by Sabrina Salas Matanane

Guam - The average price for a single family home is becoming increasingly unaffordable. One of the major findings of the Captain Real Estate Group, which tracks trends in the local industry is that the median cost for a single family home is about $260,000 - that's about 53% higher than the national average of $170,000.

The company is also seeing a drastic drop in units being sold, the slowest pace in eight years. Stricter lending guidelines are one factor contributing to what could be Guam's first major housing crisis in 20 years as federal regulators have proposed rules that will likely boost interest rates and fees on many low downpayment loans.

The company also finds that families looking to enter Guam's homeownership market have been recently hit by massive utility connection fees and increasing utility costs, further eroding the ability to pay mortgage costs.