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Investment Property in Caribbean

The Caribbean – Investment Guide

The Caribbean has long been a major player in the world of luxury tourism.  Due to its great diversity spanning some 7,000 different islands and reefs, the Caribbean arguably has something to offer all types of investors, whatever their budgets. 

Multi-million dollar options can be purchased in Barbados while highly affordable alternatives on other islands such as Turks & Caicos and Isla Margarita suit a different type of investor eager also to benefit from the off-shore tax haven status and duty-free shopping paradises such locations have to offer.

With a fantastic, sunny climate and dream-like beaches, property in The Caribbean satisfies many holidaymakers and real estate investors looking for such exquisite surroundings in which to buy or rent property. 

Why The Caribbean?

Growing Economic Prospects

• The rise of tourism on many of the Caribbean islands has been a major factor in sparking a resulting growth in many other domestic industries, namely the construction industry along with many other related service enterprises. Eg. Aruba now has five times the hotel capacity it had in 1985 and its construction trade is flourishing.
• Off-shore banking is also an important part of Caribbean commerce, particularly in The Bahamas and Aruba.
• Despite the world's largest petroleum refinery facilities at Saint Croix and Aruba, these still rank below tourism in terms of profitability - in the US Virgin Islands, tourism generates 70% of the island's employment and accounts for over 70% the GDP.  It is also of great importance on the Island of Margarita, an area where the government is currently focusing much attention.

Sheer Luxury

• The Caribbean clearly targets high-end tourist markets; luxury resorts and award-winning hotels can be found on many of the islands, eg. Jamaica, Anguilla, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic, St. Lucia, to name but a few. Places like Parrot Cay and Point Grace on Turks & Caicos were featured in the 2006 Condé Nast Traveller Gold List, and the Ritz-Carlton on West Caicos is also sure to bring even more well-heeled visitors to the islands. 
• Investment in holiday rental properties and hotel- related property is a highly lucrative option on these islands. 
• Meanwhile, the Caribbean is where millionaires acquire whole islands for themselves, often creating their own paradise which is then rented out to the ultra wealthy of the world.
• Many great sporting facilities are widely available, including scuba diving, surfing and golf courses help to attract some 2 million tourists annually to the islands.

Idyllic Weather

• Tropical rain forests, still, glassy lagoons and wind and waves – all types of weather can easily be found in the Caribbean to suit all tastes. Essentially, prevailing conditions on most Caribbean islands fall somewhere between Aruba's dry and Dominica's misty weather patterns, and many have more than one climate and ecosystem. 
• Temperatures on the islands fluctuate between lows of 64ºF in January to 90 ºF in July.  You are advised to check up on your particular island’s risk of hurricanes.  The hurricane season runs from June to November, with the majority hitting in September.

Easy Access

• By far the most popular way to arrive on the islands is by air and many flights, particularly from the USA are non-stop to the Caribbean, typically to San Jaun or St Thomas.  Many of the smaller islands have basic airports, meaning a walk to the airport terminal from the runway.  Small Caribbean airlines connect to the islands with regular scheduled flights.
• The Caribbean is also famous for its cruises and dozens of cruise lines offer a wide variety of packages.

A Buoyant & Varied Market

• Caribbean property for sale and rent comes in many forms; from houses, villas, apartments and condos to land, farms or even private islands farms. 
• Commercial and investment property is also a potentially beneficial option due to the fact that all sectors of the property market in the Caribbean continue to grow, with property prices generally on a steady increase. 
• Many wise investors see now as the time to invest before Caribbean prices go up further, as they have done on the already more established islands such as Barbados. 
• European investors are also profiting from the fact that sterling and the euro continue to strengthen, allowing even greater purchasing power.
• Dramatic price increases are being experienced, stemming from the growing popularity of the entire region, and islands like St.Lucia and Dominican Republic are receiving huge levels of foreign investment and benefiting from exceedingly high returns of investment, sometimes as much as 100% in the first year.