Fresh Invest

One of the most up and coming countries in the Caribbean, St Lucia is famous for it's lush countryside. With it's great tax incentives more and more investors are taking an interest in this country.

The Country:

Saint Lucia is one of the Windward Islands in the Eastern Caribbean, 21 miles south of Martinique and 26 miles north of St Vincent.

The island is volcanic and famous for its twin 'pitons'(now a world heritage site) and the sulphur Springs at Soufrière.

There is 158km of coastline. The interior is mountainous with heavy vegetation, including some rainforest. Daytime temperatures vary little throughout the year, ranging from 26-30C.

The tropical climate is moderated by the north-east Trade Winds, particularly during the drier winter months.The island lies in the hurricane belt and tropical storms and hurricanes can occur during May to November. Geographic Co-ordinates: 13 53 N, 60 68 W.

St Lucia is a Yacht charter paradise. Moorings and SunSail have bases on this Island that is well situated for island hopping and during the hurricane season offers many safe mangrove holes to shelter in. The original agricultural main crop of Banana exports have been replaced by tourism.

Awards:

St Lucia was voted as the world's 4th most beautiful island by Conde Nast Travel Awards. It offers the most dramatic of tropical landscapes with the most famous landmark in the Caribbean - Gros Piton and Petit Piton, which are stunning twin peaks surrounded by rich tropical woodland. It also has a 19,000-acre rain forest.

St Lucia has recently been voted as the ‘World’s Leading Honeymoon Destination’ in the 2007 World Travel Awards. It has also been voted top wedding destination 3 years in a row at the world Travel awards (2002,3 and 4). Castries and Soufriere have been awarded travel advisor Latin American Caribbean resort of the year.

Property Values:

Capital appreciation since 2000 is estimated at 10% per annum.

Over the last five years property prices have more or less doubled. In 2006 alone prices rose on average by 15% to 20% but value for money is still exceptional compared to neighboring Barbados as properties are still as much as 65% less expensive.
This is a significant statistic as St Lucia still offers the same advantages as Barbados.

Investment:

The World Bank has recently placed St Lucia in the top 30 countries in the world to invest, making St Lucia the only Caricom (Caribbean Community and Common Market) country to make the top 30, ahead of Barbados and Antigua.

Purchase Procedure:

The property purchasing procedure in St Lucia is similar to that in the UK, with the exception of the Alien’s Landholding License. Foreigners wishing to purchase land in St Lucia must first acquire an Alien's Landholding License.

To attract more overseas buyers, this license is under review by the newly elected government. There is no capital gains tax or inheritance tax in St. Lucia. Income tax is 33% but can be offset in the case of double tax treaties.

Summary:

There are excellent opportunities to find the right property here from Studio apartments and flats on developer’s beachfront new builds to apart-hotel rooms for mainly investment.

In these units your accommodation is let to hotel occupiers for most of the year you have a right to occupy for a number of weeks throughout the year.

If you want land to build your own dream, sites are available in this tropical paradise many with superb Caribbean views,  and a short walk to those white sand palm fringed beaches that the Caribbean is so famous for.