L A N D / V I R G I N G O R DA R E A L E S TAT E
AFTER HURRICANE IRMA ripped through the British Virgin Islands in September 2017, Premier Dr. Orlando Smith estimated that about 70 percent of the territory’s buildings suffered some degree of storm damage. That figure was partially derived from a “situation report” issued by the Department of Disaster Management, which provided additional estimates on the catastrophic level of damage
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Irma did specifically to the BVI’s housing stock: Nearly 600 homes destroyed, with some 3,600 others suffering various degrees of damage from the record-setting Category Five storm. Such devastation raised serious questions about the future of the territory’s housing market. “[After Irma], we were all very concerned about what was going to happen with the BVI,” Edward Childs,
a director at Smiths Gore, said last October. It quickly became clear, however, that there would continue to be a serious need for real estate professionals in the territory. For several months, international clients needed assistance in securing their homes and finding contractors, and both residents and businesses in the BVI needed to find
