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!
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!
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