbean beachfront real estate

There have been three homes sold ranging in list price between $69,000 – $485,000 USD. The $69K home is a two bedroom home on a small lot, but right next to Chepas Public Beach in the charming area of Sandy Bay. The $485K home is a gorgeous beachfront home with a small pool located in the Tradewinds area of Utila.

Two commercial properties were purchased so far this year with list prices of $190K and $220K. The Venue (www.TheVenueUtila.com) has been renovated to become the best beach bar in Utila with plenty of space, good food and delicious cocktails.

The Venue Utila

And the remaining 9 properties are all beachfront lots ranging from $25-$160K. The $25K property was purchased as part of a larger beachfront property and actually had an oceanview, not oceanfront.

In comparison with our sister island Roatan, 106 properties have been sold or put under contract so far this year. Of the 106 properties in Roatan:

66 homes were sold ranging in list price from $99,000 for a home built in 2008 on a 0.72 acre lot, to the most expensive home sold in Roatan so far this year was listed at $1.1M for a 4 bedroom, 3 bath luxury home on about a half acre of land.

Land sales accounted for 43 spots ranging in list price from $17,900 for a 0.30 acre plot of jungle land in Gibson Bight to $459,000 for a 100ft of beachfront in West Bay.

And finally, commercial properties sold range from $33K to $430K for a property in Half Moon Bay.

Follow me to find the stats about real estate in the Bay Islands of Honduras – Utila & Roatan.  If you want information about Guanaja, just post me a comment, and it will be my next post.

Here’s to wishing you a great day!  It’s pouring right now in Utila!

EN ESPAÑOL:

Todo el mundo quiere saber qué bienes raíces se ha vendido en Utila, Islas de la Bahía, en el 2015?

Como entramos en el último trimestre de 2015, en el que el mercado de bienes raíces en Utila normalmente se ralentiza, hemos llegado a 14 propiedades en la MLS (Multiple Listing Service) que se venden o bajo contrato lo que va del año. Eso se compara con 106 en Roatán!

De esos 14 propiedades en Utila, todos ellos han estado en la playa, o muy cerca del mar. Probablemente las propiedades frente al mar más asequibles en el Caribe!

Ha habido tres viviendas vendidas cuyos precios entre $69,000 – $ 485,000 USD. Los $ 69K casa es una casa de dos dormitorios en un terreno pequeño, pero justo al lado de Chepas playa pública en la encantadora zona de Sandy Bay. Este fue un gran negocio para ella. Los $ 485k casa es una hermosa casa frente al mar con una pequeña piscina situada en la zona de Tradewinds de Utila.

Este fue un gran negocio para ella! Ahorita esta aguilandolo.

Dos propiedades comerciales fueron comprados en lo que va de este año con los precios de lista de $ 190K y $ 220K.

The Venue (www.TheVenueUtila.com) ha sido reformado para convertirse en el mejor bar de la playa en Utila con mucho espacio, buena comida y deliciosos cócteles.

The Venue Utila

Y las 9 propiedades restantes son todos los lotes frente al mar que van desde $ 25- $ 160K. La propiedad $ 25K fue comprado como parte de una propiedad frente a la playa más grande y en realidad tenía una vista al mar, no frente al mar.

En comparación con nuestra hermana isla de Roatán, 106 propiedades han sido vendidos o puestos bajo contrato lo que va del año. De las 106 propiedades en Roatán:

66 viviendas fueron vendidas varían en precio de lista de $ 99.000 para una casa construida en 2008 en un terreno de 0,72 acres, a la casa más cara vendida en Roatán lo que va del año fue incluido en $ 1.1M para un 4 dormitorios, 3 baños casa de lujo en el sobre un medio acre de tierra.

La venta de tierras representaban 43 puntos que varían en precio de lista de $ 17,900 para una parcela de 0.30 acres de la tierra de la selva en Gibson Bight a $ 459.000 para un 100 pies de frente de playa en West Bay.

Y, por último, propiedades comerciales venden van desde $ 33K a $ 430K para una propiedad en Half Moon Bay.

Sígueme encontrar las estadísticas sobre bienes raíces en las Islas de la Bahía de Honduras – Utila y Roatán. Si desea información sobre Guanaja, me acaba de publicar un comentario, y será mi próximo post.

Aquí está a que le desea un gran día! Se vierte ahora en Utila!