If you’ve always hankered after a home in the Caribbean, take heart. White-sand bays and palms can be yours for less than an apartment in the Med.
Adventurous investors might take a punt on emerging markets like Dominican Republic, Aruba and Jamaica for some of the best value for money in this region. But if a little slice of luxury is more your style, glamorous tax havens such as the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands are now open to negotiations.
“The recession has taken all the easy money off the table,” says George Damianos, President of Damianos Sotheby’s International Realty in the Bahamas. “Like everywhere else, prices were ahead of value. Now sellers have become more realistic and buyers, though cautious, are taking advantage.”
If you can bag a deal, the Bahamas is an attractive option with good infrastructure, a stable government and banking system, and a currency pegged at parity to the US dollar. Florida is just a 50-mile hop, so there’s potential for high rental yields, and if you fancy permanent residency, buyers that spend over $500,000 on a home can fast-track their application.
Typically, prices remain high in developed tourist spots like New Providence and Grand Bahama, but there are deals to be found elsewhere. If your budget is around the £150,000 mark, explore the calmer ‘Out Islands’, also known as the Family Isles. Among the largest are Exuma, Eleuthera and Abaco.
For value, Damianos recommends: “Try Eleuthera, with its miles of beautiful deserted beaches, small towns and friendly people, and a tiny island to the north called Spanish Wells. Also the Abaco Cays, such as Hope Town and Guana Cay: islands with small communities. These are old Loyalist settlements only accessible by ferry.”
If the cays sound too remote, check out plans for the mixed harbour development on Great Abaco called Schooner Bay, currently offering lots from $105,000. Said to set the benchmark for future development of the island, Schooner Bay promises a more environmentally sensitive approach than has generally been seen in the Bahamas...
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