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!

900% Growth in the Utila Real Estate Market

Market Summary

The other day, someone asked me for some general data on the Utila real estate market.  I thought I’d share with you just a little snapshot of property sale data taken from the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) for Honduras.  The MLS is a search-able database of properties which shows you all available properties around the country, viewable from each real estate agent’s websites, should they choose to use it.  Check out our home page and scroll down to see our Portal, which is basically a window into the store of Honduran properties for sale. In another blogpost, I will walk you through some searches you can make to find the right property for you.

On the green line labelled “Totals” it shows that the Utila market as a whole, compared with the same year prior, has growth in all sales areas of 1,100%!  The “PCT” column indicates the percentage growth when compared with the previous year.  Another remarkable item to note is that residential lot sales are skyrocketing, increasing by 900% over the previous year.  This is usually a good indicator that you’d best purchase your piece of paradise now! Utila is a small island with the majority of people living within a few square miles of each other.  Prices always increase with more demand than supply.

This table shows Utila’s data based on the properties sold in the MLS.  “This Year” is the year ending today to the same date in 2014.  “Last Year” as a comparison is from the same dates, but from 2013-2014.  The MLS is a great tool providing historical data that helps in determining listing prices for current properties for sale, projections for the future, and data mining.

Thankfully, Utila lags behind Roatan in growth and development, but Roatan’s data is a good indicator of what is to come on this lesser-known island we all call home.  Although Utila will happily never catch up to the population on Roatan, their property data is exponentially greater than the data from Utila.  This is due largely to the fact that most agents did not place their property listings on the MLS, as there was little need with such a small market.  Hence it’s difficult to provide accurate information based on such little data.  However, Roatan statistics can be consulted when projecting and determining real estate information in Utila, with the use of a ‘correction calculation’ to tweak the data for Utila. Do you want to know how Utila data compares to our neighboring island of Roatan?

If you like this post, and if there is any specific information you would like to see, just ask me, and I’ll see what I can do.

Tomorrow’s post will show how Utila data compares to Roatan’s.  Stay tuned…

Reduce Capital Gains – Apply for a Declaration of Improvements

Made improvements to your property?

Did you purchase a property in Utila many moons ago and are interested in selling it now?

Please keep in mind that I am not a lawyer, and this is not legal advice.  This is simply some information that you can verify and discuss with your attorney if you want to learn how you can reduce the amount of Capital Gains you’ll pay upon selling your property.

The current rate of capital gains is 4 percent (fortunately down from 10% a few months ago).  You can mitigate the amount of capital gains that you need to pay by filing for a Declaration of Improvements which detail any improvements that you have made to your property.  If you have built a road, constructed a home, fenced in your property, or any other improvements you have made to the land, you can apply for a Declaration of Improvements.

Upon selling your property you can take your selling price, deduct the initial investment and the amount of the declaration of improvements (did you know you can also deduct real estate commissions?) to arrive at the amount to calculate your capital gains.

The cost of the application is US $475 dollars to submit through a lawyer + 0.15 percent of the amount of a declaration of the improvement. If you compare that to the current rate of capital gains at 4 percent, most often this will result in more money in your pocket when you sell your property.

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Here’s a sample calculation provided by Attorney Juan Jose Alcerro:

The current applicable regulation has 2 different scenarios, one for the situation where the Seller is a Honduran resident for tax purposes and one where the Seller is not a Honduran resident for tax purposes.

If the Seller (individual or corporation) is a Honduran resident, then 4% capital gains regulation applies, and Seller is bound to pay capital gains tax on the sale.  Tax payment is due 10 business days after closing and, according to the applicable regulation is to be calculated as follows:

(Sales Price – “Present time value” of the real estate) / 4

[Sales Price (SP) – “Present time value” of the real estate (PTV)] / 4

where:

“Sales Price” (SP) is the Price of the sale of the real estate

“Present-time value” (PTV) of the real estate is the “Acquisition Price” (AP) brought to current date + Declared & Registered Improvements (DRI)

Such that:

In the event the Sales Price is $600,000.00

And the real estate was acquired in 1995 at a Price equivalent to $50,000.00

And No Appraised Improvements are registered

SP: $600,000

PTV: $50,000

Gain: $550,000

Capital Gains Tax (4%) = $22,000

Or:

In the event the Sales Price is $600,000.00

And the real estate was acquired in 1995 at a Price equivalent to $50,000.00

And Appraised Improvements are registered for $350,000.00

SP: $600,000

PTV: $50,000 + $350,000 = $400,000

Gain: $200,000

Capital Gains Tax (4%) = $8,000

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Don’t forget the calculation of the Declaration application and tax:  $475 (attorney and filing) + 0.15% additionally.

I hope this helps.  Please feel free to email me if you need more information or for a list of reputable real estate attorneys.

The New Mango Inn Bar & Grill

The Mango Inn Bar & Grill gets a facelift!

There is a new owner of the Mango Inn Bar & Grill, Brad Bridwell.  But you won’t find him there today because it’s his 29th birthday… Again!  Happy Birthday Brad!

Brad has taken the Mango Inn Bar & Grill, a cornerstone in the Utila dive community for years, and given the restaurant a wonderful makeover from top to bottom.  See the before and after shots and you can see the love and energy that has gone into the New Mango Bar & Grill!

No wonder it looks so awesome, as Brad has been in the food industry off and on all his life. From bartending to managing in Boulder, Colorado for 20 years and then moving to Minneapolis to run a Pizza Pasta joint for 18 very successful years, he felt that it was time to go.  And when he felt it was time to go, he went!  Or rather, he came!

But that was after three of the longest winters of his life before he finally moved to paradise.  He always wanted to live the dream in the caribbean and he was continually on the lookout for opportunities on his travels.

First coming to Utila in 2004 with his wife the diver and having been back several times, always staying and eating at the Mango Inn he was extremely familar with the café when he was in Anquilla bartending and shopping for my dream joint last October 2013, when he hear the Mango Café was for sale. Brad immediately came to check it out and realized that this was the perfect place to realize that dream. The deal closed on May 15, 2014 and paradise found and he’s been loving life since.

Peter Bradford his chef has been a key player in the success of the new Mango Inn Bar & Grill, but that story is for another day.

Happy Birthday Brad, and congratulations on the New Mango Café!

Chamber Music in Utila – Bring it on!

A bunch of local Utila businesses and music lovers are trying to bring a Quartet from the Honduran National Philharmonic Orchestra here to Utila. David Araya, who is the solo clarinetist (yes, I had to look that word up online) in this amateur Youtube video below, contacted Utila to see if we could make it happen.

So many Utila businesses and the community are so excited to make this happen that there are donors coming in daily.  We plan to make a raffle to raise money for the quartet’s expenses, but from all the outpouring of charity, we’re pretty sure the funds raised will be enough to bring them back a second time!  Perhaps at Christmas?  And why not shoot for having the whole Honduran National Philharmonic Orchestra one day!

Utila has whale sharks, dolphins, awesome scuba diving, the best ambience and atmosphere, fun people, gorgeous reefs, turquoise waters and so much more!  Let’s add a little music to that beauty!  This is definitely going to happen, let’s just see how many times we can make it happen!

Prizes so far include:

Scuba dives

Dinners for two

Hotel accommodation

Website Design

Floats

Art Lessons

…

Anyone that would like to purchase raffle tickets, help out, or donate, please contact anyone on the list, or leave a comment right here.  Or you can ask to join our facebook page:

Get Teguc Philharmonic Chamber Music to Utila (yes, talk about descriptive)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/utilamusic/

http://youtu.be/miFrG_if4uA?list=LLdlrHNqr56GlJQNia_gPEmg

EN ESPAñOL:

Un montón de empresas locales Utila y amantes de la música están tratando de traer un cuarteto de la Orquesta Filarmónica Nacional de Honduras aquí para Utila. David Araya, quien es el clarinetisto solisto (sí, tuve que buscar esa palabra en línea) en este vídeo aficionado Youtube http://youtu.be/miFrG_if4uA?list=LLdlrHNqr56GlJQNia_gPEmg, contactó Utila para ver si podíamos hacer que suceda.

Así que muchas empresas Utila y la comunidad son tan emocionada de que esto suceda que haya donantes que vienen todos los días. Tenemos la intención de hacer una rifa para recaudar dinero para los gastos del cuarteto, sino de toda la efusión de la caridad, estamos bastante seguros de que los fondos recaudados serán suficientes para traerlos de vuelta por segunda vez! Tal vez en la Navidad? ¿Y por qué no apuntar a tener el conjunto hondureño Orquesta Nacional Filarmónica de un día!

Mientras tanto, vamos a trabajar en esto.

Cualquier persona que le gustaría comprar boletos de la rifa, ayudar, o donar, por favor póngase en contacto con cualquier persona en la lista, o dejar un comentario aquí. O puede pedirle a unirse a nuestra página de Facebook:

Obtener Teguc Philharmonic Chamber Music a Utila (sí, hablar descriptivo)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/utilamusic/

Utila tiene tiburones ballena, delfines, buceo con escafandra impresionante, el mejor ambiente y la atmósfera, gente divertida, arrecifes magníficos, aguas turquesas y mucho más! Vamos a añadir un poco de música para que la belleza! Esta es, sin duda va a pasar, vamos a ver cuántas veces podemos hacer que suceda!

Los premios hasta la fecha incluyen:

Inmersiones de buceo

Cenas para dos

Alojamiento en hotel

Diseño de páginas Web

Flotadores

Lecciones de Arte

…

And the winner is… Miss Comayagua

Miss Universe Honduras – 3rd from left

After a long-awaited announcement, Miss Comayagua – Gabriela Ordoñez is the newly crowned Miss Universe Honduras.  Pictured here dining, sponsored by the Jungle Cafe, and RE/MAX Real Estate In Utila.

Held here in Utila, Honduras, the pageant transformed this beautiful island into a showcase of Honduras and gorgeous women.  Although bikini-clad women are not an uncommon site here, where the scuba diving is incredible, safe and extremely affordable, seeing women in high heels and bikinis is uncommon!

Congratulations to Miss Comayagua who will represent Honduras for the 63rd Miss Universe pageant!

 

 

Miss Universe Honduras at the Jungle Cafe

Miss Universe Honduras and RE/MAX

Last night the beautiful girls from Miss Universe Honduras came to dine at the Jungle Cafe, sponsored in part by RE/MAX Real Estate In Utila.  The restaurant was packed!

Miss Logen Bush was there representing Utila!

       

Do you want to see the candidates yourself?  Check out this YouTube video from Avitec, who are doing a fantastic job of videoing it all!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5rTpKN8Lqw&index=3&list=UUAkAqKs_QKKbsixRW_-PwKA&hd=1

And the anticipation grows!

Thanks to the Utila Chamber of Tourism, Utila Fight Like a Girl and Ryan for making this happen!  Thanks to Tanisha Bush for the great photos!  More photos to come…

Miss Honduras Universe Pageant in Utila

Miss Universe Honduras 2013

18 beautiful contestants from all over Honduras, including Miss Logan from Utila, Bay Islands, will be competing this Saturday at the Miss Honduras Universe Pageant.  The winner from this pageant will go on to compete in Miss Universe this year in Venezuela.

According to Wikipedia, Honduras has competed in the Miss Universe since 1954, still yet to be crowned as Miss Universe.

Here is last year’s Miss Universo Honduras 2013 at the pageant in Moscow, Russia.

Who will be your choice to win Miss Universe Honduras 2014? Come out Thursday night to the Jungle Cafe where RE/MAX and the Jungle Cafe are sponsoring a dinner with the 18 contestants.

Meet them and choose your favorite to win for the pageant right here in Utila, Honduras!

This year’s winner will compete in the Miss Universe Pageant in Brazil, in a city to be named?!

        

 

Who will not be competing in this year’s Miss Universe is Weluree Ditsayabutt of Thailand.  She won Miss Universe Thailand 2014, but according to Wikipedia, she resigned after calling for supporters to execute the Prime Minister!  The 1st runner-up Pimbongkod Chankaew will replace her in Brasil.

Stay tuned! We’ll post photos from dinner soon!

Watch this great video showcasing Utila:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9W6QAbpfRQ#t=113

Honduras – The World’s Best Kept Secret

This is where my carpentry class is…

Thanks to the U.S. and other media that pronounce Honduras as “extremely dangerous”!  Why am I thanking them?  And what does that mean for you?

I’m thanking them because it means that from a real estate perspective, properties are still low as the masses are slow to become aware of this wonderful little country Honduras, but even more so, insulated from it all by the beautiful hues of blue ocean, are the Bay Islands, and most of all Utila – The Cinderella of the Caribbean.

Utila really is a little gem.  Even Pam Grout, author of National Geographics 100 Best Volunteer Countries, agrees in her post here, as she warns Costa Rica to watch out for Honduras as she rises and shines!   http://www.huffingtonpost.com/pam-grout/costa-rica-better-watch-y_b_3254132.html

How’s that good for you?  It means that real estate prices are under-valued as people are just discovering Honduras, regardless of all the negative publicity.  Look at this pic!  This is where my carpentry classes are… right in front of the ocean… the breeze off the ocean blows all the sawdust away, and soon I will have my very first, self-made (with a lot of help from my awesome teacher D), beach -chair.  I’m probably one session away from posting the finished product!

Imagine if there were no explorers?  How would Paradise ever have been found?  Be adventurous.  Give Utila a try!  You won’t be sorry!

Top 30 Things I Love About Utila, Honduras

This post started out as the top ten things I love about Utila.  But I couldn’t stop.  It turned to 40, and then I cut some out to save them for later…  I only have 100 more I think. 1)  You can go for a jog and almost everyone will greet you (not just other runners) 2)  You can jog year-round. 3)  If you’re pregnant, you go to the front of the line at the bank. 4)  If you’re over 55, you can go to the front of the line at the bank. 5)  There are squid. 6)  Elderly are treated with respect. 7)  I can snorkel with dolphins. 8)  Utilians have this awesome accent. 9)  I can look out my window as I type this and see hummingbirds every day. 10)  I can go diving every day. 11)  I can go snorkeling every day. 12)  My kids are great free divers. 13)  My kids can name most of the marine life they see underwater. 14)  Kids play in the streets. 15)  Kids walk in the streets unaccompanied. 16)  There are pelicans. 17)  I can be at the beach in a minute. 18)  I learned to drive with 5 people on a moto. 19)  My kids speak Utilian. 20)  I can get about 20 foods/herbs/fruits off my trees. 21)  The sea is turquoise blue and green. 22)  At the beach they play spanish ranchero music. 23)  Local kids bathe in the sea in their clothes. 24)  There are no poisonous snakes on Utila. 25)  There are snakes on Utila. 26)  We have tarantulas. 27)  Regardless of what the weather reports say, it’s pretty much sunny EVERY DAY!!! 28)  Clothes are cheap. $5 for a t-shirt. 29)  When I look out my 2nd story office window I see green. 30)  I can see the mountains of La Ceiba and Pico Bonito on a clear day. I could go on and on.  But another day.  I should get to work!