Prime Caribbean property continues to see strong demand

While property in the Caribbean
has not been immune to the global downturn, there are signs that the real
estate market in the region is recovering. Demand for prime residential units
on the Caribbean’s most popular islands remains strong, particularly with
overseas buyers.

We look at a recent report into
the state of the Caribbean property market.

Barbados and the Cayman Islands remain popular with overseas property
buyers

Knight Frank’s latest Caribbean
property insight report says: “Prime prices have fallen by 10% to 20% since the
financial crisis but the rate of decline is slowing and we expect some markets
to experience price growth in 2013.”

Barbados has long been one of the
most popular Caribbean islands and the report found that demand for homes rose
in 2012, particularly from British, Italian and Canadian buyers. Prime property
prices on the island fell by around 5 per cent in 2012 although waterfront
homes remain in high demand thanks to the limited supply.

“Many of the enquiries we receive
relate to Barbados which remains incredibly popular with British and other
overseas buyers,” says Nick Marr, director of international real estate website
Homes Go Fast. “It’s a beautiful island with some fantastic beaches and great
surfing and so it’s no surprise that people want to own a home here.”

Grand Cayman, Barbados and St
Barts saw the largest year on year rise in online property searches in the
final quarter of 2012, according to the Knight Frank report. Around 85 per cent
of property buyers in the Cayman Islands are from overseas with most activity
confined to Grand Cayman.

The report concluded that: “The
combined effect of globalisation and the climate of austerity has led many
wealthy investors to seek out the world’s best properties in the world’s best
locations, in particular those that offer the most tax efficient environment
and lowest transactional costs.

“The Caribbean ticks all these
boxes, and generally enjoys a backdrop of political stability, legal
transparency, as well as increasing accessibility.”

Author:

Nick
Marr