House Hunting in ... Aruba (Published 2016) (2024)

A FIVE-BEDROOM VILLA ON THE CARIBBEAN SEA IN ARUBA

$1.46 MILLION

This white-painted concrete villa with a new Spanish tile roof is just a few carved-rock steps from the Caribbean Sea on the northwest coast of Aruba. Built in the 1960s, the 5,382-square-foot home, which has five bedrooms and four bathrooms, including a self-contained staff unit, sits on about a quarter-acre of land near a sandy beach as well.

The front doors of the two-story villa are on a raised veranda under an imposing wooden balcony. They open to a large, airy living and dining area, with off-white travertine tile floors and wooden plank ceilings. To the left is the kitchen, with a built-in island, quartz countertops, wooden cabinets and a professional-grade oven. A doorway from the kitchen leads to the staff quarters, with a bedroom, a renovated bathroom, a kitchenette and a separate entrance.

Adjacent to the dining area is a guest bedroom with a full wall of closets and an en-suite bathroom. Off the living area are two guest bedrooms that share a bathroom. A wooden staircase ascends to the full-floor master bedroom with high wooden ceilings, a sitting area with a large flat-screen television, an en-suite bathroom, a walk-in closet and a private balcony overlooking the sea. The villa’s furniture, including ornate four-poster beds, is part of the asking price.

The first-floor living area opens to a covered back terrace, said Garrick Hasham, an agent with Aruba Sotheby’s International Realty, who has the listing. The villa, surrounded by flowering tropical plants with an automatic irrigation system, has air-conditioners recently added in each room, and a commercial-grade washer and dryer in an outbuilding. Two other outbuildings are used for storage, but could be converted into a one-bedroom apartment, Mr. Hasham said. The villa, which accommodates three cars, has a security system.

The home is in the upscale Malmok neighborhood in the town of Noord, with the nearest grocery about five minutes away by car and Boca Catalina beach, renowned for its snorkeling, a three-minute walk away, Mr. Hasham said. The area abounds with activities, including horseback riding, water sports and sky diving, as well as boutiques, casinos and night spots. There is also a 18-hole golf course at Tierra del Sol, a resort with a spa, a restaurant and tennis courts. The Aeropuerto Internacional Reina Beatrix, just outside Aruba’s capital, Oranjestad, is about a 20- to 25-minute drive, he said.

Market Overview

Aruba, one of the few Caribbean islands generally considered outside the hurricane belt, has struggled to recover from the global real estate crisis of 2008, when home prices fell anywhere from 15 percent to 40 percent, though there have been some gains in recent years, agents said.

“The market was doing very well until this year,” Mr. Hasham said. “The real estate market has slowed down in 2016, and we’ve noticed it at all the real estate offices on the islands,” which also include nearby Bonaire and Curaçao.

Compounding problems have been an ongoing recession in neighboring Venezuela; a loss of value in the Canadian dollar; and the recent presidential election in the United States, which has prompted potential home buyers to hesitate, agents said. Those three countries supply the bulk of foreign home buyers in Aruba, they said.

“The market has been better in recent years, but not much better,” said Muna Habash of MPG Aruba Real Estate.

Aruba is “very much a buyers’ market now,” said Walter Zephirin of Seventh Heaven Properties. The average price per square foot in Aruba is roughly half that of luxury destinations such as Anguilla or Turks and Caicos, he said.

The typical second or vacation home would range in price between $250,000 to $600,000, agents said. However, in wealthier areas, such as Malmok and Tierra del Sol, properties can range from $950,000 for an oceanview lot up to about $9 million for beachfront properties, Mr. Hasham said.

The northern end of the island is the most popular with foreign home buyers, including Malmok, Noord, Palm Beach and Eagle Beach, where some new condominium projects are in the works, Mr. Zephirin said.

Who Buys in Aruba

North Americans are the largest group of foreign home buyers in Aruba, followed by Venezuelan investors. Aruba, though a part of the Netherlands, has relatively few Dutch buyers, agents said.

Buying Basics

Most of the privately owned homes in Aruba are on land leased from the government, agents said. The leases typically last 60 years, with homeowners paying an annual leasing fee. The lease for this home expires in 2032. Most leases are renewed at their expiration, according to agents.

Notaries handle all property sales, charging between 1.5 percent and 2 percent on luxury properties, Ms. Habash said. Transfer tax is typically 6 percent of the sales price on higher-priced properties, she said. The broker commission, usually around 5 percent, is typically paid by the seller.

Mortgages are available to foreign buyers, but most of them pay in cash as local banks typically have higher interest rates of about 7 percent to 8 percent, agents said.

Taxes and Fees

The annual land-lease fee on this property is about $900; property taxes are roughly an additional $5,100 a year.

Contact

Garrick Hasham, Aruba Sotheby’s International Realty; 297-586-1010; sir-abcislands.com