Time to Jump In? – There is no doubt that the BVI property market is experiencing the first signs of economic recovery. With stock markets on both sides of the Atlantic reaching one-year highs in April, potential investors are starting to dust themselves down and preparing to jump back in to the property market. After a slow 2009, Easter saw an upturn in both visits to property websites and actual viewings. It appears that investors sense that the market is stabilizing, and now might be the time to strike a deal before prices, as they always do in property, start to rise again.
Two areas of the market in particular appear to be enjoying a surge of increased activity. Firstly, investors, who are often belongers and familiar with how things get done, are looking for houses that are on prime sites but may be in need of some renovation. The majority of overseas investors shy away from houses that require substantial work. Such investments are attractive to those with the energy, vision and the know-how to take on such development projects as the return can be significant.
Secondly, investors are again seriously looking at buying land to develop. So much of the BVI remains unspoilt and undeveloped, opening up lucrative opportunities for buyers and sellers alike. Whilst old estates such as Belmont and Shannon mature, new development estates such as Cooten Bay and Little Bay offer exciting investments for the long-term. Both these developments offer the buyer healthy-sized lots with stunning views and secluded beaches along with strong covenants to protect their investment. Demand is building, and with prices forecast to soar in the next ten years, there still remains time for the long-term investor to jump in.
So it appears that at last we are seeing off this latest recession, and not before too long. As stated in the 2010 Wealth Report Attitudes Survey, property remains the single largest repository of investment in the world today, given the seemingly guaranteed promise of future long-term return. With reputations and egos sorely tested on the stock and money markets in recent years and prices set to rise, shrewd investors are once again turning to property as the place to invest their hard-earned capital to make a good return.
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