Home from home: Typical Bahamian houses
These days, the new wave of incomers arrive seeking leisure, pleasure and financial opportunities on the 700-odd islands and cays that make up the Bahamas.
The capital Nassau, on New Providence Island, is the heartbeat of the islands. Independent from Britain since 1973, the country has become synonymous with the 'offshore banking' industry.
'The business is done in Nassau,' says Jason Callender, vice president of Albany, a £2bn resort community in development on the island. 'Plenty of hedge funds and trading take place here.'
Encouraged by a highly competitive tax regime — no income tax, capital gains tax, wealth tax or VAT — the Bahamas have become home to wealthy individuals seeking to avoid high tax burdens overseas.
Actor Sean Connery, tennis player Lleyton Hewitt and his wife Rebecca Cartwright are among celebrities who own property on New Providence Island, around 180 miles off the Florida coast.
Stretching a compact, but not claustrophobic, 21 miles long by seven miles wide, New Providence Island is largely flat.
However, it is the miles of beaches and emerald waters that ring the island that are the main draw.
Sailing, snorkelling and diving are appealing to visitors and locals in the 'bath water' Atlantic Ocean.
'The Bahamas are popular with US, Canadian and British holidaymakers looking to escape their cold winter weather,' says Callender, a fourth-generation Bahamian.
'There's a direct BA flight five days a week from London to Nassau. An airport extension should open by the end of 2011 and it is likely that Virgin Atlantic will re-open a route.'
There are half a million tourists annually, excluding cruise ships. Visitor numbers increased significantly since 2007, when the South African-born businessman Sol Kerzner developed the Atlantis Resort, on Paradise Island, linked to New Providence Island by two mile-long road bridges that span the main harbour.
The £2.6bn Atlantis Resort is a vast, palatial-style creation that is ostentatious in the Las Vegas and Dubai mould.
A 26ft-high water sculpture that incorporates several winged horses sets the tone.
Inside, 3,500 hotel rooms, a casino, entertainment centre, nightclubs, shops including Bulgari, Tiffany, Versace and several restaurants, such as Nobu, entertain the thousands of visitors who enter its gilded doors.
As the global recession eases, development on New Providence Island is set to restart. On the island's south-west coast, near the established residential community of Lyford Cay (where Connery can often be spotted on the golf course), is the Albany resort community.
The £600m marina and golf development is the brainchild of Joe Lewis, owner of Tottenham Hotspur football club and chairman of private holding company the Tavistock Group. Golf stars Tiger Woods and Ernie Els are investors.
Els has designed the par 72 championship golf course at the heart of the gated community, soon to comprise 375 luxury properties, a spa, equestrian centre, tennis courts, fitness centre, restaurants, water park, family areas, children's clubs and adult-only areas.
Albany significantly raises the bar for residential and golf course development in the Bahamas.
Peter Swain, of Golf International magazine, says: 'Caribbean courses typically feature lush green vegetation and ocean views.
'This new Ernie Els set-up is a flat, inland desert course. It's long, with small greens and the condition is immaculate.
'Purists will love it, but those looking for a traditional tropical course might be a tad surprised.' Golf-side plots start at around £1m, with an estimated £320 per sq ft for build costs.
British golfers Ian Poulter and Justin Rose are among buyers of the four-storey 'cottages' in phase one. Six cottages remain for sale, from £2.6m each. Building will be completed by September, when the resort is formally opened.
The next phase of development at Albany is the marina. Designed by a consortium of five New Yorkbased architects, led by Robert Stern, of Robert AM Stern Architects, the aim is a mix of old and new, with apartments that look as if they've evolved over time.
'Our inspiration for the marina has been taken from studying what works at St Tropez and Port Grimaud, in the South of France,' says Christopher Anand, managing partner of Albany.
'But we have also looked at what makes the SoHo district in New York, and parts of London, function so well. We concluded it's the way communities evolve in varied architectural styles over time.'
There will be 12 apartment buildings, plus a courtyard plaza with restaurants and cafes. A two-bedroom home starts at £1.9m. One-acre marina beachfront plots overlooking the ocean and marina are available at £6.7 million.
Owners can choose to put their property into a rental pool, retaining 70% of the net income. Villas will rent from £5,000 a night, according to Anand.
Prices per sq ft at Albany are expected to set a new benchmark for the island: from £600 up to £1,300.
Lyford Cay, the oldest resort community (first developed in the Fifties), is the nearest comparable at £380 to £1,300. Prices at Ocean Estates Club, on Paradise Island, are from £500 to £1,300 per sq ft for a new property.
Next door to Lyford Cay, Old Fort Bay is a gated, canalside community begun in 2002. Amenities include a private marina, playgrounds, tennis courts and a basketball court.
A Mediterranean-style, 17,200 sq ft, four-bedroom home in a culde-sac with water on two sides costs £2.6m.
'There's a healthy mix of holiday homes and permanent residences,' says Sara Callender, Old Fort Bay sales and marketing manager.
'It's popular with the locals — entrepreneurs, doctors and lawyers — and it's international, too. We have owners from Canada, the US and Britain.
'There's scope for homeowners to move within the community, to a bigger home as the family grows, and later to downsize.'
On neighbouring Grand Bahama Island, Savills is marketing Shoreline, a private community of 76 three and four-bedroom properties.
On Fortune beach and set within beautiful landscaped gardens, the leisure facilities planned include seven swimming pools, tapas bar, clubhouse, three tennis courts and a lake. Prices start at £536,600.
Entry-level condominiums on New Providence Island include those at Sandypoint resort, from around £260,000 to £3,200,000; villas from £380,000 to £480,000.
'Buyers need to spend at least £320,000 to be eligible to apply for residency, which will give them the available tax breaks,' says Callender.
Read more: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/mortgageshome/article-1689662/Property-abroad-Go-offshore-in-the-Bahamas.html#ixzz41UiYOXyn
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