Barbados property is still the most popular out of all the Caribbean islands, according to developers in the Caribbean and realtors from the Caribbean and around the world. This is despite the fact that Barbados property is among the most expensive in the Caribbean and the world.
Speaking of prices — again according to developers and agents — Barbados property has not endured any price falls since the onset of the so called international downturn. This is because the demographic who buy property in Barbados — predominantly wealthy individuals from around the world — have not been directly affected by the downturn, and so have remained active in buying property.
Barbados has not been the only market in the world to see this effect. During the height of the media black-out on overseas property — when overseas property editors and journalists were covering make-up or something else people were still interested in en-masse — the Express ran a feature on how the Turks and Caicos islands were seeing activity at the same levels as during the boom. Again, this is because those who can afford to buy property in the Turks and Caicos Islands, have not been directly affected by the downturn.
Yes, it is true that not every market favoured by wealthy buyers has been so lucky. The French Riviera suffered badly from the exodus of its foreign buyers. But this is because those buying on the French Riviera were the likes of young rich bankers who had made a fortune from bonuses or from the stock market. When this group found that they could lose money as quickly as they could make it, markets like the French Riviera obviously suffered the consequences.
Barbados however, tends to be favoured by the more mature buyer, who pay with the savings they have accrued during their life.
Now is an extremely good time to buy property in Barbados. Though prices haven’t fallen, there have been attempts to make up for the reduction in sales that has been experienced. Developers are offering things like free furniture packs, and multiple years free of paying maintenance fees. Some developers are even offering guaranteed finance, though most sales are currently being completed in cash.
There have also been reports in the media of developers taking away non-essential luxuries like spas and moorings, so that they can sell the same property at lower prices. We have not seen this with the developers that we work with however.