House Hunting in... Grenada

The New York Times, January 26, 2010 by Lisa Keys, New York Times Staff Writer

A six-bedroom six-and-a-half-bath waterfront castle about 15 minutes from St. George is on the market for $4 million.

A Six Bedroom Six and Half Bath Waterfront Castle

This eight-year-old waterfront property, called Azzurra Castle, was built to emulate Moorish style, in a small community about 15 minutes from St. George, the capital of Grenada. The house has 17,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor living space, as well as private gardens, a dock and two private beaches. All furnishings and artwork are included in the price

Most of the home is open to the elements. There are no walls or windows in the great room, the home’s main living space, although the bedrooms are air-conditioned.

The home’s north wing has a bar area and a farmhouse-style kitchen, with wooden cabinets and countertops. Off the kitchen are the staff quarters: two bedrooms, a bath, a sitting area and a laundry room. There is an office in the basement, as well as a small gym and a cinema with 12 leather reclining chairs.

The south wing has an open-air dining area, as well as a sitting room with a half bath lined in mahogany, to resemble a confession booth.

Four bedrooms, including the master bedroom, flank the pool area. Each of the bedrooms has an en-suite bath, with stone floors inlaid with mosaics, as well as a private walled-in garden. The master bedroom has a private sitting room.

The pool area, which is accessed via the great room or the bedrooms, has a large terrace patterned in terracotta tiles. The pool is 50 feet long and has a decorative mosaic. There is a terrace for dining.

A coral path leads south through tropical gardens to a furnished barbecue area and a two-story turret with an additional guest bedroom, as well as a one-bedroom guest apartment with a kitchen and bathroom. At the top is a roof deck.

The turret is adjacent to a dock and a private beach. On the northern edge of the property is another beach, accessed via a wooden beach deck with lounge chairs and a Jacuzzi.

St. George has shopping, dining and an international airport.

Market Overview

Housing prices in Grenada remain a bargain compared with those in other Caribbean islands, even though values have risen substantially over the past 20 years, said Hyacinth McBarnette, the broker-owner of Re/Max Grenada.

Following years of political unrest, Grenada’s real estate market began rising in the early 1990s. Prices in prime residential areas like Lance aux Épines, True Blue and Westerhall Point — all on the island’s south shore — tripled in value during that time, Ms. McBarnette said.

In 2004, a hurricane demolished most of Grenada’s infrastructure and residences. Within the year, however, prices started to rise again.

Today the global downturn has flattened prices; in some instances they have dropped about 10 percent from a peak reached last year, Ms. McBarnette said. In prime residential areas, condos sell for $300 to $500 a square foot; houses typically range from $200 to $500 a square foot, she said. Most foreigners buy in the $350,000 to $1 million range, she added.

In recent years, increasing numbers of foreigners have discovered Grenada; international airlines are now flying there directly from major American and European cities, said Catherine Gazder, an associate broker at Lila Delman Real Estate, an international real estate company in Newport, R.I.. Grenada’s tourism infrastructure is undergoing improvements, and the government is seeking to avoid overdevelopment, she said.

Who Buys In Grenada

The majority of foreign buyers are from the United States, Canada and Britain, said Ms. McBarnette, though Europeans — Germans in particular — and other Caribbeans can also be found among buyers. Grenadians who live abroad are a “significant part of the equation,” she said.

Buying Basics

All foreign buyers must obtain an alien landholding license from the government, said Sheila Harris, a partner at Grant, Joseph & Co., a law firm in St. George. The process involves filling out an application, as well as providing personal and banking references.

A lawyer typically handles this process; fees vary but are approximately 750 Eastern Caribbean dollars ($275), plus a 5 percent government consumption tax, said Ms. Harris, explaining that as of Feb. 1, this tax will be replaced by a 15 percent value-added tax. The filing fee comes on top of lawyer handling fees, typically 2 percent of the purchase price. Buyers must also pay a 10 percent alien land-holding tax and a 1 percent stamp duty.

Buyers should anticipate a total of 13 percent in buying costs on top of the purchase price, as well as the cost of legal fees.

Grenada’s banks have traditionally been conservative with their lending practices, though financing is available, Ms. McBarnette said. Foreigners should plan on having one-third of the purchase price as a down payment; interest rates start at about 8 percent.

The New York Times, January 27, 2010 by Lisa Keys, New York Times Staff Writer