We are half way through May and effectively at the end of the high season at Re/Max Elite, in the Turks and Caicos Islands, and after a disappointing 20 months in the global real estate market, we have lots to look forward to. In the TCI, we have recently seen a reduction in stamp duty and you can see my recent blog on the list of reductions for each price bracket.

The new hospital has opened in April and we are blessed with state of the art medical facilities that are better than anything I have personally attended in the UK. You can view more information on the Hospital here.

The new airport expansion was announced last year and the construction contract was recently awarded, after a lengthy bidding process. The contractor hopes to start work as early as June. The newly completed airport will allow access to larger aircrafts, which will open up the islands ability to attract other carriers and open up new flight destinations. I am keeping a close eye on what evolves in this regard, but I believe we may possibly see additional flights to Europe, which would hopefully have a positive impact on bringing the fares down that British Airways charge for its direct Sunday afternoon flight. I actually do like the BA flight from Provo to London, but if we can bring in competition and make the trip a little more cost effective, we will surely then see progressively more Europeans coming to the islands.

In speaking with all my friends who operate hotels on the island, they have all commented on what a significantly improved year it has been for their occupancies during this high season, albeit they have all had to offer better rack rates to compete with each other. I have frequently been informed by a number of operators that they have frequently seen 100% occupancy and I can’t recall anyone saying this in 2009!

The underlying strength and characteristics of the Turks and Caicos Islands remain intact and the light is bursting through the tunnel in terms of infrastructural advances that will take this island forward in to our next real estate cycle.

Simon Padgett, Broker, RE/MAX ELITE, Turks and Caicos.

Interesting news from the Turks and Caicos Islands real estate market:

Re/Max Elite Broker Simon Padgett stated “I am very encouraged by the recent news that Stamp Duty is being lowered across the islands”

“Whilst I do not believe it will significantly increase new real estate enquiries in the short term, it will actually enhance the chances of those who have perhaps been hesitant on making a purchase to move forward and buy something. I have found that we have a group of buyers who feel our price drops have some way to go, then you have others who feel we are at the bottom. It is the latter that have been making the recent purchases. It is the group that lies somewhere in the middle that I feel this reduction will be seen as the catalyst that makes them move forward with a purchase.

My own personal thoughts on real estate values is that certain areas have bottomed out and the properties that still need reducing are those where owners are simply not realistic about their market values and are dictating to their agents what they feel it should be priced at versus accepting the factual advice they are receiving.

In essence, whether we like it or not, we are in a buyer’s market and this reduction goes a significant way to enhancing the absorption of properties on the Turks and Caicos Islands and creating excitement whereby buyers start to hurry to buy a certain bargain, before somebody beats them to it! I am starting to see this in certain areas already and this reduction only goes to aid the acceleration of this process and take us into the next cycle”

The new fees apply to all islands except North Caicos, Middle Caicos, East Caicos, South Caicos, Grand Turk and Salt Cay, which are 50 percent of the following rates:

Less than $25,000—no duty.

$25,000-500,000 — 4%

3.6% — one payment

1% — four payments

$500,000-1.5 million — 6%

5.4% — one payment

1.5% — four payments

$1.5-3 million — 8%

7.2% — one payment

2% — four payments

More than $3 million —10%

9% — one payment

2.5% — four payments

We have some tremendous deals out there at the moment and some are visible on the MLS and some are not.

If you have interest in Turks and Caicos Real Estate, contact one of our agents at RE/MAX ELITE