Barbados: Price History

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Tourists come, tourists buy...

Barbados has long been one of the Caribbean’s main tourist destinations. And when people visit, they often like what they see, and buy.

“Property prices are up 20% on last year,” says Paul Alleyne of Jennifer Alleyne Ltd. “The West Coast has had tremendous increases, especially toward the beach. Properties that are bought by locals have not gone up by so much.”

Property prices are high. “We have a lot of product in the US$2-US$6 million price range,” says Alleyne. “Our lowest price now is just under US$1 million. There are only a few things in the US$1-US$2 million category, mostly one bedroom apartments.”

Realtors now hope for great things from the 2006 World Golf Championships-World Cup, and the final of the 2007 World Cup Cricket, both hosted by Barbados.

“These things generate publicity,” says Alleyne. “And during the year after these events, there will be more buying activity. People will come down, and they will get hooked on the island, and they will want to buy property.”

The West Coast

Wealthy foreigners traditionally live on the West Coast, and that’s where visitors tend to stay. The sea is very calm, and good for swimming. The area has a lot of fine dining restaurants.

In 1961 the Sandy Lane Hotel opened on the West Coast, and had a tremendous impact. Nestled in the mahogany trees, directly off the beach, this magnificent hotel and its associated golf course gained a reputation as one of the finest resorts in the Caribbean, and has welcomed royalty, celebrities, and the business elite, and indeed Tiger Woods, who got married there in 2004.

Beachfront is enormously in demand. “The price of land on the West Coast on the beach is around US$250/sq ft, while across the road, the same sized piece of land could be US$35/per sq ft,” says Alleyne.

The average price for coastal properties in the Parish of Saint James, the West Coast’s exclusive high-end area, is around US$9,500 per square meter (sq. m.) in 2005, according to Global Property Guide research. Luxury beachfront houses in Port St. Charles, also on the West Coast, start at around US$2.75 million. In Bridgetown, the island’s pretty capital, the average price was US$2,550 per sq. m. in 2005.

The South Coast

The South Coast has a more local feel, and the prices are much lower. “On the South Coast, a beachfront 2-bed condo would be US$600,000. Whereas condos on the West Coast would be US$1.3 million,” says Alleyne. “Beachfront on the South Coast would be US$35/sq ft, while land which normal locals would buy for residential purposes would be US$10 per square foot.”

The Central Bank requires registration of all money brought into Barbados. The US dollar is widely accepted in the country.

Barbados’ economy has been growing steadily since 2003. Since the Barbadian dollar is fixed to the US dollar, the devaluation of the US dollar means a weaker Barbadian dollar as well. This has particularly spurred more European spending in Barbados.

Barbados - more data and information

• Bajan house prices, rents, and letting income - real data!
• How expensive are houses in Barbados, compared to the rest of Caribbean?
• How much rent can be earned from Bajan property, compared to the rest of Caribbean?

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