LONDON, England, Friday July 10, 2015 – Demand for regional real estate has doubled during the first six months of 2015, compared to the same period last year, according to Caribbean independent luxury property specialist 7th Heaven Properties.
Analysis of enquiries received via the 7th Heaven Properties website and the company’s magazine, The Caribbean Property Investor, indicates that interest in residential and commercial real estate in the Caribbean increased dramatically across all price brackets.
There was a particularly high increase in enquiries for residential real estate in St. Kitts and Nevis, Turks and Caicos Islands, Antigua and the Dominican Republic/
St. Lucia and Jamaica also saw notable increases in enquiries for commercial real estate, including hotels for sale and land for development.
The majority of the enquiries originate from the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom with enquiries from American and Canadian buyers more than doubling, and enquiries from British buyers up over 30 per cent.
Managing Director of the London-based 7th Heaven Properties, Walter Zephirin, said the increases came as economic growth in the US, Canada and the UK stimulated buyer confidence.
“Growth in demand for Caribbean property has been underpinned by the impressive performance of the region’s tourism sector, particularly in locations such as the Dominican Republic and the Turks and Caicos Islands, and the continued success of highly attractive Citizenship by Investment Programs in St. Kitts and Nevis and Antigua,” he added.
“The outlook for the second half of 2015 is extremely promising with a strong sales pipeline. A succession of announcements on increasing airlift to the region and major resort developments linked to Robert de Niro in Antigua and Barbuda and Leonardo DiCaprio in Belize, as well as the first licensed casino in Jamaica, have boosted the Caribbean’s profile and enhanced its accessibility and appeal to buyers.”
According to 7th Heaven Properties, which lists residential and commercial property for sale in over 30 Caribbean territories, enquiries for properties priced from US$1 million to US$2 million more than doubled and the proportion of enquiries for properties priced below US$1 million increased from 39 per cent to 44 per cent.