Forget St. Barts…and Get a Real Caribbean Bargain

Date: 09/16/2007

You probably know that property prices on the Caribbean island of St. Barts (St. Barthélemy) are as pricey as it gets…but you may not know of the bargains to be found elsewhere in the French West Indies. Islands such as Basse-Terre and Grande-Terre (in the Guadeloupe archipelago) have real estate bargains galore (as well as better beaches than St. Barts, beautiful scenery, and a far more interesting culture).

Here are just two examples I found:

* A two-bedroom, 409-square-foot seaside apartment in St. François, near the eastern tip of Grande-Terre. The apartment is in a high-security complex with three swimming pools and a garden. Price: $92,000.

* Near Petit-Bourg on the east coast of Basse-Terre, a new two-bedroom apartment in a building with a swimming pool, tennis courts, and parking space. Price: $186,000.

To the south, the island of Martinique has long been a haven for Europeans and is now beginning to attract a growing number of property-savvy North Americans. Despite its popularity, Martinique also has great real estate buys--if you know where to look. Some ocean-view apartments, for instance, have recently been on the market for less than $100,000, and three-bedroom houses--often called "villas" by real estate agents--can be found for under $250,000.

Hurricane Dean decimated the banana crop on Guadeloupe and Martinique. There was much less damage to houses and apartments, especially in the areas that attract foreign buyers. Real estate prices on Martinique may dip temporarily--you'll probably notice lower prices on houses advertised as "fixer-uppers," which would be houses that suffered minor damage. But barring another storm, any such drops in price will be short-lived because the majority of buyers are aware that hurricanes regularly hit the French West Indies, just as they do most other places in the Caribbean.

Even though the cost of living here is higher than the U.S., it can work to your advantage because it helps create a strong rental market. For example, the two-bedroom apartment in Petit-Bourg I mentioned above, the one for $186,000, is expected (by the real estate agent) to rent for $1,100 a month.

Don Ediger

For International Living

P.S. As overseas departments of France, Guadeloupe and Martinique have excellent medical facilities and schools.

Editors Note: We asked Don to conduct a full and frank investigation into buying a second home in the tropics. "IL readers always ask us where they can buy a house in the sun for less than $100,000…sometimes a lot less," we said. "Don, find out where, how, and how much, and tell the readers." Don investigated The Bahamas, Belize, Costa Rica, The Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe and Martinique, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Panama. He crammed everything he discovered about the 10 countries and island nations he explored into the new book Your Own Second Home in the Sun. For this week only, you get Your Own Second Home in the Sun at a hefty 15% discount and with a free special report, How to Own Your Own Private Island. Here's how.