Jeffrey Epstein’s Caribbean Islands Now Available For $76.5 Million Each
Buyers can still purchase Great St. James and Little St. James together for around a discounted $153 million
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Jeffrey Epstein’s estate is cutting the price of two private Caribbean islands that were owned by the late disgraced financier, according to one of the listing agents.
The islands, known as Great St. James and Little St. James, were first listed as a pair for $125 million in March. They will now be available separately for $76.5 million apiece, representing a 12% reduction in the overall ask, one of the listing agents said. If a buyer wanted to purchase both, they could still do so for a combined $153 million.
Located in the U.S. Virgin Islands, the properties are among the final pieces of Epstein’s sprawling international property portfolio, portions of which have already sold for large sums.
The estate sold Epstein’s Upper East Side Manhattan mansion for $71 million in March 2021, and his Palm Beach home for $25.7 million in March 2021, The Wall Street Journal reported. The Palm Beach home has since been torn down.
Adam Modlin of Modlin Group, one of the agents marketing the islands, said that several potential buyers have expressed interest in the properties, but that there was more interest in them individually than as a pair.
Great St. James, located across the bay from St. Thomas, spans more than 160 acres and has only a small collection of structures as well as a marine preserve known as Christmas Cove, listing materials show.
Little St. James has over 70 acres, a helipad, a private dock, a gas station, two pools, a main residential compound, four guest villas, three private beaches, a gym and a tiki hut.
Epstein, who died in an apparent suicide at a New York detention centre in 2019, was accused by Virgin Islands prosecutors in 2020 of bringing girls as young as 11 to the islands and sexually assaulting them.
Daniel Weiner, an attorney for the Epstein estate, said proceeds from the sale of the islands will go to resolving outstanding lawsuits and the costs of the estate’s operations and will be subject to tax authorities, creditors and other claimants, including liens placed on the properties by U.S. Virgin Islands Attorney General Denise George.
Mr. Modlin is marketing the properties with Bespoke Real Estate and in partnership with a local Virgin Islands firm, Christie’s International Real Estate the Saints.
Epstein’s other remaining properties include a ranch in Santa Fe, N.M., which is listed for $38.3 million.
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Ray White’s chief economist outlines her predictions for housing market trends in 2024
2 min
Ray White’s chief economist, Nerida Conisbee says property price growth will continue next year and mortgage holders will need to “survive until 2025” amid expectations of higher interest rates for longer.
Ms Conisbee said strong population growth and a housing supply shortage combatted the impact of rising interest rates in 2023, leading to unusually strong price growth during a rate hiking cycle. The latest CoreLogic data shows home values have increased by more than 10 percent in the year to date in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth. Among the regional markets, price growth has been strongest in regional South Australia with 8.6 percent growth and regional Queensland at 6.9 percent growth.
“As interest rates head close to peak, it is expected that price growth will continue. At this point, housing supply remains extremely low and many people that would be new home buyers are being pushed into the established market,” Ms Conisbee said. “Big jumps in rents are pushing more first home buyers into the market and population growth is continuing to be strong.”
Ms Conisbee said interest rates will be higher for longer due to sticky inflation. “… we are unlikely to see a rate cut until late 2024 or early 2025. This means mortgage holders need to survive until 2025, paying far more on their home loans than they did two years ago.”
Buyers in coastal areas currently have a window of opportunity to take advantage of softer prices, Ms Conisbee said. “Look out for beach house bargains over summer but you need to move quick. In many beachside holiday destinations, we saw a sharp rise in properties for sale and a corresponding fall in prices. This was driven by many pandemic driven holiday home purchases coming back on to the market.”
3 key housing market trends for 2024
Here are three of Ms Conisbee’s predictions for the key housing market trends of 2024.
Luxury apartment market to soar
Ms Conisbee said the types of apartments being built have changed dramatically amid more people choosing to live in apartments longer-term and Australia’s ageing population downsizing. “Demand is increasing for much larger, higher quality, more expensive developments. This has resulted in the most expensive apartments in Australia seeing price increases more than double those of an average priced apartment. This year, fewer apartments being built, growing population and a desire to live in some of Australia’s most sought-after inner urban areas will lead to a boom in luxury apartment demand.”
Homes to become even greener
The rising costs of energy and the health impacts of heat are two new factors driving interest in green homes, Ms Conisbee said. “Having a greener home utilising solar and batteries makes it cheaper to run air conditioning, heaters and pool pumps. We are heading into a particularly hot summer and having homes that are difficult to cool down makes them far more dangerous for the elderly and very young.”
More people living alone
For some time now, long-term social changes such as delayed marriage and an ageing population have led to more people living alone. However, Ms Conisbee points out that the pandemic also showed that many people prefer to live alone for lifestyle reasons. “Shorter term, the pandemic has shown that given the chance, many people prefer to live alone with a record increase in single-person households during the time. This trend may influence housing preferences, with a potential rise in demand for smaller dwellings and properties catering to individuals rather than traditional family units.”
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