
At the low end, a small, one-bedroom condo in Ambergris Caye can cost US $100,000 to $135,000. Depending on the condo’s location, single bedroom luxury condos for a single bedroom, cost up to $200,000. A condo with two bedrooms and two bathrooms will run from $250,000 to $500,000. There are some beachfront luxury condominiums that will be $485,000 to $490,000 with two bedrooms and two bathrooms. Off the waterfront, you will be looking at $100,000 to $150,000 for a one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment.
The prices for houses very much depend on whether they are on the water or off the water. If it’s off the water, a house will be around $175,000 to $250,000. On the water, you can find houses that go all the way up to $2 million to $3 million.
Typically, the houses in the $175,000 to $250,000 range are small - around 1,000 to 1,500 square feet with two bedrooms and one bathroom or two bedrooms and two bathrooms, and are off the water. You don’t have communities of homes on the water so you will be on the “local market” segment for that.
There is no real zoning on the island. The only thing you will find typical of zoning will be within a development. You might find some houses next to more local, older, wooden structures that are a little bit older. You may find a golf cart repair place next to a couple of residential houses. So when you are talking about the local market, you are talking about the places where the people live who are supporting the tourism industry, which are in the less desirable areas.
Ambergris Caye has two sides. The east side of the island faces the barrier reef, which has the higher prices. The west side of the island faces the lagoon. As the east side fills up and becomes less available, you will start to see a revival of the west side of the island, which is where, now, you will find some of the more local communities with houses in the $175,000 to $250,000 range.
If you want a nice 2,000 square foot house, with three bedrooms, and two bathrooms on the water, it will be in the $450,000 range. Off the water, you are going to be looking at $200,000 and up.
(The Belize Barrier Reef off Ambergris Caye, Belize, pictured.)