*****THE UNITS LISTED DISCUSSED IN THIS ARTICLE ARE NOT FOR SALE****

ST. MAARTEN RESORT CONDOMINIUM MARKET COMPARABLES

For those of you who are not familiar with St.Maarten, let me just give you some details of this wonderful island located in the Caribbean.

The island itself is 37 miles long. It is actually half French and half Dutch.
Dutch St.Maarten is a owned by the Netherlands and the French St.Maartin is own by the French.

Dutch is the official language of St. Maarten and French of St. Martin, but you'll hear English spoken everywhere. Street signs on the Dutch side are all in English, and it's easy to make your way around guided by signs all over the Island. During your stay, you'll also hear Papiamento — spoken dominantly on Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao — and other languages such as Spanish, Creole Patois, Italian and German.

Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA) is the airport of St. Maarten.
Because of its geographical location, the island plays a strategic role in the development of neighboring islands Saba, St. Eustatius (also Netherlands Antilles territories), Anguilla and St. Barth´s.

Today PJIA is the second busiest airport in the North Eastern Caribbean, in terms of aircraft movement, behind San Juan, Puerto Rico. PJIA is the single most important strategic asset of St.Maarten. Serving direct flight to the U.S., South America and Europe.

Dutch St.Maarten has no capital gains tax. Dutch St. Maarten has no property tax

In other words this is a duty free port.


Now to give you a brief history on how I ended up 5000 miles away from home. I came here on a vacation some time ago and simply fell in love with the place, but the main reason was due to the emerging real estate market down here. St. Maarten is experiencing a real estate market surge that will only increase over time. This extremely high demand for countless types of real estate on the island ensures that the value of real estate will only keep rising in the future.

Now the following is a report on 3 projects on Dutch St.Maarten, now you may be asking yourself, why do I only talk about Dutch St.Maarten and that answer is simple. DUTY FREE/NO CAPITAL GAIN TAX/NO REAL ETATE TAX.

The resort condominium market in St. Maarten has been very strong for the past 18 months. In this market review we will present information regarding three (3) major projects currently under development on the Dutch side of
the island. A brief synopsis of each project follows.

1. The Rainbow Beach Club
The Rainbow is a beachfront condominium project located on a 4-acre parcel on Cupecoy Beach. The projects 1st phase contains 66 units, scheduled for completion in December 2006 with a
2nd phase of development containing 90 additional units scheduled for delivery at the end of 2006. The units vary in size from 1,200sf to over 2,000sf and are price between $325,000 and $950,000. The 1st phase is sold out with only waiting list positions available with a $10,000 deposit. The 2nd phase is in pre-sales. See the Rainbow website for more information: .

2. The Cliff
The Cliff is an upscale 11-floor high-rise condominium development containing a total of 70 ocean view units located on 2.5 acres, immediately adjacent to the Rainbow. The project offers primarily 2 and 3 bedroom units, but features several 4 bedroom and luxury penthouse units, as well. The Cliffs offers underground parking (apparently required due to the small parcel). It will be amentitized with a pool and a tennis court. The project has pre-sold and is now over 80% sold out. Unit pricing started at $495,000 for 2 bedroom units. One year later the few remaining 2 bedroom units are now selling for over
$600,000. The 3 bedroom units sold well in the $700s. The 4 bedroom and penthouse units priced between $1,000,000 and $2,000,000 are selling, but at a slower pace. Construction is scheduled for completion at the end of September 2006. See The Cliffs website for more information: . NOTE: At time of article, there are only 4 penthouse units left.

3. AquaMarina
AquaMarina is an 88-unit waterfront development located at Pointe Pirouette in the Dutch lowlands. The project consists of 2 high-rise apartment buildings containing 69 apartments (1,BR, 2BR, 3BR & penthouse units) and 6 duplex villas and 13 detached villas with a 58-slip marina. The detached villas are located nearest to the water. Landscaping is now underway and the project is slated for final completion in October 2005.
Unit prices vary from the mid $400,000’s through $1,650,000, with remaining 2bedroom apartments priced between $490,000 and $550,000. The project is currently 87% sold out, with 60 or 69 high rise units sold and 22
of 25 villas sold. See the AquaMarina website for more information: .


Other Projects - In addition to the projects cited above there are numerous other condominium projects of various sizes currently under construction in St. Maarten which are experiencing great success with unit pre-sales. Notable among these are the Simpson Bay Yacht Club expansion and the Palm Beach Condominiums project (21 of 24 units sold), Orient Express (5 Star Resort, Westin Hotel (5 Star Resort) among many others.

Now ask yourself this, what do the above mentioned projects all have in common. Well for one they are all located on the Dutch Side. Second: They all have the potential to offer a great return on investment.. And Three: They keep getting better and better and better.

SUMMARY:
Due largely to strong market demand from the United States and Europe the real estate market in St. Maarten is very robust. The influx of “second-home buyers” is fueling this market and if the demographic studies are correct this trend will continue for the balance of the decade and beyond. There currently exists an outstanding business opportunity to develop an ocean-front resort / condominium project on Dutch St. Maarten or French St. Maartin.

For more information on the development opportunities or great pre-construction value feel free to contact me via email, phone or even parcel

Best Regard and Hope you found this info valuable