Coldwell Banker Islands Blog

We are pleased to present two new listings in the Watercolours Resort, pre-construction offerings in what will be the finest, most luxurious condominium development on 7 Mile Beach. The highest quality construction includes marble and granite throughout, very high ceilings, custom mahogany mill work, Sub Zero and Meile appliances. The floor plans will be ultra-spacious, and a luxurious owners lounge on the ground floor will front the pool and ocean.

Whether or not you enjoy just relaxing and watching the waves roll in, or taking your vacation up a notch and parasailing over the Caribbean sea - Seven Mile Beach has what you’re looking for. With an abundance of watersports operators, hotels and beachside restaurants you will never be at a loss for what to do on Seven Mile Beach. (Source: Cayman Islands)

Our new listings are Watercolours #35 and #36: both 4 bedroom/3 bath oceanfront homes of 3,600 sq ft. Asking $5,200,000. See details on the Coldwell Banker Listing page.

Getting married? Caribbean resorts large and small are offering special wedding packages and discounts this summer. Among them: Rosewood Little Dix Bay, www.littledixbay.com in the British Virgin Islands. Package include flowers, licenses and officient, $1,500.

source: Miami Herald

Aruba Tourism Authority (ATA) has released 2008 yearend figures of stay-over arrivals, reporting that, as of the end of December, excluding cruise ship arrivals, the number showed positive growth, an increase of 6.88% in 2008 over yearend 2007.

In 2008, the total stay-over arrivals by air was tallied at 825,137 in comparison to 772,036 in 2007, an increase of 53,101 more visitors in 2008 over 2007 and a significant number - 131,765 - more than 2006.

The Aruba Tourism Authority is pleased to report that all main markets, in both North America and South America, countries supplying Aruba with visitors, have experienced satisfactory growth.

The forecast is not as positive for 2009. Since last year, ATA has predicted that, due to the global economic crisis, not to expect further growth in 2009. The current forecast for Aruba is a 5-10 % decrease in tourism arrivals in 2009. “This forecast can of course change… Our goal is to minimize the decrease caused by the impact of global challenges as much as possible and to embark on new opportunities as they arise”, said Myrna Jansen, Managing Director of the ATA.

Read a detailed story of the good news at Aruba.com.

Bahamas Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham is hopeful that a buyer will be found for the Emerald Bay resort on the island of Exuma, now that the price is expected to be reduced.
The Emerald Bay hotel and real estate development triggered unprecedented growth in that island’s economy, including a residential and construction boom.
Ingraham told the Exuma Chamber of Commerce at the weekend that a group of investors are currently engaged in talks, and more prospects are on the way.
Emerald Bay, which was managed by Four Seasons, is in receivership. Ingraham said the Japan based insurance company, Mitsui, has the ability to sell the property and is willing to drop the price if a commitment’s secured to complete the development.
Emerald Bay is sited on a gorgeous, white powder sand beach and has a professional golf course. Several beautiful high end homes were built as a result of the Emerald Bay development, adding a new dimension to real estate on that south eastern island in the Bahamas.
The Exuma Cays (pronounced ‘keys’) are a boater’s paradise with scores of islets and secluded bays. The chain starts about 40 miles southeast of Nassau and stretches over 90 miles. Emerald Bay is located on Great Exuma. We also have a Coldwell Banker Lightbourn Realty office on Great Exuma.
The Exuma islands are surrounded by crystal clear water that ranges in colour from dazzling turquoise to shimmering greens and cobalt blues. Exuma is also home to the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, which is 22 miles long by eight miles wide.

Bahamas Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham is hopeful that a buyer will be found for the Emerald Bay resort on the island of Exuma, now that the price is expected to be reduced.
The Emerald Bay hotel and real estate development triggered unprecedented growth in that island’s economy, including a residential and construction boom.
Ingraham told the Exuma Chamber of Commerce at the weekend that a group of investors are currently engaged in talks, and more prospects are on the way.
Emerald Bay, which was managed by Four Seasons, is in receivership. Ingraham said the Japan based insurance company, Mitsui, has the ability to sell the property and is willing to drop the price if a commitment’s secured to complete the development.
Emerald Bay is sited on a gorgeous, white powder sand beach and has a professional golf course. Several beautiful high end homes were built as a result of the Emerald Bay development, adding a new dimension to real estate on that south eastern island in the Bahamas.
The Exuma Cays (pronounced ‘keys’) are a boater’s paradise with scores of islets and secluded bays. The chain starts about 40 miles southeast of Nassau and stretches over 90 miles. Emerald Bay is located on Great Exuma. We also have a Coldwell Banker Lightbourn Realty office on Great Exuma.
The Exuma islands are surrounded by crystal clear water that ranges in colour from dazzling turquoise to shimmering greens and cobalt blues. Exuma is also home to the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, which is 22 miles long by eight miles wide.

NORCECA Volleyball Circuit will commence with the first continental tournament for the year in the Cayman Islands from 25 to 30 March.

The tournament is being hosted by the Cayman Islands Volleyball Federation (CIVF) and will consist of both Women’s and Men’s Beach Volleyball games.

According to a media release, the Cayman Islands Olympic Committee (CIOC) is assisting the CIVF with some of the funding needs for this regional event, and will work with the CIVF towards the success of the tournament.

CIOC said it is hoped that with this tournament and subsequent ones throughout the region in the coming months the Cayman Islands will qualify a beach volleyball team to participate in the Caribbean Games 2009 in Trinidad & Tobago in July.

Read the full press release at CaymantNetNews.

The second Freeport Players’ Guild production Broadway in Concert 2009, a compilation of some of the world’s favorite musical numbers old and new, opens Friday night, March 20th at 8pm at the Regency Theatre in Freeport, and will run on the 21st, matinee on the 22nd and repeat again the following weekend.

The encore of Broadway will feature twenty-three world famous numbers such as: I like to be in America, ‘West Side Story’, DO RE MI, ‘Sound of Music’, We’re all in this together, ‘High School Musical’, Mama Mia, ‘Mama Mia’, If I were a rich man – ‘Fiddler on the Roof’, Diamonds are a girls best friend, ‘Moulin Rouge’.

Billed as a production by the Dutch Divas, director Majorke Twiest and producer Vanessa Sietsema, Broadway in Concert I was a great success. Don’t miss the 2nd Concert.

Resource: Bahama Island Info.

The Office of the Prime Minister, Denzil Douglas, released a study by the Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank which said poor quality housing in St. Kitts has been slashed by a whopping 23 percent in the past 8 years.

The study noted that in 2000, some 30.5 percent of the population could be described as living in poor quality housing and by 2007/2008 this had been slashed to some 7.5 percent.

“Very good news,” said Prime Minister Hon. Denzil L. Douglas, whose Labour Administration has constructed over 2,500 affordable and middle-income homes. Some 800 homes are currently being constructed, renovated or expanded under three separate projects supervised by the National Housing Corporation.

Denzil remarked, “I want to stress that my government is committed to continuing along this positive path – serious, committed, and energized.”

Resource: CUOPM.com

A very interesting blog post and subsequent discussion are on BVIPlatinum.com now. The original post, written by Benito Wheatley, Program Board Associate at the Institute of Caribbean Studies in Washington, DC, asks the question, “Have Tourism and Financial Services Failed the BVI?”

Mr. Wheatley begins with an examination of the “twin pillars economic strategy.” “Fiscal year 2009 has started off on a less than optimistic note for the British Virgin Islands (BVI). In the tourism sector, industry reports estimate that tourist arrivals are down 15 to 20 percent in the first quarter and present a bleak forecast for the remainder of the year. In the financial services sector, data indicates that by the end of 2008 new international business company incorporations were down 20 percent, presumably on uncertainty about the future of the financial industry. What these trends indicate is that the BVI is beginning to feel the negative effects of the global economic crisis, as the economies of its major tourism markets in the United States (US) and Europe enter into recessions and the global financial crisis prompts calls by international leaders for financial reform, including enhanced regulatory oversight and scrutiny of offshore financial centers. These developments have created unfavorable global economic and financial conditions for tourism and financial services industries in the BVI.”

He continues, “The nature of the current crises has limited the government and private sectors’ abilities to adjust the Territory’s economic position in the short-term or scale back the impending economic downturn that is beginning to take effect. In the interim, the private sector will have to make painful cutbacks, while the government considers stimulus measures to help propel the economy along during what is expected to be an economically challenging fiscal year. The deteriorating economic situation raises important questions about the viability of the BVI’s economy and the durability of the twin pillars economic strategy pursued by BVI governments since the early 1980s: Is the BVI’s twin pillars (i.e. tourism and financial services) economic strategy sufficient to sustain economic growth? Are third, fourth and even fifth economic pillars necessary to ensure the Territory’s economic survival? What other sectors and industries should be developed in the interest of economic security? The answer to these questions and how the society’s leadership responds to today’s harsh international climate will largely determine the economic future of the BVI.” Wheatley then makes the case for economic diversification in the BVI, especially into the back-office services, or knowledge-based services, like India has done.

The comments posted to his blog pose some thoughtful questions of their own, and certainly give insight into local thinking. If you are concerned about the economic future of BVI, read the post and comment yourself if you choose. Also contact a Coldwell Banker BVI agent to discuss real estate opportunities specifically. We are still very optimistic about the real estate market here in the British Virgin Islands.

AN OVERWHELMING number of Coldwell Banker Lightbourn Realty staff and employees put Bahamas real estate on hold for a few minutes to sign a petition urging the Bahamas government to ban the slaughter of all turtles in the Bahamas.

Read The Bahamas National Trust’s position

The petition is part of a growing anti-turtle lobby that sees the killing of turtles as a major loss to the Bahamas.
The value of our real estate in the Bahamas is due in no small measure to the gorgeous environment in which we live.
The shy and mystical turtles, which inhabit our beautiful ocean, are part of a rich experience that draw visitors to the Bahamas to marvel at the magical life under the sea.
Last summer, many Bahamians were horrified to witness endangered turtles in distress flipped on their backs in the hot sun of a Nassau fish market. The vendor, in a deliberate play on the emotions of passing motorists, was asking the exorbitant price of $800 for the turtle.
A group of well meaning people raised the funds and bought the turtle to set it free.
The campaign to stop killing these endangered creatures was born.
The Bahamas government initially indicated it would outlaw the taking of turtles, but now says it has heard mostly from non-residents of the Bahamas and would like to hear Bahamians’ views on the matter before passing legislation.
Coldwell Banker Lightbourn Realty joins the Bahamas National Trust and Bahamas Humane Society in the push for a ban on the harvest of endangered sea turtles.