fp Turks and Caicos

The development, sales and management of real estate properties makes up a large portion of the economic pie. While things have slowed considerably in this area, it is a shift that was somewhat to be expected due to the enormous growth in the country.

“We have seen a tremendous amount of new product on the market in the last few years. Most of the properties you see today were built in the past five years,” Canham explains. He says in years past it was a sellers market, “there was not much product available and a good deal of individuals who were interested in purchasing.” This shift in the market, accompanied with an overall change in the world economic profile has created a new “typical” purchaser in the islands.

“The increase in product has put the purchaser in the drivers seat.” Canham says today vendors are more willing to accept offers and even becoming creative, “perhaps offering owner financing.” Competition in pricing is also starting to show and this is attracting the true investment buyer.

“A typical buyer in the past came here on a week to two week holiday and was so impressed with the location and amenities they would want to purchase a vacation property here. This put them in a much more emotional purchaser category. Today we see people booking short trips to come here to investigate purchases.”

Canham says purchasers today are doing a lot of investigation into the market and are much more cautious about the property they are purchasing. “They want to have a clear understanding of the rental income, they are reviewing the hotel management in detail. These are people arriving here to invest.”

The changing customer is also increasing the value of the Realtor in the market. “People are doing their research online and when they come down, they have a short window and want to see many properties and in a small time period.” Similar to most cities in North American, the Turks and Caicos is fortunate to have a multiple listing system managed by the Turks and Caicos Realty Association (TCREA), which allows realtors who belong to the TCREA to show properties from anyone in the system. Canon says this is giving customers the advantage to “contact a realtor before they even plan their trip, build a relationship and get them working for you to find you as many properties that fit your interests as possible.”

Today purchasers are buying based on the investment opportunity and Canham says in the current evolved market in the Turks and Caicos, They are able to find just what they are looking for.