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.
Blog Posts
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.
How to buy a property in Cayman Islands
A recent discussion with a young Caymanian who is interested in buying property has led me to write this article, which are my views on how one ought to go about approaching the process of buying a property in the Cayman Islands.
Economic data and its impact on the real estate industry
At the time of writing, the US economy is anticipating another interest rate hike (predicted to happen before the end of the year) with two more expected in 2019. Also, we recently received the latest statistics courtesy of Cayman’s Economic and Statistics Office with regard to the latest Consumer Price Index figures at the end of June 2018, which showed a rise of 4.8 per cent over the same quarter in 2017.
Presentation key to sales
This month I would like to share a short lesson in the art of selling a property, a kind of real estate 101.
Seven Mile condos not in the overpricing trap
I had a very good response to last month’s article, on the disparity between what $2 million and above residential homes are often put on the market for, versus what the owners eventually are likely to receive for their sale.