Caribbean property demonstrates increasing appeal for investors

Over the past twenty years, the islands of Caribbean have been a region synonymous with luxury travel and holidays. The mere mentioning of the Caribbean conjures up images of clear blue waters lapping up on the white sand, palm fringed beaches which adorn so many picture postcards. On the back of this robust luxury tourism industry, a considerable amount of foreign investment has been directed towards the Caribbean, and a number of high quality new developments have been announced in recent times. To date these have proven highly successful as investors from the US and UK look to acquire their own slice of paradise.

Without doubt, this popular and yet highly diverse region, offers considerable potential for investment return in the long term. The ever popular tourism industry throughout the Caribbean is as popular today as it has ever been, and with the increasing numbers of cheaper airlines now accessing the region, the prospects seem even brighter for investors in the region.

Whilst it would be wrong to describe the Caribbean as an emerging market, a number of factors have certainly aligned in the past couple of years which have resulted in the region becoming a more viable option for overseas investors. Key to this is the political and economic stability which can be found throughout the region. The governments of the Caribbean islands are in fact a collection of independent democracies, which act tend to act on a more unilateral basis on a global basis. This cohesive presentation has undoubtedly provided investors with a feeling of increased stability and security throughout the region, and has resulted in the levels of foreign direct investment increasing considerably in recent years.

As a result of the political stability throughout the region, economic performance has improved throughout many of the individual economies of the islands of the Caribbean. On average GDP throughout the region has varied from 4-10% over the past couple of years, and whilst this is set to slow down as a result of the global economic crisis, the islands of the Caribbean are well placed to recover quickly from any decline. Indeed efforts to provide a more cohesive trade structure between the islands of the Caribbean are now in place, and it is likely that the region will benefit from these in the near future.

Looking to the future, many of the countries which make up the Caribbean see increasing foreign direct investment as critical to their early emergence from the economic downtown. As such, investor friendly initiatives have been implemented at a federal level as a means of encouraging foreign investment in the region. Favourable property laws and relaxations on immigration regulations are just some of the programmes which have been positively received by investors looking to purchase property in the Caribbean in the near future.

The potential for increased investment and tourism throughout the Caribbean region has not gone unnoticed by either property developers or tour operators. Indeed in recent times we have seen increasing numbers of airlines offering lower airfares to many of the islands of the Caribbean, which were previously prohibitive to many potential visitors. Property developers have also been active in the Caribbean in the past couple of years, and a number of high quality new resorts have been announced.

The combination of the factors mentioned above present a strong case for those looking to invest in the Caribbean, even given the current economic volatility. As such, it is understandable that the demand for property in the Caribbean has been gradually increasing over the past couple of years. As the economic climate gradually moves towards recovery, it is likely that this demand will begin to increase considerably, proving substantial returns for those looking to invest in the region in the near future.