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Oceanfront living
WHAT-TO-DO - FREEPORT/LUCAYA & GRAND BAHAMA ISLAND - JAN 2005
Oceanfront living
Pricey but priceless
The winds of hurricanes Frances and Jeanne blew landscapes away but not land values. While the fury of September's back-to-back blows toppled trees and flattened some lesser dwellings the mansions survived as did real estate values.
There's only so much oceanfront property in the world, so there's always a demand for it. On the other hand, there's almost no limit to how much canalfront property could be available through clever reclamation of creative developers.
"Waterfront properties always appreciate as less and less of it is available for sale - it is simple supply and demand economics," explains Lanelle Phillips, area manager for H G Christie Real Estate. "There are several substantial homes available on both the ocean and the waterways.
"As for real bargains, there is always a property that is under priced here and there due to circumstances of owners, but waterfront on Grand Bahama is still much more affordable than Florida and definitely more reasonable that Nassau. The Sea View Estate is a fine example of the quality of real estate available."
How about the hurricanes? "We've been lucky," says Phillips. "The office is still busy."
"Unlike many areas in the world Grand Bahama still has beautiful unspoiled beach property available to custom build a luxury estate," according to realtor James Sarles, president of James Sarles Realty. "If the buyer has the beachfront dream in Grand Bahama, we can make the dream a reality."
Oceanfront options
"In Grand Bahama the prime oceanfront real estate is still Spanish Main Drive located east of Bell Channel and Our Lucaya where a beach lot approximately 130 ft on the ocean by 300 ft deep sells for $1.5 million and, if available, a canal lot across the street for $400,000. In this unique package the high-end purchaser can build a luxury home on the ocean and a guest home and yacht dockage across the street - the best of both worlds."
Princess Isle offers a similar beach/canal package in a gated community for approximately $650,000 on the beach and $300,000 on the canal. Fortune Cay has undeveloped beach lots available for around $1 million.
Luxury homes built at these prestigious addresses currently sell between $2.5 and $5 million, according to Sarles. "In Princess Isle there are two mirror-image, larger-than-life beach estates each 16,000 sq ft under construction that are connected by a breezeway. Not officially on the market but when finished they may sell the pair for $20 million or more."
Shoreline and Gardens at Discovery Bay also have luxury homes on the beach for around $2 million.
The next best thing to being on the beach is having beach access, says Sarles. "Beach access, of course, means having a right-of-way to walk to the beach from your property. Homes with beach access in Fortune Cay, Shoreline and Discovery Bay can range from $500,000 plus.
Beachfront to canals
"The same way Eskimos know hundreds of types of snow, today's sophisticated oceanfront buyers know exactly what they are looking for when it comes to waterfront property. The top of the line is a beautiful sugar-sand, wide beach with sandy bottom without sea grass, making for great swimming, along with a canal lot across the street for the guest house, tennis court, boat house and dock for the yacht.
"Next in line is a beautiful beach front without boat dockage. No problem because there are many marinas where you can keep your yacht. Then there is oceanfront property where the beach may not be perfect but the ocean views and sunset are spectacular. Also popular is the point canal lot with long canal views that conjure the feeling of being on a small lake minutes from the ocean. After that in Grand Bahama there are a few freshwater canals that don't connect with the ocean. Perfect for a row boat, canoe or kayak, and the feeling of being on the water.
"Freeport has a very unique interconnected canal system," points out Sarles. "I like to refer to as 'the Venice of the Caribbean' where people from around the world are building luxury homes and parking their yachts of every size in the back yard on the deep-water canal. The canals are crystal clear, unpolluted, have coral life and rise and fall with the tide. The canal lots with deep water boat dockage allow the avid boater to reach the ocean for fishing or scuba diving in a matter of minutes or drive their boats to Port Lucaya for dinner," he says. Canal lots in Bahamia, Bell Channel, Fortune Bay and the Grand Lucaya Waterway range in price from $80,000 to $300,000. Luxury homes can be found on double canal lots worth more than $3 million.
"The hurricanes have not really affected prices as Grand Bahama has made a strong quick comeback. The hurricanes have made buyers more conscious of demanding high quality construction built to withstand strong winds," says Sarles.
New waterfront plan
And then there's the Moon Bahamas plan. The $4.5-billion project encompasses five man-made islands, the world's largest casino, largest and tallest hotel with 12,000 suites, multiple attractions including extravagant entertainment facilities, 10 cruise ship terminals, 50 restaurants with elite chefs, the world?s largest resort wine cellar, the largest marina, a huge aquatic centre, an impressive 22,000 condominium real estate development, a massive convention centre and premier sports facilities, including four 18-hole golf courses.
Construction, which is proposed in relatively shallow waters off northern Grand Bahama with each of the islands shaped like a moon, is projected to take five years and be completed in 2010.
Creator and chairman of RJH Holdings Canadian Michael Henderson, of Vancouver, has dubbed it the world's largest, most spectacular, expansive and most exclusive resort and real estate development. The project faces a few environmental and governmental hurdles before it gets under way.
Meanwhile, hurricanes Frances and Jeanne notwithstanding, Grand Bahama is still enjoying a relatively steady real estate business and realtors are optimistic about continued interest in ocean and waterfront living.
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