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This shot in the arm of incoming affluent, entrepreneurial individuals has also meant there’s a distinctively younger vibe on an island that has traditionally attracted older semi-retirees to winter there and play golf. Whilst some regulars suggest the West Coast scene was getting a little tired, it’s had a flurry of new eateries – Local&Co is the new go-to slow food shop/bistro; whilst the DJs and magnums of rose at the Sea Shed on Mullins Beach are more akin to Ibiza.
The Welcome visa has certainly put the island on the radar of a wider range of prospective property hunters, according to Mr de Mallet Morgan, including an increasing number of wealthy Americans. Whilst non-locals can stay on the island for up to six months a year, full-time residency can also be obtained through a Special Entry and Reside Permit (or SERP) offered on investment of $2m (£1.48m) or more, or other qualifying assets.
The island may have eschewed the Queen as head of state, but generally 65-70 per cent of sales have been from Britain or Ireland, according to the estate agent Savills – and there will be no change to the property-purchase process.
Sales span from $450,000 for a two-bedroom apartment on the resort of Sugar Hill to a beachfront villa for $5m plus. ‘There’s an energy back on the island and a tangible feeling of new investment,’ says James Burdess, Head of Caribbean at Savills, who’s just returned from Barbados. ‘Beachfront houses are being spruced up, and the revamp of Apes Hill Golf Resort & Community [under the new ownership of Canadian Glenn Chamandy] is going to be special.’ The 470-acre resort in the northwest of the island has been undergoing a £30m renovation and when re-opening this year will boast a new golf academy. There are 180 luxury homes available to purchase starting from £1.3m-£5m plus, with three-bedroom villas from $1,675,000.
Proof of the new confidence in the island’s future includes a sale on the West Coast last year at $30m. A high-end private home, usually beachfront, is top of many wealthy buyers’ lists. Currently for sale is a palatial seven-bedroom villa in St James with elevated views towards the Caribbean Sea at $8.5m. But for something more traditional – away from the beach – a 10-bedroom plantation home surrounded by mahogany trees and lush gardens is for sale at $4,950,000.
There’s also a good choice of West Coast apartments if you have a budget of $500,000, including one well located on Mullins Beach: a turn-key two-bedroom apartment in a condo hotel for $415,000. But beware, with the island riding on a new wave, properties are now much less likely to hang around for long.
Because you read about barbados
Also by Liz Rowlinson
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