The housing market in the Caribbean islands region is heating up as interest surges from investors and homebuyers looking to buy real estate in tropical climates.
In late 2020, as winter set in and the global COVID-19 pandemic continued, homebuyers sought property in regions with warm weather, privacy and low rates of COVID, according to Mansion Global. For many affluent buyers, real estate in the Caribbean was ideal.
“We've seen a significant increase in the number of people looking to relocate here permanently, Sue Nickason, vice president of real estate marketing at Provenance Properties, the Cayman Islands affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate, told Mansion Global. “People are looking to buy property as a vacation home, but also as a future place of refuge should there be a second wave [of the coronavirus] or something else catastrophic in the world that makes them want to retreat to a place like Cayman.”
Buyers can not only buy property in the Caribbean, many islands also offer citizenship-by-investment programs, which allow individuals to legally obtain a new nationality and passport. Countries that provide these programs do so to attract foreign investment, such as real estate or business, in return for citizenship.
Caribbean countries that provide a citizenship by investment program include Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis and St. Lucia. Each has a required minimal capital investment and specific key benefits for each country, according to Henley & Partners.
“We’ve seen an uptick in purchases since the pandemic, from people looking for an escape from big cities,” Neal Sroka, founder of Sroka Worldwide, a consulting firm for high-end international real estate, told Mansion Global. “They do buy without visiting, provided they know the product, so it’s much easier to sell on a branded hotel basis rather than individual homes.”
COVID-19 caused a surge in interest, but the Caribbean’s glamorous appeal was already well known to investors and real estate seekers.
“It’s a region of huge diversity and beauty,” Rick Moeser, executive director, Christie’s International Real Estate told Christie's Real Estate. “It is easily accessible, very well served by many public airports and private jet terminals, and offers seclusion and privacy. Each island has its own character, history and flavor. Sure, you’ll find gorgeous beaches and landscapes, and incredible tax incentives wherever you go, but the differences between the islands outnumber the similarities.”
As tourism begins to open up, investments in Caribbean real estate has the potential to grow significantly.
The Caribbean basin spans from the Bahamas in the north, to Trinidad and Tobago in the south, approximately 1,500 miles, and also west to Central American countries that border the Caribbean Sea, 7th Heaven Properties reported.