afish

Has Barbados been affected by the US sub prime crisis and the decline of property values and mortgage approvals in the UK?

I'm looking to buy in Barbados but am nervous to press ahead when the property price fall could hit the island.

Do you think the property market will be affected in the coming 6-18 months?

Thanks

Sunniebgi

I'm not in that business, but I doubt it. I think the prices will not fall, but the problem will be there will not be anyone who can afford to purchase. it doesn't mean people will lower their prices to sell.

I have heard there is a problem in the rental market at the moment, so who knows.. maybe I'll be able to purchase my dream house on the sea in a year or so...

3aces

My 2 cents worth.....

I'm on the fence at the moment. Note sure if this a good time to invest in the Caribbean.

With the credit crunch starting to bite, especially in the UK the affordable home in the Caribbean is not looking as attractive as before. For instance, we few months ago a $1M villa would have cost around £510,000 now the same villa would cost £564,000 (due sterling falling and these are rough estimates ). This is a whopping 10% increase!

Sooner or later the credit crunch will start having an impact on the Caribbean property market, however, must stress that I'm no expert just my humble opinion.

expat_wannabe07

On the other hand.....you can still buy a nice enough 3 bed house in Barbados for under £200k, which is still pretty good value for us Brits......especially for those of us southerners.

3aces

Good point just wish I had invested a few months ago....would have got a lot more for my £££££

jondent

I have a house in Barbados ... Near Six Roads. It's gained about 30% to date since building began last year to completed, landscaped and furnished a few weeks ago

If you have about 75k£ to spare then there is a 15000 sq ft plot available opposite the entrance to the Crane ...

If only I had the 75k I'd be buying it but I paid cash for my place and need a couple of years to recoup the money

Jon

jondent

In fact if you ignore the West coast and look East then you can buy a 3 bed, 3 bath brand new with a decent sized pool, furnished and lasndscaped for less than 150k£ !

cassward

Hi Jondent

I read with interest your mention of the land for sale(15000n sq ft) for £75,000 near the crane? Is it possible for you to let me know exactly which area the land is in and who are the realtors dealing with the sale. I am interested in purchasing and this sounds appropriate for me.

Thank you

jondent

Cassward, email me at jon_at_jondent.com and I will explain further and send you a couple of pics ..

cassward

Thank you so much I have just emailed you.

pgtips

The property market to an extent will be affected.
It depends which sector you are entering, anything from mid to lower price bracket which needs financing raised will be affected. People are just not able to remortgage their US and UK properties that easily and buy that dream villa in the sun now. The markets have turned quite dramatically and until the financial markets get their acts back together then all will feel the pinch.

If you can afford to buy outright and are in it for the very long term, I would say just go ahead and buy your place not for the investment but for the lifestyle. property historically has had its boom and bust, but generally in the long run is a good long term bet.

Wagxl

Is it possible to buy raw land, not zoned for housing? If so, what are the restrictions on such property? Can you put a tent on it, or a trailer, a lean-to?