This is one of many articles I have read in the Canadian press promoting Caribbean property. Shouldn’t the US development community be courting our Canadian neighbors (and their richly value currency) with as much vigor?
“Canadians enticed by sun and culture at Caribbean properties
The sun shines 350 days of the year. The beach goes on and on, the smell of sea salt pervades and the Caribbean breeze sneaks up every once in a while, offering a break from the heat.
The location is the island of Providenciales, the main tourist destination of the Turks and Caicos Islands. And while the country itself hosts many Canadian ex-pats and visitors, the climate in the British territory is as far from Canada as can be. Like Toronto, though, the real estate market here is hot, with a range of condo-resorts catering to a second-home market.
And at least one Canadian developer is getting into the action.
The Kaitlin Group — best known for its country-club style developments through Southern Ontario, most in waterfront or golf club locations — has brought its 20 years of Ontario-based development expertise to the non-Canadian climate of Turks and Caicos. Now under construction, the company’s Villa del Mar condo-hotel resort, located adjacent to Grace Bay Beach in Providenciales (known locally as Provo), is attracting a buyer group made up largely of Canadian second-home purchasers.
“A lot of Canadians have been doing developments in Turks and Caicos over the years, and it’s a friendly, safe place to do business,” says Kaitlin president Bill Daniell. “We opened our pre-sales, and we sold 50% of the first two buildings to Canadians who were looking for something special in terms of a lifestyle purchase.”
The Caribbean has also proven an especially appealing destination to Canadian developers themselves. For them, it’s more than the warm climate that’s appealing — many of the islands throughout the region are also English speaking, some with British-style governments with similar laws to those in Canada. Looking to diversify or simply to create something unique, these developers bank on Canada’s reputation to take advantage of recreational real estate markets that are thriving, and to set up shop in distinctive locations. Developing in a completely different climate and culture, though, comes with challenges of its own for developers used to Canada’s codes of conduct.
“It’s a global market we’re dealing with these days,” Mr. Daniell says.
Vacation Finance offers unique mortgage options to our Canadian neighbors for purchase of US properties.
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