Commentaries

Opinion - George Wauchope: Future Growth Forecasted For The Tax Free Cayman Islands Real Estate Market

The future of the Cayman Islands real estate market is looking brighter than ever before. The property boom is a result of the booming financial services industry and the growing tourism industry. The increase in the islands' population has also resulted in more demand for residential housing, land, offshore investment, and commercial developments to be built in order to accommodate the population growth. 

The Cayman Islands is a tax haven located in the Caribbean, which means that there are no direct taxes imposed on residents of the Cayman Islands. Therefore, the residents do not have to pay income tax, capital gains taxes, property taxes, and no withholding tax.

This means that investing in the real estate in the Cayman Islands, is an excellent way to invest your money in a property without having to pay capital gains taxes or other property taxes, which one would have to pay in other countries.

There is political stability and an efficient, trustworthy legal system based on English Common Law because the Cayman Islands is still an autonomous British Overseas Territory. This has enabled the Cayman Islands economy to grow and this growth is predicted to continue.

The graphs below show a clear trend of a growing real estate market with an increase in freehold transfers. This data was collected by the Land and Survey Department of the Cayman Islands and we will now explain the analysis.  

As you can see from the graphs, the average sale price of freehold transfers has consistently increased since 2008. Based on the past 10 years, we can predict that this growth will continue and the average sale price will continue to increase.

Especially as there has been a lot more development and building of infrastructure on the island which will help facilitate the increase in sale price. In 2018, the total consideration of freehold transfers reached an all-time high of $1,030,097,911 USD.

This reinforces the increase in the sale price and the positive effect the real estate market has on the economy.  

Furthermore, the number of freehold transfers has seen a 19% increase from 2010-2018. Based on this analysis, we predict that this growth will continue and the future of the real estate market in the Cayman Islands will be prosperous and is the reason why one should consider investing.

In the Cayman Islands, there is the possibility to purchase a variety of different types of properties depending on your needs and budget. There is a range of high-end and expensive properties to lower-end cheaper properties.

There are still large plots of land available, which opens up the possibility to develop the land into whatever you want. Due to the natural physical restrictions of being an island, these empty plots of land are limited in numbers and are very popular for developers who want to exercise more individual freedom in the development process.

The most expensive real estate can be found along Seven Mile Beach or along the canals and waterfront. As one travels away from Seven Mile Beach, towards East End or West Bay, there are more empty plots of land. East End, in particular, has not been developed as much as West Bay and George Town, which means it has a huge amount of potential to further grow and develop.

Therefore, the future of the Cayman Islands' real estate market is positive and is set to continue in the future.

George Wauchope


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