Thumbing through the latest edition of "Casa Guam" Magazine I saw some statistics that I thought I'd share.

Seems that this year, to date, the average cost of a single family rental on Guam is just under $2100 per month. Condos are a bit cheaper averaging out at around $1300 per month. For buyers, averages are about $288k and $147k, respectively.

Since I think the majority of people moving here from other parts of the world are planning to rent first, I 'll focus a bit on the rental market in this post.

The rental market on Guam is largely, if not totally, controlled by the U.S. Military Overseas Housing Allowance or "OHA." Military members receive, in addition to their base pay, between $1900 and $2450 per month, with the most senior ranks just a bit higher. So the rental market, particularly the more desirable properties, tend to track along with the current OHA rates. It's roughly estimated that ½ of the 11,000+ military personnel live off base, so the rental market here is quite big, and many landlords cater specifically to the military.

So that leaves a big gap between military and non-military renters. Very few people can afford (or would want) to pay $2,000+ for rent if it's coming out of their pocket. So what's the alternative?

My suggestion is to strongly considering buying if you're in a position to do so. Even if you have to make some compromises. There's a big demand in the affordable housing market. Purchasing something in the "average" range shouldn't pose to many issues when it comes time to sell it or rent it out. In fact, there's probably more room for growth in this area of the housing market, since the more expensive homes can't really get much more expensive than they are.