Follow up to the Iconic Tower at Grand Cayman discussion
Further to my article published in July on the pros and cons of the prospect of an iconic tower to be built on Grand Cayman, I felt the need to…
News
Pros and cons of an iconic tower for Cayman
I know I promised an article on volumetrics this month, but following recent discussions on Dart’s proposal to build a skyscraper tower, I thought I would look at this subject (in the meantime we are busy gathering information for an article on volumetrics next month). The tower proposed will be similar perhaps to the 160-storey Burj Khalifa in Dubai or the former 104-storey World Trade Centre in New York. Plans to create a new skyline for Grand Cayman recognisable the world over were first unveiled by Premier McLaughlin at this year’s Cayman Economic Outlook conference, and have been the subject of a lot of discussion ever since, including at the Chamber of Commerce’s Economic Outlook event.
Cayman-sponsored driver wins British F3 race
Josh Mason, who spent much of his childhood in the Cayman Islands, won his first race of the year in his RE/MAX Bovell Team-sponsored F3 race car at the second British F3 Race at Donington Park in the United Kingdom on 23 June.
Changes in Stamp Duty – what it means for buyers
By the end of this year the Government will close the loophole in the law that allows buyers to only pay Stamp Duty on the cost of the land on which their property will be built, should construction not yet have started and not again later on once the property has been completed (the so-called two-contract transaction).
Economic substance rules can be great for Cayman Islands
In March the Cayman Islands avoided being placed on the European Union’s blacklist of countries which are, what they term, uncooperative when it comes to their tax practices; however, we have been placed on a grey list which means we must pass laws to ensure that companies in Cayman meet the EU’s economic substance rules. This means companies domiciled in the Cayman Islands must show a physical presence here, in terms of staff and offices.
Cayman already geared up to take on board new economic substance rules
The issue of economic substance is not a new one for the Cayman Islands, as the subject was much talked about some years ago and this was a motivating factor in the development of the Cayman Enterprise City project. As a result, Cayman passed its Cayman’s Special Economic Zones Law in 2011. Businesses located within CEC have been growing steadily in numbers since it first opened its doors to the likes of technology, media, intellectual property, shipping, aviation, commodities and derivatives trading businesses that wanted to establish a physical presence in a tax-neutral jurisdiction such as ours while meeting globally recognised economic substance requirements.
Here is a list of issues with George Town revitalisation
The recent RICS Cayman Property and Construction Conference had some interesting points for discussion, especially the plans to revitalise the centre of George Town, to which I would like to add my own perspective. I believe that, in order to attract people to live in George Town, you must think about how people live in cities around the world. Even though families who live in cities like London and New York, and smaller ones, most likely have very little in the way of a private garden, they stay there because they have access to great outside amenities within walking distance, such as the water and some great parks. Access to these types of outdoor places is a very important part of a city’s overall design and I hope that Cayman’s designers build these factors into their plans for George Town.
The grass is not always greener… Real estates at Seven Mile Beach
At the moment real estate agents find themselves in a bizarre situation: we are missing inventory on Seven Mile Beach. There is hardly any inventory to be sold; in fact, the availability of one, two or even three-bedroom properties for sale is very limited indeed. If we thought we had low inventory before, that is nothing compared to the limited supplies now.
New life breathed into Seven Mile Beach… Watch the space!
For some time now I have written about the dwindling inventory available on Cayman’s most prized real estate corridor, that of Seven Mile Beach. I can now report with some excitement that the owners of the Lacovia condominiums – an existing development located about a third of the way up Seven Mile Beach – have unanimously agreed to redevelop their property.
Market strengthening in 2018
For the past couple of years, I have been discussing the upward trajectory of the market, in terms of transactions and sales, and the ultimate reduction of inventory in sought-after places such as the Seven Mile Beach corridor and corresponding canal front properties along the other side of the West Bay Road peninsular. An analysis of the statistics produced by the Cayman Islands Real Estate Brokers Association (CIREBA) for 2018 versus 2017 confirms my predictions and discussions, with 2018 showing increases in sales prices in most areas of the market, and in particular the condominium sector.