Live in Barbados

Marcello Estevão IMF speaks after latest visit to Barbados:

Barbados has been severely affected by the global economic crisis. In particular, the deep global recession has curbed tourism, affecting related activities such as construction and trade which, in turn, depressed aggregate demand and raised unemployment. As a result, economic activity contracted significantly in 2009 after remaining broadly stagnant in 2008.

via Barbados’ Premier Business & Investment Resource • Business Barbados.

Caribbean property could see prices increase by a regional average of up to 5%, international property investment consultancy Property Frontiers has announced. The firm says that as international buyers return and tourism climbs back onto its feet developers will seize the opportunity to start reversing any discounts or price falls from as early as April.

“Overseas property sales have been increasing since last April, and the Caribbean has seen among the fastest growth in sales volumes. This is because lifestyle buyers, mostly wealthy ones have been predominant in the market, and the Caribbean is the ultimate lifestyle choice,” said David Cox director of the firm.

“Lifestyle buyers had kept the Caribbean markets going anyway, so prices didn’t have to come down in most places. This leaves developers well placed to capitalise on the increasing demand to increase their turnover,” he added.

See full article here.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (BTA) — Tourism, long believed by economic pundits to be the sector to pull Barbados out of the global economic recession, is already showing tremendous signs of improvement in 2010.

Barbados Tourism Authority (BTA) preliminary figures show a 5.3 per cent increase in arrivals as at January 29 over the previous period in 2010, while official 2009 figures show that tourism officials met their target with the sector waning by 8.6 per cent. Early 2009 predictions were for a performance in the region of -8.5 per cent.

At a recent press conference Tourism Minister Richard Sealy, commended the captains of the industry for their sterling efforts that saw job losses kept at a minimal. Meanwhile a number of businesses that buckled under the recession reopened under new management and new branding.

See full article here.

Do you have anything to say about Jack Fagan’s claims below?

Prices for apartments and villas start at over €1m in hotspot where the property market is still booming, writes JACK FAGAN

BARBADOS IS hopping right now. Even though sales of holiday homes have slumped on most Caribbean islands, Barbados appears to be bucking the trend with a high level of inquiries and a significant pickup in sales as the island is once again packed for the peak holiday season.

London estate agent Knight Frank draws an analogy between the property market in Barbados and that in London, pointing out that in a slowdown, prime locations in London hold their values better and recover faster.

via Barbados – A-list island bucks trend with busy sales – The Irish Times – Thu, Jan 21, 2010.

Bridgetown — Jan. 14, 2010 — As was to be expected in a country that is highly dependent on tourism, the performance of the Barbadian economy in 2009 was worse than in 2008, by most indicators. The impact of the economic and financial crisis in industrialised countries showed up in a contraction of real output, a reduction of foreign exchange inflows and an increase in unemployment.

……..Prior to the onset of the global economic recession, the Barbadian economy was forecast to slow to 1.8% in 2008 and then accelerate to 2.8% in 2009. However, it
turned out that Gross Domestic Product (GDP) stagnated in 2008, and a significant contraction of 5.3% is estimated for 2009. The crisis is estimated to have cost
Barbados almost 10 percentage points in economic growth over the two years. This in large measure reflected a drop in long-stay arrivals over the two-year period of roughly 13.3% below the initial forecast, and a 3.9% decline in cruise passenger arrivals over the two years. The poor performance of tourism depressed other major sectors of the economy, which provide services to the tourism sector.

See full article here.

Early 2010 should see the Four Seasons kick back into action.

The largest property development and tourism project along Barbados west coast should be back on track early in 2010.

The widely debated property, Four Season Resort and Residences which broke ground in 2007, came to a screeching halt last June but now plans are afoot for its restart.

But now the plan to get the multi-million dollar property underway will largely involve the Government of Barbados, well-known government advisor and investment banker Avinash Persaud and partial financing from one of the island’s finance houses.

See full article here.

Barbados born financial liquidity analyst, Avinash Persaud has come 2nd in Prospect magazine’s list of the top financial brains of the global crisis. Adviser to governments around the world, Persaud has studied “herd” behaviour in finance, and is now the man trying to stop it.

Read more on Living in Barbados.

The 15-acre Port Ferdinand marina project in St. Peter will attract $750 million in foreign investment and provide 500 jobs while it is being constructed, and 300 when completed.

These new details on the development were revealed during a groundbreaking ceremony at the Six Men’s site yesterday morning, which was attended by Prime Minister David Thompson. Port Ferdinand, the island’s second private marina will have upon completion 120 berths, 96 condominiums in four different styles, it will be developed over a five-year period and the first units will be up for sale in 2012.

He added, “Having taken into consideration all the factors related to this new development, I am proud to inform you that it is highly consistent with our vision for a Better Barbados.”

The Prime Minister then said the project was putting Barbados’ marine resources to good use, and noted that as the island becomes more crowded, we would have to look to the Caribbean Sea for solutions. He was pleased with the amount of foreign exchange, the expected diversification of the tourism product, as well as employment, especially for those with specialist skills in Barbados, that the project would bring.

See full article.

Congratulations to Jill Tomlin, Colleen Cole & Linda Lewis-Bishton on another fine issue of Living Barbados, the magazine for property investment and lifestyle in Barbados.

The winter season issue is packed with great articles, listings and photography, making the case for living in Barbados even more compelling. Here are a few items from the table of contents:

• Destination: Crane Village — At the intersection of Heaven and Earth. By Kerri Birch
• Isle of Plenty — The Barbados real estate scene appeals to all types of buyers. Which coast suits you best? By Laura Henderson
• Wealth Management and Your Real Estate Assets — Manage your assets during a global recession. By N. Elliot Barrow
• Investor Interview — with Mark Maloney, Managing Director of Preconco Limited

There are many more interesting features and listings from the island’s real estate agents, and you’ll even find a 1 page ad from your favourite listings website on page 86.

We didn’t have a great deal of time to put together the artwork for the ad, which is why it’s so minimal. Leafing through the magazine it looks quite different to the average real estate ads. We like the fact that it’s big and bold, but next time we’ll try something more sophisticated. What do you think?

Factual news on Barbados’s Four Seasons Development is hard to come across.

In this article, the Guardian gives us some insight”

It was planned as the most lavish millionaire’s hideaway yet on a Caribbean island already crammed with spectacular beach-front mansions.

The offer of a palatial residence in the Four Seasons complex inBarbados, overlooking white coral sands, presented a rare chance for music moguls turned reality TV stars Simon Cowell and Andrew Lloyd Webber to gain a toehold on the island’s exclusive “platinum coast”, where Tony Blair, retail tycoon Sir Philip Green and film director Michael Winner regularly holiday in a climate that is 28C (82F) and sunny almost all year round.

They are among several investors who have paid deposits on villas in the development, which cost up to $30m (£18m) each. The plans showed the best properties would come with an infinity pool on the terrace, a cinema, gym and even a wine cellar to keep the finest bottles cool in the tropical heat. A neighbouring Four Seasons hotel would provide room service and access to butlers, housekeepers, chefs, waiters, gardeners and night watchmen for an extra cost.