IRISH APPETITE FOR ST LUCIA

Want a sun-kissed island with an even hotter property investment? Consider St. Lucia in the Caribbean, says Shane McGinley.

Christy O'Connor, who has designed a signature golf course on St Lucia

When Irish buyers have bought into a location it usually means that all the best bargains are already gone, I recently read in the business section of an in-flight magazine while going to London. Well the chain of evolution in the last number of years has developed and in many locations around the globe the Irish are no longer just simply buyers but are now agents, developers and even heavily involved in the development of new locations. A prime example of this is in the Caribbean island of St Lucia.

"We see St Lucia as a fantastic island comparable to Barbados but it has more features. Barbados is flat and very heavily populated while this is an undulated island, has a rainforest, is lush and green, is renowned for its sailing and has four championship golf courses," says Paul Howett of Irish company Bohan Property Consultants, who are the sales agents for one of the largest developments on the island.

"The Irish are very canny in their purchases and a reason we are looking at St Lucia is because of Irish interest in it," admits Marco Bonini, director of Prestigious Properties Limited, a UK based company who specialise in selling property in the Caribbean.

Tranquillity And Remoteness

The site at Half Moon Bay in St Lucia where Irish developers Roebuck International are developing The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton resort

While many speculators have called the island the natural successor to Barbados Bonini believes there are a number of reasons for this. He believes that the very topography of the coastline will mean that the coast will not be like Spain or Mexico and be covered in development as the resorts has to be built into the rock and coast. While this is challenging it means the resorts will be able to retain a certain tranquillity and remoteness.

He also believes that Barbados as it has developed has become more mainstream, has lost, ‘the Concorde factor' and those who had million priced villas were getting annoyed about the three star market invading Barbados so have started going to St Lucia. "The people are highly educated, there is a big supply of labour, there is low crime and there is an international airport," continues Howett.

Best Wedding Destination

St Lucia, voted the best wedding destination by American Express

When it comes to collecting accolades the island has also not been short of those coming forward. It was voted the best wedding destination by American Express, Oprah Winfrey, who owns property on the island, said it was one of the 10 places up must visit in your lifetime and it was voted the 4th most beautiful island in the world by Condé Nast Traveller magazine.

In terms of the number of tourists taking holidays there St Lucia is at present the 95th most popular destination in the world with 248,000 visiting there last year. However when you consider it has a population of just 168,458 it is not surprising that in terms of per capita it is in the top 15 worldwide. However with the cricket World Cup taking place in the Caribbean next year the profile of the island will increase, especially given the fact that the England team will be resident there. From next year Virgin will also begin flying every day from London to St Lucia.

Prices Rising

Already there is strong evidence that the island is offering clients a good return for investment. Howett, who is selling The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton development reports that already prices on the resort have increased. Properties currently priced at $1m will rise to $1.2m in September and he believes that by the time the development is up and running they will be at $1.5m.

Howett bases these predictions on way in which prices have previously increased in similar islands in the region, such as developments on the Gran Cayman nearby.

Irish Appetite

Normally if you want to buy property in St Lucia, reports, Paul Howett of Bohan Property Consultants, you need to buy an alien licence to buy, which would cost you up to $15,000, you would pay stamp duty and you would have to pay a vendor tax when you sell your property. However he reports that this is not the case for those who buy into The Residences at The Ritz- Carlton development. Average capital appreciation on the island has been 25-30%, reports Marco Bonini, Director of Prestigious Properties Limited and he reports that property prices at the Landings in Rodney Bay rose by 50% in some cases. Exchange Rates Are Favourable Howett points out that as the St Lucian currency is tied to the US Dollar exchange rates are favourable but also US interest rates are also currently stabilising and unlike European trends less likely to rise meaning that with good rental return it is likely that mortgage rates on an investment can easily be covered by the rental income generated. In St Lucia all rental income is tax free for the first 20 years and there is also no capital gains tax and no estate duty.