The Caribbean season begins
Why a turnkey luxury home tops the list for today’s buyers in Barbados, Mustique and the Bahamas
As winter wraps around much of the northern hemisphere, warm tropical temperatures and vivid blue skies announce the start of peak season across the Caribbean. Demand for prime homes on the region’s most sought-after islands has only strengthened in recent years according to Knight Frank’s 2025 Caribbean Residential Market Insight, a result of property buyers focusing on turnkey homes and sleek branded residences. It adds up to a new era of luxury for the Caribbean says Andrew Blandford-Newson from the International Residential team.
“The demand for the best quality luxury developments on Barbados, the Bahamas and Mustique is a major theme that we’ve seen continuing from Covid times,” he says. “The very best new projects beside beautiful beaches, The Ocean Club from Four Seasons and The Rosewood Residences at Baha Mar in the Bahamas for example, offer top-quality homes and excellent on-site amenities and that is what high-end purchasers are looking for today.”
Many of these new post-pandemic buyers are younger with a wish list for their homes that’s noticeably different to previous generations. For them, an elegantly designed, modern apartment is often the goal, one that offers the convenience of a home that’s easy to lock-and-leave with the hassle-free lifestyle of having on-site staff to take care of the maintenance and landscaping. In turn, developers are responding by building more top-quality apartments in prime locations. In Barbados for example, 26% more apartments were sold in the year to July 2023 than over the previous twelve months.
“There is a real shortage of land on the prestigious west coast of Barbados and most that does come up is more than often bought by developers,” says Blandford-Newson. “A wonderful example of the quality available there is currently for sale on Prospect Bay in St James. It’s a three-bedroom contemporary apartment in an award-winning building with just nine units in total. The prime location, in-house concierge, wide sea views and direct beach access ticks the boxes for many buyers.”
Buyers who want total privacy have the option of a coastal estate, also in St James on the so-called Platinum Coast. The five-bedroom villa set in landscaped gardens has an exceptional position, on a low coral cliff with steps down to an intimate beach cove.
“Traditionally, demand for homes in Barbados, the Bahamas and Mustique has come predominantly from buyers in the UK, the USA and Canada,” says Blandford-Newson. “The Caribbean Insight shows that while British buyers dominate in Barbados and Mustique, it is US and Canadian buyers who are the main purchasers in the Bahamas.”
That ties in neatly with a second theme highlighted in the Caribbean Insight, namely the tax advantages of a Caribbean home. At a time when some in the UK, USA and Canada are reassessing their tax positions after recent rule changes, Caribbean jurisdictions offer some interesting options. Canada has imposed a top federal tax bracket of 33%, on the private jets, yachts and luxury vehicles of wealthy citizens while the UK plans an end to its non-domiciled tax status. Compare that with the Bahamas which has no income tax on individuals or corporations and no capital gains or inheritance tax, or Barbados which has no capital gains tax and income tax rates far lower than most Western countries.
“The Bahamas in particular is seeing more relocations with figures saying that as many as half the wealthy expats are now permanent residents, compared with 20% pre-pandemic,” says Blandford-Newson. “In Barbados however, while it does offer the Welcome Stamp for one-year stays, property purchases are still driven mostly by lifestyle buyers.”
Prime properties currently for sale in the Bahamas include a substantial waterfront two-bedroom cottage in Harbour Island within the Briland Club, an exclusive new private community with marina in Eleuthera. The property, for sale at US$4,150,000 offers hassle-free living with good communal leisure and sporting facilities. The facilities are even more exceptional at Albany, a 600-acre estate on Nassau, just 15 minutes from the international airport. They include a championship golf course, world-class equestrian centre and extensive gyms, restaurants and a large spa. Albany has one of the island’s most exclusive homes for sale, a waterfront villa with seven bedrooms including a pool house and gatehouse. Or for the ultimate get-away from it all, an entire 144-acre island is for sale in the Exumas with over two miles of waterfront to call your own.
The private island of Mustique in the Grenadines, once the holiday haven for Princess Margaret, offers its own blend of escapism and total security. There are only 100 properties in total over the 6,100 acre island and it is rare for more than two or three to come for sale in any one year. When they do, most turnover is in the range between US$5 million and US$15 million says Blandford-Newson.
“Prices in Mustique rose by 25% during the pandemic due to a surge in demand,” he says. “We expect them to be stable throughout 2025 while those in Barbados and the Bahamas should increase slightly compared to 2024. In both locations, there is not enough prime real estate to meet the demand from ultra-high-net worth-buyers.”
