As we get gear up for high season for the Cayman Islands real estate market, I thought I’d take this opportunity to dive into a market overview for Q3 2023 looking at solds, pendings and new listings as well as changes in the price per listing in these three categories and how inventory levels are all affecting the Cayman Islands real estate market.
Solds Transactions and Volume
When you look at sold transactions on a quarter-by-quarter basis, for Q3 2023 we saw 160 sold transactions. This is down from 211 in Q2 2023, a decrease of 24%.
The story is similar on the sold volume side on a quarter-by-quarter basis. For Q3 2023 we saw $229,400,813 in sold volume. This is down from $255,986,790 in Q2 2023, a decrease of 10%.
The sold volume is decreasing at a lower percentage than the transactions indicating that the overall price of properties being sold in the Cayman Islands is continuing to increase.
Average Price Per Sold Transaction
The average sales price per sold transaction in Q3 2023 was $1,433,755. This is up from $1,213,207 in Q2 2023, which is an 18% increase quarter-over-quarter.
The average price per sold transaction continues to increase quarter-over-quarter and we’ve seen this now for several years once again indicating that the Cayman Islands real estate market continues to be strong.
Pending Transactions and Volume
For Q3 2023, we saw 124 pending transactions. This is down from 153 in Q2 2023, a decrease of 19%.
When you look at the value of these transactions, for Q3 2023, we saw $139,312,496 in pending volume. This is down from $216,876,038 in Q2 2023, a decrease of 36%.
Average Price Per Pending Transaction
The average price per pending transaction in Q3 2023 was $1,123,487. This is down from $1,417,490 in Q2 2023, a 21% decrease.
As you can see the percentage of average price per pending transaction is down. This does not mean that prices are dropping. Q3 is generally the quietest quarter for the Cayman Islands real estate market. We have less visitors on islands which as I’ve mentioned in previous articles has a direct correlation to sales.
The transactions that are moving ahead during this quarter are usually driven by the local market and thus not by high-net-worth individuals purchasing higher priced properties in the Cayman Islands.
New Listings
For Q3 2023, we saw 376 new listings hit the market. This is down from 405 in Q2 2023, a decrease of 7%.
When you look at the value of these new listings, the 376 new listings in Q3 2023 are $608,570,421. This is down from $706,984,843 for the 405 new listings in Q2 2023, a 14% decrease.
As the year continues to progress, we are seeing less and less new listings coming on the market. In fact, the 376 for Q3 2023 is the lowest we’ve seen on a quarterly basis since Q3 2022.
Average Price Per New Listing
The average price per new listing in Q3 2023 was $1,618,538. This is down very slightly from $1,745,621 in Q2 2023, a 7% decrease.
This decrease in the average price per new listing is primarily driven by sellers and sellers’ agents more accurately pricing properties for the current market. It doesn’t not mean that prices are going down as the sold volume continues to increase.
Inventory
In the first three quarters of 2023, we’ve seen 1,194 new listings come into the marketplace and had 538 solds, which means inventory levels are climbing. As of today, there are 1,679 properties for sale in CIREBA but of those 411 are pending, which means there are only 1,268 properties available for sale.
The current inventory of 1,679 is the highest it has been in at least the last 5 years, if not more.
In Conclusion
The Cayman Islands real estate market is not booming at the level it has been since the Fall of 2020 and overall, the market is seeing some slowdowns especially when you look at the increase in inventory, but we are not moving into a buyer’s market. It all comes down to supply and demand.
As we continue through the rest of 2023, I believe the Cayman Islands real estate market will see a jump in Q4 due to high season kicking into full gear.
With respect to travel, we are over the negative impact we saw due to the pandemic. New routes and additional flights have been added throughout the year and will ramp up as we move into high season. This will bring more visitors and thus more buyers. In fact, we could have a record tourism season this year.
Inflation and increasing interest rates and the ongoing uncertainty surrounding these are having an impact on the Cayman Islands real estate market as they are on a global basis.
The last few years have not been normal for any of us. There have been huge ups in our market, then slight downs and now we are getting back to normal. Normal doesn’t mean a slowdown, but a more predictable type of patten with respect to our market.
This is a small market and what the sold volume numbers are showing us is that a sale today is higher than the price paid yesterday. People who can buy are continuing to move forward.
With all of this said, I believe that real estate in the Cayman Islands remains and will remain a sound investment into the near and far future. If you have any questions or would like more information on real estate in the Cayman Islands, please do not hesitate to reach out to me or my team at +1 345 945 4000.