Coffee, Tea, & Listings: Your New Favorite Way to Start the Week

Coffee, Tea, & Listings: Your New Favorite Way to Start the Week

Coffee, Tea, & Listings: Your New Favorite Way to Start the Week

There’s a whole lot of different here on St. Croix — and that includes how we tell you about listings that caught our eye. We invite you to pull up a chair, pour something warm, and hang out with us for a few minutes on Coffee, Tea, & Listings.

If you haven’t caught one yet, here’s the gist: we’ve been “pulling good together” on this island since 2002 and running our business together every single day since, and now we sit down with our mugs (coffee for one of us, tea for the other, we’ll let you guess who’s who) and walk you through what’s new, what’s sold, and what’s simply too pretty not to share. It’s part market update, part island love letter, and part “you’re basically hanging out with your favorite neighbors who happen to know everything about real estate.” And on a good number of episodes, we’ve got a very chill co-host: our cat Percy, who has never once cared about square footage but absolutely cares about knocking things off the table just out of frame.

We’ve spent two decades building our reputation as the Powers Behind Real Estate here, and our newsletter has always leaned into photos, videos, and topics we genuinely find interesting. Coffee, Tea, & Listings is that same spirit, just shrunk down to fit in your pocket. You get a mention of a waterfront lot deal or a beachfront condo view, sure — but you also get us, being ourselves (and occasionally being upstaged by a cat).

Where to Find Us

You don’t need a Crucian mailing address to enjoy the show. We post Coffee, Tea, & Listings on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Give us a few minutes of your scroll time, and suddenly you’ll know more about St. Croix real estate than most people who’ve lived here twice as long.

Fair warning: watching enough episodes may result in an unshakable urge to check flight prices to St. Croix, google “gently sloping waterfront lot,” and start a Pinterest board titled “Someday.” This is a known side effect. We cannot be held responsible for your sudden and passionate interest in Buck Island views (or for wanting a cat exactly like Percy).

The Best Part? You Can Actually Talk to Us

Here’s what we love most about this whole thing: we mean it when we say we want to hear from you. Got a question about that condo from Monday’s video? Curious what “Crucian rescue animal” energy our office runs on (spoiler: a lot of dogs and cats, Percy included)? Wondering if that waterfront lot with the John Hix architectural plans is still available? Send it our way. We answer real questions from real people, no velvet rope required — whether it’s about the listing of the week or something else entirely that’s caught your eye on St. Croix.

So next time one of our videos pops up on your For You page, don’t just scroll past. Hit follow, stick around for the coffee (or tea, or the occasional cat cameo), and if a listing catches your eye, reach out. Worst case, you get a friendly, knowledgeable answer. Best case, you’re sipping your own coffee on your own sea-view patio a few months from now, wondering why you waited so long.

Follow along: TikTok Facebook · Instagram · YouTube

Have a question about a listing? Reach out to us — we’d love to hear from you.

 

 

Simple things to do for better curb appeal which will attract potential buyers

Simple things to do for better curb appeal which will attract potential buyers

Want to sell a home?

A common question we get is what are some simple things to do for better curb appeal which will attract potential buyers?

First impressions matter.

Here are some ideas for simple changes:

  • Exterior: A fresh coat of paint on the exterior and front door can make a big difference. Ensure the lawn is tidy, landscaping is well-maintained, and the walkway is clear and inviting. Adding colorful or blooming plants may also be a good idea.
  • Lighting: Ensure exterior lighting is attractive, functional and in good condition.
  • Entryway: The front door should be clean and in good working order. Consider upgrading hardware like the doorknob and lock if they’re tarnished or not working smoothly. Sometimes painting the front door gives a pop of color.

If you’re thinking about selling your home, please contact us. We’d love to talk with you and show you some of our listings so that you can imagine how we would represent and market your island home.

Want to know more about selling your island home? Check out our newsletter on this topic here.

St Croix Real Estate Market Reports (December 2024)

St Croix Real Estate Market Reports (December 2024)

If you are considering listing your property on St Croix, here is December 2024 sales data, inventory, and days on market for the St. Croix, USVI real estate market. Download our newest Coldwell Banker real estate market reports. There is a report for each category: Homes & Condos, Condos, Homes, and Land!

Not familiar with with the implications of the data? Please give us a call or email us directly with any questions. We are Accredited Buyer’s Representative (ABR) and Seller Representative Specialist (SRS). (Meaning, we have the experience and local knowledge to help you in every step of the process!) We can help you narrow down neighborhoods based on your priorities. We can also advise you on the market trends in your desired neighborhoods.

Open real estate market reports by clicking on links below:

Homes & Condos – December 2024 Report

Homes – December 2024 Report

Condo – December 2024 Report

Land – December 2024 Report

Note: The average sales price and the average days on market could be skewed greatly by only one sale or because of the small number of sales

Home Selling Q&A: What Makes an Attractive Listing?

Home Selling Q&A: What Makes an Attractive Listing?

Question: “What makes an attractive listing?”

Christie’s Answer:

Some of the sale listings we see on MLS (Multiple Listing Service) surprise us and NOT in a good way! The photos show the owners’ personal items on the counters or all over the bedrooms, photos are taken vertically instead of horizontally so that less of the rooms are visible, the lighting is poor, the descriptions are uninteresting, the skies are grey, or there are no walkthrough videos or drone videos and photography. Properties are sometimes even mapped incorrectly. We have seen some mapped off-shore in the Caribbean Sea!

In our listings, we take time creating them so that they are accurate, descriptive, and attractive. We have crisp clear photos with most of the personal items removed or hidden, videos to show the property (sometimes including a self-guided 3-D tour), and include any helpful documents such as maps, surveys or plot maps, list of improvements, rules and regulations, and floor plans.

We have sold properties to off island buyers sight unseen, which makes us a little nervous. If the listing has poor photos, or if there’s something our Buyers particularly want to see, we take those photos or videos. Once a Buyer asked for close-up photos of all of the plumbing fixtures. One house was on a rough road, so we took a driving video. We have done FaceTime calls to walk through the property with Buyers answering their questions as we went. The first time they actually saw the house was after it had closed and we handed them the keys!

Contact us with any questions about real estate on St. Croix!

First published on our March 2024 Newsletter