The Elle is carefully constructed and developed from our 25 years’ experience in luxury property design and build. It has three bedrooms and bathrooms, a stunning open plan living and kitchen space, and al fresco dining overlooking the pool and gardens. It could be yours from £1,209,000.
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BEACH • GOLF• RESORT
Here we are in October! The evenings are getting darker earlier, it’s still hotter than hot but the promise of cooler December breezes are just around the corner. The cruise ships are coming back by the end of this month and everyone is hustling getting ready for the holidays.
Traditionally in Barbados, people get their houses ready for the season! We have lots of great ideas in this issue and super choices for accessories that will lift any property! Whether it’s painting and decorating, washing soft furnishings or pressure washing the outside, this is when Bajans do a through ‘spring clean’. A huge well done to Monique Archer and Terri Archer of Archer’s Hall Design Centre in Speightstown for their magnificent re-build after the tragic fire a few years ago. Speightstown remains a charming, quaint part of the island where you can wander around bustling streets and enjoy some great food and drink. Now that Archer’s Hall Design Centre is open with a wide array of furnishings and gifts, a beautiful light has been relit in the town!
The sale and rental of property on the island is looking healthy. We are hoping for a good tourism season but challenges are still there with the airlift from Europe taking a hit by the cancellation of Eurowings to the Caribbean and the current world situation. Barbados remains a gem in the Caribbean Sea and most people realise that a holiday here or owning a property is an excellent investment. Our pages are full of excellent choices and we invite you to explore both here and on line at www.barbadospropertynews.com.
Publisher – Hiltop Publications Ltd, 11 Cottage Ridge, St George, Barbados, BB19071 Tel (246) 232 0692
Email: sportingb@caribsurf.com www.sportingbarbados.com www.barbadospropertynews.com www.caribbeanpropertymag.com www.caribbeanmortgageservices.com
Editor/Advertising – Pamela L Hiles Design and Art Direction – 809 Distribution – Hiltop Publications Ltd, Brian’s Print Brokerage Printing Coles Printery
The Material and editorial contained in this publication have been deemed accurate at the time of going to print. The views expressed as editorial are those of the Editor unless stated otherwise. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the consent of the permission of Hiltop Publications Ltd.
It was a momentous occasion! Speightstown came alive as Archer’s Hall Design Centre came back to life after being lost to fire nearly two years before.
The Rt Hon Mia Amor Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados, Minister of Labour, Social Security and Third Sector the Hon Colin Jordan and Senior Minister in the Prime Minister's Office responsible for Infrastructural Projects and Town Planning Matters Dr the Hon William Duguid were all in attendance, as well as many business partners at this joyful event.
Monique Archer and Terri Archer of Archer’s Hall spoke of the sadness at losing their magnificent showpiece but if anyone is up to a challenge it’s these two ladies. They never gave up after the fire demolished a good portion of the main street in Speightstown and flattened several other businesses. Archer’s Hall was immediately relocated to Limegrove and it was business as usual. They accomplished the rebuild and brought back the style and beauty of the old building in just under two years. No mean feat!
Congrats to the entire team and don’t miss a visit to this store. These ladies are gifted and expert in interior design but their store has a plethora of personal gifts and accessories for the home.
This is the traditional time of the year that Bajans ‘spruce up their house’ for the upcoming holiday season. So what are you waiting for?
1 Many of the DIY stores and paint companies offer good discounts on paint and some even do 20% off storewide now. Give your home a little bit of colour or cover up some of the age spots. We believe that keeping up with the maintenance of your home by painting annually outside and at least every few years inside will be your saviour in the long run. Outside walls suffer badly in this climate from sun damage (fading) and rain. Mildew builds up quickly. Get the power washer out if you don’t want to paint. At least that will get rid of the majority of the stains and get you ready for the season.
2. Don’t have money to get new furniture? Recover! Change up the cushions, move things around, buy some new accessories. It’s amazing how much a difference these small changes can make. Take a look at pintrest for some ideas. There are many companies that have a large supply of modern, fresh fabrics and do an excellent job making your tired favourite pieces look like new!
3 Treat yourself to getting a professional clean by the experts. If you home is tiled etc they will come and clean all the grout and stains off tiles leaving them sparkling. They also do steam cleaning of drapery and rugs.
4 If you just have a few throw rugs you would like cleaned, visit Steve Stoute behind Massy Supermarket in Worthing (the old Big B). His team will do a great job and it won’t cost the earth.
5 If you really want to splash out, there are loads of lifestyle stores in Barbados with exciting new modern furniture and interior designers on board to guide you. Some of them are in this edition
– Archers Hall design Centre in Speightstown, Natz in Warrens. Drapery Specialists in Grazettes and Designer Décor in the Pine Industrial Estate. You can’t go wrong with any of these establishments and you will find stunning pieces to suit every price line.
6 Lamps, wall art and accessories!!! They can make or break a room. You will find an extensive range of them all in Carters General Stores, Kooyman, Archer’s Hall, Designer Décor, Natz, Gajah Home and Walkers World. Subtle lighting adds atmosphere to a room so just by creating a nook with a table, lamp, a nice potted plant and a chair, you have changed the look and modernised your living area or bedroom.
7 A Bathroom revamp! New towels, new bathmats and a fresh trendy shower curtain can be all you need to give this very important room a facelift. You won’t have spent a lot of money. Or do away with the shower curtain and put up some glass tiles for a nice effect. Get organised as well. Invest in Baskets or containers and organise those lose shampoos and beauty products properly on your counter space or in the cupboards below. It makes things easier to find and keeps the base of the cupboards clean.
8 The Kitchen – where we spend a heck of a lot of time. Again, some new, carefully positioned accessories or wall art can help lift a tired kitchen. If you want to splash out, how about contacting Fiberpol Inc and getting the whole counter top and cupboard doors replaced? If you can’t afford to take it all away and start fresh, this is an excellent way to give your kitchen a totally new look. And it won’t cost the earth!
9 The Garden – It’s the oasis in our home for most of us. If you haven’t given it a lot of attention, now is the time to take a serious look at it, get some new plants, change up the old furniture and create a special place. Your garden doesn’t have to be big to be beautiful. Many homes have hardly any green spaces but create beauty by artificial lawn, decking and potted plants that lift an otherwise drab area. You just have to be creative and experiment.
10 Appliances. If you have had your big appliances for years, it might be time to consider changing. Many of the modern washing machines, dryers, fridges, stoves, ovens are much more energy efficient. In the long run they will cost you less to operate and be more cost effective. You may even consider putting in a photovoltaic system. This is a relative large outlay at first but over the years, it will pay for itself and more.
Whatever you decide to do, your home is your castle. Covid 19 has proved that even more. It has to be our happy place. Now’s the time to make a few changes and enjoy the new look. What are you waiting for?
Buy or build? If you are in the market for a residential property this may be the question you’re pondering. A number of mitigating factors supports the option of buying as a credible alternative to building new in some instances due to the considerable increase in the cost of shipping and inputs for building construction. The Covid-19 pandemic and more recently the war in the Ukraine are two of the major contributing factors which, have had a severe impact on the construction industry in general with particular consequences for home buyers in the lower and middle income sectors of the market.
Local experts in the real estate market agree that buying a private residence may in some cases be a more attractive option than building new in the current environment. Managing Director and Senior Valuation Surveyor of Pyramid Real Estate Services Inc. Curtis Pounder said that because cost is making it more expensive to build at this time, new build construction may not be as attractive as the option to buy in some subsectors of the residential market. The benefits of building new still has the appeal to home buyers for having the choice of their preferred location, personalizing the layout and other specification of finishes. However, as local supplies continue to exceed demand, buyer’s market will prevail and it is therefore more likely that the option to buy will dictate the pace of residential home ownership given the additional cost factor for new build construction. As a chartered surveyor operating in the local market, the expectation is for an irreversible increase in the unit rate of construction cost that is applied in the valuation methodology for residential property to a figure that exceeds BDS $300/ ft2 if there is no positive change to current market conditions or the trajectory of inflation in the global environment.
Manager of Sales, Rentals and Marketing at Barbados Sotheby’s International Realty, Muffin Stollmeyer, said there are many benefits to buying over building. “Anything that already exists was
built at a lower price per square foot than what can be achieved now. When you buy an already existing property you can control your total spend, with a new build you don’t know what is going to go up when. Buying a completed property does not limit the purchaser in terms of getting what they want. Within our portfolio at Sotheby’s we have a range of properties including beach front apartments, stand alone homes, townhouses in developments like Port St. Charles, Royal Westmoreland, Apes Hill and properties outside of those developments as well. Any build is going to take at least 12 months and if you buy an existing property you can use it right away, you know exactly what you’re getting and you can make upgrades and changes as you see fit. Many of our owners have renovated their properties over time and in some cases vendors are in a position where because they have spent less, might be willing to take less than what obtains with the properties being built now.”
Both Pounder and Stollmeyer agree that a new build residence is likely to achieve less than what it cost you to build in the current market conditions. “That is why it is worththere is merit in considering the option to buy rather than building new right now becauseas the extent of whatever money you put into the construction of private residence may not be fully recovered by a sale in the open market or reflected in a valuation of the property. The notable exceptions are likely to be commercial and luxury residential accommodation as these categories of properties are developed primarily as investments where greater care is taken to ensure that there is a return on the initial outlay,” Pounder asserted.
In the luxury market, of course, you’re paying a premium for lifestyle so the market price will always exceed the cost of construction even with the increase. Large developments such as Royal Westmoreland and Apes Hill that focus mainly on newly built homes are able to add value in other ways and mitigate concerns around the construction process. These may include club initiation fees, and comparable accommodation for a number of weeks while your home is being built. Additionally, they offer a portfolio of villa designs to choose from, set the price upfront before starting, include project management throughout construction.
“Peaches'” Lashley Road, Fitts Village, St. James
“Peaches” is a 5 bed, 3.5 bath located on the west coast, two-minute walk from the beach on 5851 sq. ft.
Asking: $1,000,000.00
James Fort Building, Hincks Street, Bridgetown REDUCED Sitting in the heart of Bridgetown on 27051 sq. ft. is this 2-storey coral stone National Trust Building. Asking: $6,500,000.00
#6 Mount Pleasant, St. Philip
A solidly built 3 bed, 2.5 bath property sitting on 9852 sq. ft. in a quiet developed neighborhood.
Asking: $875,000.00
Is a commercial plot of land located within a predominantly industrial district just off the ABC Highway and has very convenient access. 5.65 Acres.
Asking: 11.081 million
This 5894 sq. ft. lot is flat and positioned relatively near to the main road and has easy access to public transportation.
Asking: $85,000.00
Kent, Christ Church
Approved for Commercial and Residential use.
The lot is 13.02 acres and is accessed from 3 main roads.
Asking: 8.5 Million
Lot 37 Casuarina Estates, Phinneys. St. Philip
Is a flat, beautiful 5,551 sq. ft. lot surrounded by lovely homes and is close to the main road where public transport is available.
Asking: $88,000.00
Is a fully enclosed 9,071 sq. ft. mansion is positioned in an upper-class development in Prior Park. The property has 6 bedrooms and 5.5 bathrooms and is on 60,591 sq. ft. of land.
Asking: 2.9 million
198 Casuarina Estates, Phinneys, St. Philip (back on the market) An enclosed, spacious 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms home with a basement on 13,762 sq. ft.
Asking: 550,000
range of properties.