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| Caribbean Property Magazine Home / June 2010 / 'Letter From The Editor June 2010' | SEND THIS PAGE TO A FRIEND  |
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J U N E
 2 0 1 0 Issue 41
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| The last couple of years have made interesting surfing for the economies of the Caribbean islands. Waves from an ocean constantly evolving and changing through storms and calms, roll and crash on to our island shores. The waters of the north Atlantic ocean journey from western Europe and north Africa, curving up through the Caribbean towards the United States, and thence back across to Europe. An endless river of circulating water connecting both great northern land masses on either side of the Atlantic. Geopolitically this makes our connection to northern Europe and north America inescapable. Economically these are our deep dependencies, despite the efforts of Chinese and other Pacific Rim national policies to change that over the years. The highs of the Euro against the US dollar around $1.60 in 2008 have dramatically dropped to a weekly average (last week) of $1.18. This, of course, reflects economic instabilities and worries in some other major European Union countries, including Greece and Spain. The UK has its own difficulties but is not part of the Euro currency system, even so the British pound is also falling against the US dollar. In Spain the price of property continues to go down. Travelling around, we see in the Alicante area alone a 35-40% drop in prices in the area since last year. In the UK that has not been the case, when after last year's lows in the housing market, prices are now stable and going up. This is not difficult to analyse, since Spain has overbuilt by well over a million properties for a population of 45 million, while in the UK there is a perennial shortage of housing for a population of 62 million. In the US there is a much better balance, and construction figures, though not booming, show growth on average. In the first half of 2008 Caribbean property was still being scooped up by Europeans, whilst we saw a fall off from North Americans as they stopped spending, waiting to see how their own economy stabilised. The second half of 2008 saw the Europeans close their cheque books too, and throughout 2009 very few buyers were writing cheques from anywhere. In the first half of 2010 we have seen some interest coming back, but nothing like it used to be in the golden days of 2006-2008. The best property sales in the islands come from sound community style developments with real value for money. As long as buyers can realise some cash out of existing equity, then a home in the sun and a great lifestyle rooted in a stable infrastructure...is the answer to all our dreams and makes financial sense. These community style developments do better in central America since they require a lot of land space and a big infrastructure, along with a cheaper cost of living. There are many community developments on the islands, but they are more expensive and this limits their buyer demographic, and makes them much more vulnerable to those economic waves that come crashing in. In the islands private properties, big and small, have not dropped in price in most of the region. They have just not been sold, and often are on the market for 3-5 years. Mostly sellers are not in a rush and will wait for their price. Caribbeans take their time to do most things, including sell their property. But this ensures an underlying stability for property value that is probably much more to do with the cultural nature of the Caribbean peoples, than to do with economic waves coming in from thousands of miles away. Perhaps we just have learned to surf with a certain amount of Caribbean attitude, as the saying goes "stay cool mon!". |
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| This issue’s Money Pages and Property Pages sections feature savvy advice from veteran international columnists. Discover if moving money and your assets is right for you. Discover some well-informed guidance in our Investors and Funding. Then check out Investment Corner we have an interesting concept for those interested in investing in something a little different. Next, find out about little known, but legal and safe methods to secure your assets against the depredations of the taxman, plus also learn about the in and out of the offshore industry in Offshore Matters. Discover advice you can capitalize on in Caribbean Investor and Owner Notes and Mortgage Matters. Check out the great new deals offered straight from the developers in Off Plan Pre-Development Offers. Take a peek through the Editor’s Pick of the Month section, which always focuses on some great deals or a really extraordinary property. Clew’s Views is moving to a new section of the magazine – the Caribbean Retirement Pages. Our columnist overviews this exciting new section aimed at the Baby Boomers. Watch out for it in the next issue. Our Regular Columns begin with … Hot Off the Press The huge challenge in Haiti is staffing and supplying hospitals per Sean Penn… the U.S. military is ending major relief operations in Haiti and the UN agrees to boost its police contingent there, meanwhile Haitian farmers protest Monsanto seed donations. In Central America, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras face a huge bill after Tropical storm kills over 180….a week earlier a major volcanic eruption hit Guatemala City. Over 70 are dead as Jamaican law enforcement battles to capture a major drug kingpin. And the suspect in the Natalee Holloway disappearance in Aruba is arrested for allegedly murdering a young Peruvian Woman. Sustainable Living Read what we have learned from the Gulf oil spill…some good news is that the siphoning is speeding up by the US government…experts advise us to get ready for a very, very active Atlantic hurricane season….a Sustainable Tourism Conference addressing climate concerns is held in Barbados and in shocking news, the UN reports that the Ocean’s fish could disappear in 40 years. Tourism Treats The Panama hotel sector will be expanding by 10,000 hotel rooms….Mexico is planning 10 new Tourism Travel Rutas….Jamaica looks to image bolstering campaigns in wake of violence…Isla Mujeres readies once again for its annual Whale Shark Festival … Aeromexico adds flights from U.S. …a new airline looks to launch Fort Lauderdale-Barbados service route…. Air Jamaica to resume serving Grand Cayman, Barbados and Grenada….the Boating Butler Service at Westin St. John is a huge hit and hotel properties in Mexico continue to offer 'incredible deals. This Month’s Special Feature articles kicks off with… TALES OF A PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER IN DOMINICA (A SERIES) After Christmas 2009 the last stretch lay ahead and while many of my fellow volunteers were quite literally counting down the days until their departure and plotting how early they could leave, I was in an altogether different mindset. Having grown up with two non-national parents in a country that was not really my own I have always felt that I have to make my own ‘home’ and Dominica was really starting to feel like it. MAYAN TEMPLES AND FISH EATING BATS After six years in Belize, I just made a new discovery (something you will do all the time - it's one of the rewards of being here). Fish eating bats. These are not those cute little bats hanging upside down. These bats have evolved to hunt fish. Big, fast, enormous bulldog bats that go by a nickname, "the fisherman." These bats have two foot wings and fly at 40 mph after 11pm to catch fish. Not to worry, the bats have no interest in humans! THE STORY OF PARADISE BAY RESORT Building in the Caribbean is challenging at best. This story describes the challenges met during the construction of a small sustainable resort in Grenada. It can serve as a tale of caution, and lessons learned as there are many pitfalls in the Caribbean construction industry. And there is a one of a kind opportunity to be part of a unique, beautiful sustainable resort project – that is built with standards in mind! VISTA PARAISO: A NEW CONCEPT IN BOCAS DEL TORO Our visit to a new luxury development, Vista Paraiso, located on Bocas del Toro, off Panama’s coast in the Caribbean Sea turned out to be one of the best trips ever, for three reasons: Bocas has gorgeous white sand beaches and some of the clearest water on earth; Vista Paraiso has awesome views and offers a unique proprietary ownership plan - the ‘Key Shareholder Program” – which provides the most advantageous position for the buyer of any program of its type… it is one of those rare win, win for everybody programs. CROPS: CARIBBEAN STYLE, PT 1 OF 2 I was pleasantly surprised to find that I was soon comparing the coffee in Panama to that of Jamaica….on an almost level playing field. So I did some inquiring. As it turns out Panama, with its hundreds of different mountainous micro- climates, is exploiting a specific niche market in the coffee industry and in 2007 the most expensive crop of coffee in the world, Panama Esmeralda Gesha, sold for $125 a pound. Needless to say, that revelation piqued my interest … THE SYBARITE GUIDE TO DR BEACHES, PT 1 OF 2 There are two types of life, the great life and the normal life, but in reality the normal life is no life at all! Everybody knows that the best beaches are in the Caribbean and for certain the DR has a huge share of the best of them all. In this first part of our Sybarite Guide we will talk about those beaches where true sybarites can enjoy more than the beach itself, here they will enjoy life, the food, the pleasure of the moment, the view, in short the whole package! In the DR you do not have to be mega rich to enjoy life, you just need to have the right guide and here it is. AMERICAN ADVENTURER, MERCENARY AND PRESIDENT OF NICARAGUA William Walker was an American physician, lawyer, journalist and adventurer, who had an astounding, albeit not always successful, ‘career’ as a filibuster (these days we’d call him a mercenary), and an outright adventurer – all leading to the presidency of the Republic of Nicaragua in 1856. He was defeated in 1857 by a coalition of Central American armies and executed by the government of Honduras in 1860 at age 36 years old. Be on the lookout for our NEW magazine section aimed at Baby Boomers and Retirees, the Caribbean Retirement Pages, which kicks off in the July issue. It will be full of insightful advice, savvy guidance, and informative interviews with expat’s who made the leap and are living their dream life in an offshore haven of their choice! Enjoy this issue and we’ll see you next month! The Editor June 2010 |
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| Every morning my husband walks round our four acres of orchards and grassy spaces, and returns with 2-3 large, sweet freshly picked grapefruit, a juicy orange and sometimes a carambola. With my sharp cook`s knife, I create long ribbons of peel and slice the inner fruit up together to create a fruit salad for breakfast. Then we sit on our verandah in the sunshine planning our day, consuming the citrus fruit of our labours, or rather the intermittent and inimitable labours of our Dominican gardener! ---> Read More | ||
| December 2009 | ||
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| In my absence, Janine Goben has twice written as guest editor about politics in Honduras, and received quite a few responses from readers, some appreciative and others who felt that she had not said enough. It made me realise that politics is still one of those three topics that my parents taught me were never to be discussed outside of the family, the others are religion and sex! ---> Read More | ||
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