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The higher end of Caymans real estate industry has traditionally catered to an affluent North American market of investors and individuals looking to acquire a second or possibly third home, for investment purposes but also to enjoy with their family and friends periodically. Opening up this market to a broader audience of investors via infrastructure improvements and the easing and improving of residency restrictions for people looking to reside here part or full-time could greatly improve Caymans real estate industry. This would ultimately be to the benefit of everyone who lives and works here. Creating an easier and more straightforward method by which residents can enter and leave Cayman would go a long way to attracting new investors to our shores.

Hotels help to broaden real estate investment opportunities. The recent announcement that the Treasure Island Resort will be converted into The Margaritaville Beach Resort on Seven Mile Beach over the course of the next year is exciting news for both Caymans tourism industry and its real estate industry; two sectors of Caymans economy which I believe have always been inextricably linked.

Since the development of Caymans cruise port is such a hot button right now I thought I should focus my discussions this month on the very important subject of infrastructure and how it relates to the real estate industry. We should closely examine the purpose for building a cruise port. While I can appreciate the needs of business owners, being one myself, I think its important to be objective in this regard, and in particular, we should try and take in the wants and desires of others.

Cayman Airways took possession of a new Saab 340 aircraft in August that will service the route between Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac.

Government has renegotiated its definitive agreement with Cayman Enterprise City, paving the way for new technology-based activities in the special economic zone and projects such as Tech City, a proposed IT park associated with the developers of Health City Cayman Islands.

Previously owned homes sold in May at the fastest pace since November 2009, driven by first-time buyers and indicating budding momentum in the residential real estate market.

Cayman needs more hotel beds to accommodate the growing number of tourists flocking to these shores, according to tourism chiefs. After record arrivals in 2014, the first quarter of 2015 has seen a further 5.7 percent increase in stay-over tourism.

Cayman meets investors needs on Seven Mile Beach We have seen a marked upswing on inward investment into the Cayman Islands in recent months, no doubt in response to the gains made in the US financial markets of late. Whats really exciting from my perspective

More than 2,000 additional vehicles were on Caymans roads in 2014, fueling rising traffic congestion in and around George Town. According to the Department of Vehicle and Drivers Licensing, 35,885 vehicles were licensed in 2014, compared to 33,649 in 2013.

Wealthy individuals who own property and want to live in the Cayman Islands or spend more time here without working will be the focus of the next round of legislative changes to the immigration law, the premier has said. The bulk of the changes impacting work permits will be dealt with via changes in the process and regulations, he explained, rather than in policy or legal amendments.