House Hunting on Anguilla: Modern Elegance, Steps From the Caribbean

A 6,000-Square-Foot Seaside Villa on Anguilla

$3.5 MILLION

This modern six-bedroom villa on the southern coast of Anguilla overlooks a small seaside with a cove in the Caribbean Sea. Built in 2006 on 0.65 acres in the LockRum Bay space, the three-story residence sits about 25 toes above sea degree and has 6,000 sq. toes of inside area, with hurricane-proof home windows and doorways, stated Elaine Hearn, a co-founder of Properties in Paradise, which has the itemizing. Numerous balconies and patios surrounding a pool and synthetic turf garden supply views of the close by Caribbean islands of St. Martin and St. Barthélemy, she stated.

“The property has sea frontage and access to a small cove via a natural stone staircase, where there is lovely snorkeling,” Ms. Hearn stated. “All of Anguilla’s beaches are public, but I’ve never seen anyone on that cove other than the owners of the four homes around it.”

A round drive approaches a portico opening to a lobby with a curved marble staircase. Just a few stairs from the lobby lead right down to the foremost lounge and eating space, with massive sliding glass doorways out to the pool terrace. An adjoining recreation room with a pool desk results in the kitchen, which has an island, granite counter tops, a blue tile backsplash and a breakfast nook with built-in seating. The recreation room additionally opens to a lined terrace furnished for eating, in addition to the 52-by-13-foot pool. The first ground additionally has a gymnasium, rest room, laundry room and storage rooms.

The villa’s furnishings, largely imported from Europe, is included in the asking value. Floor tiles are a mixture of marble, travertine, sandstone and native coral stone.

The second ground has 4 en suite bedrooms, all with entry to an prolonged balcony with sea views. Each rest room is marble-tiled with a glass-walled bathe; two have bathtubs and walk-in closets with built-in shelving.

The third ground has a central dwelling space with a balcony and a kitchenette, flanked by two en suite bedrooms with walk-in closets and sandstone-tiled loos.

There is air-conditioning all through the residence, in addition to three outside showers. The property, which has parking for at the least six automobiles, is landscaped with cottonwood, palm bushes, bougainvillea and hibiscus. Plans have been accepted to construct a separate one-bedroom construction, Ms. Hearn stated.

The villa is a brief drive from the village of Blowing Point, the place Anguilla’s ferry terminal is positioned, and Rendezvous Bay Beach, a two-mile stretch of white sand. The Valley, Anguilla’s capital with about 1,000 residents, is a 10-minute drive, Ms. Hearn stated. Also close by is a golf course, tennis academy and boat tour firms. Anguilla’s worldwide airport, which receives nonstop flights from Miami, is about eight minutes from the villa. Visitors can even fly into St. Maarten and take a 20-minute boat journey to Anguilla.

Market Overview

The housing market on Anguilla, a British abroad territory with about 15,000 residents in the jap Caribbean Sea, suffered the tandem shocks of Hurricane Irma in 2017 and the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, however has bounced again in the previous 12 months, stated Neil Freeman, a supervisor with Freeman Caribbean Investments.

Anguilla doesn’t publish official housing-price statistics. However, Mr. Freeman stated, after the authorities lifted quarantine necessities for vaccinated guests in July 2021, tourism, which dominates the island’s financial system, picked up and lent some momentum to actual property gross sales.

While authorities statistics present that tourism in 2021, with 28,696 arrivals, plummeted by 82.7 % from 2019, this January noticed a few of the island’s highest tourism numbers lately, based on the Anguilla Tourism Board. Stopover arrivals have been up 22 % over the board’s base 12 months of 2016.

This was due partly to nonstop flights from Miami, which started in December 2020, stated Lisa DeLong, an actual property gross sales supervisor with Tranquility Beach Anguilla, a brand new 15-unit beachfront condominium growth — the first of its dimension in a decade.

The flights from Miami, in addition to elevated site visitors from Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Island of St. Thomas, “have been a significant factor for increased tourism and investor interest,” as have relaxed customer entry protocols, Ms. DeLong stated. “Being able to skip the extra transfer in St. Maarten and be on the beach in Anguilla earlier is a game-changer and makes a weekend getaway from the U.S. viable.”

Mr. Freeman, who’s a principal with Tranquility Beach Anguilla, stated that greater than half the growth’s 15 models have bought in the previous 10 months, together with about $4.2 million value of models in the previous few weeks. Two-bedroom beachfront models are asking $1,100 a sq. foot, with different models priced as little as $750 a sq. foot, he stated.

At the identical time, the marketplace for villas continues apace, he stated: “I’ve heard of several villa owners who have received purchase offers, often unsolicited, at almost double the value from a few years ago and have chosen to hold.”

Initiatives similar to Anguilla’s Residency by Investment program — which was launched in June 2019 and affords everlasting residency to foreigners who make investments at the least $750,000 in Anguilla actual property — could also be bolstering the island’s financial system. The Digital Nomad program, which permits vacationers to work in Anguilla for 3 to 12 months, launched in August 2020 and has been one other boon to the actual property market, with greater than 500 candidates, brokers stated.

“After navigating the pandemic, people have realized they don’t have to be tied to a city or be physically present to do their jobs,” stated Janine Edwards, the director of administration at Sunset Homes Anguilla and a principal with Tranquility Beach Anguilla.

A scarcity of stock on different Caribbean islands thought-about Anguilla’s rivals, together with Turks and Caicos and Saint Barthélemy, may additionally be affecting Anguilla’s housing market, Ms. Hearn stated. “Since borders reopened, sales have been good, especially in the under-$1-million range,” she stated.

Among the qualities that appeal to international residence patrons to Anguilla, a flat 35-square-mile island of coral and limestone, are a famously laid-back and pleasant inhabitants, favorable tax legal guidelines, distinctive seashores and eating places, and a low crime price, Ms. Hearn stated. “There are no casinos, no fast-food chains, no inheritance tax and no capital gains,” she stated.

Houses on Anguilla are costlier than in nations like Costa Rica and Jamaica, however a greater deal than comparable properties on neighboring islands, Mr. Freeman stated. “Anguilla properties range from $1,000 a square foot to $1,500 a square foot for beachfront locations, and $500 to $1,000 for inland or waterfront with a rocky shore,” he stated. “In St. Bart’s and Turks and Caicos, prices are higher, from $2,000 to $3,000 a square foot.”

Who Buys on Anguilla

About three-quarters of international patrons on Anguilla hail from the United States, and about 10 % come from Canada, Mr. Freeman stated. “Anguilla attracts a mix of snowbirds, retirees and high-net worth individuals,” he stated. “At Tranquility Beach specifically, we’ve sold to several young families looking for investment income.”

Many of the remaining international patrons are British, Ms. Hearn stated. “The island is so small, there are no bad areas to buy, but many buyers are looking for the West End, where the majority of five-star hotels are, including Belmond Cap Juluca, Four Seasons and Aurora Anguilla Resort and Golf Club,” she stated.

Buying Basics

Foreign patrons on Anguilla should apply for an Alien Land Holding License, a reasonably simple course of with a $400 software price that sometimes takes between one to 4 months to be granted, brokers stated.

There is a 5 % obligation on the Alien Land Holding License, together with a 5 % switch tax on the sale of a property.

“For Tranquility Beach Anguilla, the license fee has been reduced to 2 percent, based on the number of days the condominiums are available for vacation rental,” Ms. DeLong stated.

Generally, purchases by foreigners are restricted to a half acre (industrial developments excepted), and residential building have to be accomplished inside 30 months, although exceptions are made, Ms. Hearn stated.

While Anguilla’s official foreign money is the East Caribbean greenback, many transactions are carried out in U.S. {dollars}. Buyers usually rent an area lawyer, which generally prices about 1 to 2 % of the sale value. Sale commissions are sometimes 5 % and paid by the vendor.

Mortgages from native banks can be found. “Interest rates are about 6 percent at the moment,” Ms. Hearn stated. “Most of my buyers pay in cash.”

Websites

Languages and Currency

English; East Caribbean greenback (1 East Caribbean greenback = $0.37)

Taxes and Fees

Annual property taxes on this villa are about $2,500. Foreign homeowners selecting to lease out the villa should pay an annual licensing price of about $1,000 to the authorities, Ms. Hearn stated.