This is a do-over post from a few years ago, updated to reflect what's going on with Guam's real estate market today. Lots of things have changed since last time, so I thought it's time to put out some new information.

I was just reading over the latest issue of "Casa Guam" magazine. I'm it comes out monthly and is free to anyone that sees a pile of them laying around. For the most part, it's really just an advertisement vehicle for real estate agents, with agent pictures splattered over most of the pages. I've never seen any great value in that, but maybe that's it's better to go public with those kinds of opinions in my by invitation only private blog.

Sales have been on their way up for a little while now. Home prices have increased over the past few years at a descent rate. In 2/2011, the last time I confronted this subject, average price for a single family home were about $210K. This year, to date, they're sitting at $258K. Condos have increased from an average of $187k to $210k as of 8/2014. That's pretty solid growth.

Rental prices haven't increased much, because the military allowances paid to Guam's active duty population hasn't increased. However, homes in Paradise Estates have become harder and harder to find, so owners are often getting a few dollars more for their units.

So what about those of us who pay our own rent?

Falling into this category myself, I know my way around the topic a little.

A lot of people write asking about more affordable properties. There are plenty to choose from, but they just don't get the press the way the new & shiny places do. There are plenty of places for rent in the vicinity of $1000 per month, but they're getting harder to find because of the demand. You just have to realize, especially if you're coming from the mainland U.S., that standards and living conditions here are different. That's not to say that they're bad, it just means they're different. I've been here for 11 years now and I don't think I'll ever leave. Things are smaller, most places don't have kholer faucets and fancy landscaping.

My solution to the high cost of rent is still to buy. Even if it's an inexpensive place. I don't recommend anyone that's only going to be here for a year or two get into the high end market unless you need a tax deduction, we normally would recommend buying for someone that's going to be here for at least three years. I could rent a place for $1400, or pay my $1000 mortgage and $250 HOA dues every month and get at least some of my money back when I sell. This is precisely what I just did. We recently sold our condo that we lived in for 6 years. In my case I didn't get all my money back mostly due to circumstance. But I got most of it back, plenty to make a down payment on our new home.

So if you're planning to buy a home, or simply need a place to rent, visit guamrentals.com and find hundreds of houses, apartments and condo that fits your budget and family's needs. We can even help you settle in free of charge!