News

Parts of the Caribbean impacted by the dreadful hurricane season of 2017 are currently undergoing tremendous change as they rebuild their tourism and real estate products. This means increasing pressure on the Cayman Islands to improve our own product by diversifying our offering for visitors and residents, in terms of where they can stay and where they can live. There is a danger that those jurisdictions now receiving insurance payouts for the damage inflicted by hurricanes Irma and Maria last year will eventually end up with a superior product than what we can offer, so in many respects it’s important for us to keep ahead.

Resort development along Seven Mile Beach has some brand new and exciting resorts. Aqua, a luxury 10-story condominium complex is being developed on the southern end of Seven Mile Beach. Each of these 10 limited edition residences will open via a private elevator to a spacious floor plan with 360 degree ocean views, chef’s kitchen, four bedrooms, expansive indoor and outdoor entertaining areas. On-site security and five star concierge service. Prices are expected to start in the US$3.5 million pre-sale range.

This month I would like to explore the ways in which investors could benefit from investing in the most sought-after piece of real estate in the Cayman Islands and the hurdles that they may face in the process.

In this update I think it is timely to reflect on the year that has past and the impact it has made on the industry. 2017 was probably one of the strongest years we have ever had in the real estate industry. Indeed the past two years have seen an extremely strong and active market with high demands and slowing inventory.

For many months I have been writing about the changing tide when it comes to buying Seven Mile Beach properties, reminding prospective buyers that prices are rising and the volume of inventory is diminishing quickly. This means that the window of opportunity for buyers is narrowing, so action is needed now to avoid disappointment.

In light of the recent category five hurricanes the Caribbean has had to endure, 13 years to the day since the Cayman Islands suffered at the hands of its own worst hurricane in living memory, the category 4/5 Hurricane Ivan, I thought it would be useful to take a look at what we have learnt from our experiences and, more worryingly, what we have not learnt.

In this September update, as the Cayman Islands prepares itself for the busy winter high season ahead, I thought it was about time to see where sales have gone, year on year to date, for the previous five years. This should give us a good perspective for the year ahead looking at the trend.

While my focus in past real estate market news updates has been on luxury beachfront condos, in this monthly report I’m concentrating on a particularly interesting section of Caribbean real estate: that of Cayman’s luxury residential homes.

The future of Cayman is bright when it comes to our real estate industry. In recent years we have built a very strong foundation for this country which is now reaping benefits for those who have invested wisely when it comes to real estate, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future, in my opinion.