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Why Consider the Cayman Islands For Your Next Real Estate Purchase?

There is Hollywood fiction and then there is reality – this is one time when I can be confident in suggesting that reality really is better than fiction.

The Cayman Islands are located just one hour’s flight south from Miami in the United States. Consisting of three islands – Grand Cayman, the largest and home to the capital George Town; Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, to be found some 80 miles to the North East of Grand Cayman – The Cayman Islands are probably the most well developed of all the Caribbean Islands. Safe, politically stable (as a protectorate of the United Kingdom) and economically wealthy as the sixth largest financial centre in the world, the infrastructure that underpins a strong real estate market is all here. Good schools, great communications, excellent hospitals, offshore jurisdiction and of course a fabulous Caribbean climate all contribute to why you should consider The Cayman Islands for your first or maybe your next overseas real estate investment.

In real estate terms there is something for everyone, from investors large and small to those who have earned themselves a comfortable retirement in a place where friends and relatives alike will be more than happy to come and visit – so remember to factor in that extra bedroom when considering your purchase.

The real estate market here is well developed – the islands realtors formed the Cayman Islands Real Estate Brokers Association about 30 years ago and CIREBA manages the islands Multi Listing Service as well as licences and regulates the member agents and brokers alike. Having a Multi Listing Service enable you the purchaser to form a relationship with just one agent, with whom you can be confident has the ability to research all of the available property across all three islands. Being able to do this remotely often is a huge bonus as with any real estate purchase there can be months of legwork and research before you are even ready to consider a purchase. Not only can the agent conduct research for you they can and will advise on market conditions and help guide you through owning a property in a foreign jurisdiction. They can also provide a useful initial interface between banks here on the island should financing be required and attorney’s who will help complete the process – most international law firms are represented on Cayman as are several of the world’s largest retail banks.

How is the market currently in Cayman? Like most other parts of the world the economic crisis of 2008/09 had some impact on Cayman. Unlike other parts of the world however there was no banking crisis – helped by the fact that the “local” policy of lending was and always has been very conservative – no sub prime mortgages here. As a result the impact was largely seen in lower tourist or visitor numbers – contributing to about a 5% lower volume of sales being experienced together with an average of about 5% drop in prices. Real estate sales in Cayman have always been seasonal and therefore absorption of the inventory available has always taken longer – so don’t be surprised to see what you might perceive to be slow moving inventory – this is more to do with that point in time you are looking. Of course vendors even here do over price their property – we like to think however that when we present our market analysis to a potential seller we can create a persuasive argument for the correct pricing given the market conditions and the vendor’s motivation to sell. For example a well priced multi million dollar condominium went to contract seven days after listing – solely because the price was right and attracted the attention of a purchaser who had been watching the market.

There are many other compelling reasons why you should consider Cayman for your next real estate investment – a good number I imagine that I haven’t even thought about. Rest assured I would be happy to discuss any of those at your convenience.