Bahamas real estate is hot and getting hotter
The naturally derived privacy found on the islands has made them the latest high-priced accessory for Hollywood celebrities. Johnny Depp, Nicolas Cage, Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods joined the boom.
But buyers aren’t limited to the glamorous, according to broker/appraiser Rachel Pinder of Island Living Real Estate, an all-brokerage firm specializing in Out Island properties on islands like Abaco, Eleuthera, Exuma and Long Island.
Pinder pointed to several types of buyers contributing to the land rush. They include:
o older investors planning their retirement;
o young investors creating boarding houses and other enterprises;
o local residents returning to their childhood homes; and
o tourists in love who jump on the big construction openings.
“Our real estate buyers don’t just come from the United States,” Pinder said. “We get a lot of calls from Europe and Asia. The desire to buy a piece of paradise is the main motivator, of course. We have many affordable properties, some of which are ripe for development. Affordability is only one side of the economic coin Bahamian liberal real estate and immigration laws attract many buyers.
The government does not impose taxes on personal income, sales, inheritance, capital gains, dividends, or even corporate profits; exemptions available to all individuals, trusts, partnerships and corporations.
Property tax rates are also favorable. The first $250,000 of an owner-occupied property is completely tax-free. Up to $500,000 the rate is just 0.75 percent, with 1 percent for all properties over $500,000.
Although no government approval is required for foreign investors to purchase up to five acres of residential property; larger land acquisitions must be registered and approved by the Investment Board.
A 1:1 exchange rate between US and Bahamian dollars is hard to resist, especially at a time when the US dollar is sinking in many other parts of the world.
Flexible immigration laws provide expedited processing of annual or permanent residency to everyone from large investors to owners of residences valued over $500,000.
Prices for unimproved properly are equally profitable.
“Vacant land is a big part of our sales,” Pinder said. “However, we get calls from all over, including apartments and houses in the Bahamas; even apartments and houses for rent.
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© 2007 Sinai Marketing, Inc. and Island Living. Permission to publish is granted, with the stipulation that Sinai Marketing is credited as the sole source. Links to other sites from this press release are strictly prohibited, except for links embedded here.
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