Boat International – June 2017

THE EASY APPEAL OF THE BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS & THREE OF THE BEST BVI PROPERTIES

PROPERTY

Sir Richard Branson had not heard of the British Virgin

Islands before 1978, when he fell in love with Necker Island.

Since then the fame of the archipelago of more than 50

islands off the eastern coast of Puerto Rico has ballooned.

A passion for sailing unites nearly all visitors and home

owners – with consistent trade winds, sheltered waters and

picturesque anchorages making for fine cruising grounds.

Like the pace of life, the property market in the BVIs

can be slow. This was particularly the case after the global

property slump that followed the crash of 2008. Local

agents say that properties listed for sale in this lush tropical

paradise are typically on the market for three years and

then sell for 15 to 30 per cent less than the guide price. “It is

still a buyers’ market,” says Bernadette George, of Smiths

Gore, a BVIs estate agent. However, George adds that there

has recently been increased interest in local properties,

particularly from American buyers.

This is especially true on Virgin Gorda, the third largest

island. The average listing price here is 34 per cent higher

than on Tortola and the average sale price is 57 per cent

higher, according to George. High end developments

around North Sound have kept up prices, and with this

and the other islands regularly attracting the elite, its

reputation looks set to stay.

Edited by – Sophia Wilson

Sail away

The property market in the British Virgin Islands may work

to “island time’’ but the most exclusive pockets of this sailing

paradise are still highly sought after, says Francesca Steele

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