New world heritage site - Barbados

As news surfaces of Bridgetown being named a world heritage site by UNESCO. What does this mean for Property owners in the country and future investors in Barbados Property?

There are many factors which affect property prices in the Caribbean and Barbados in particular. Barbados has a more established economy than many of its Caribbean counterparts, this can be attributed to its history of food production and the fact that many people don’t just come to Barbados for a holiday, they buy property there and many decide to settle upon retirement. The country can therefore be less reliant on tourism; however it is still heavily reliant on tourism which is as always, strong.

The World Heritage news is a good sign for the island and should affect property prices positively. Not only this, but the increased tourism to the island should lead to better occupancy rates for anyone renting their property, which we are particularly happy about. Our property on the West Coast of Barbados, was purchased at a fraction of the price of others in a similar location and for precisely that reason we are confident that rentals achieved by the professional hotel operator will not only pay our mortgage, but provide us with a healthy net income every year.

We have already received projections from various hotel operators on what room rates they believe they could achieve. We took the room rates per night and multiplied it by various occupancy rates and the results were quite frankly, astonishing. At just a 38% occupancy Annual Rental Revenues after management costs were £12-£30k! After mortgage repayments on a 55% LTV mortgage, income would be £8k-£25k, dependent on apartment size. Another point to take into account is the maintenance fees applicable to various properties in Barbados, where fees can easily be US$12,000 per year for just a 1 bed apartment! Both Weston Resort and Ixora Resort will utilise an owner’s cooperative upon completion which will take charge of the maintenance, thus eliminating costly providers taking a large profit. For more information on maintenance figures please contact us.

Barbados is an established market with a stable political system, huge regular tourism fan base and is a great investment or lifestyle property purchase, even better when you purchase through us!

Availability across our 2 fantastic sites on the West Coast of Barbados is as follows:

Weston:

Block 3 apartment 2 – A raised ground floor 4 bed apartment right by the pool and one of the closest apartments to the beach. $432,000

Block 6 apartment 2 – A raised ground floor 1 bed apartment with sea views! This apartment is a large 1 bed with a partial sea view. $270,000

Block 7 apartment 6 – A first floor 2 bed apartment with full sea views. This apartment is an excellent opportunity for a couple or smaller family looking for excellent views of the Caribbean Sea. $340,000

Ixora:

Apt 3 & Apt 4 – Both of these apartments represent a great opportunity for someone looking for a “bolt hole” property in Holetown, Barbados – $215,000

*All prices in US$