The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas’ full compliance with US FATCA legislation should drive “increasing real estate activity”, with one realtor already working with two New York firms seeking to relocate to western New Providence.

Matt Sweeting, an agent with Bahama Islands Realty, told Tribune Business that this nation’s ability to retain some of its pre-FATCA tax benefits, plus eliminate the threat of 30 per cent ‘withholding’ by the US, had “most certainly” raised foreign buyer interest.

“Within the last 30-45 days, I personally have dealt with two clients that are trying to relocate corporate operations,” he told this newspaper.

“I am already working with two companies looking to move their operations here from New York. The executives from those companies are looking for rental space in the Lyford Cay/Old Fort Bay area, and homes in that area, too.

“You’re talking about a substantial amount of activity from those clients, and hopefully these trend will continue.”

The Bahamas is now moving to give full effect to the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Agreement (FATCA) Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) that it has signed with Washington, and Mr Sweeting said it was the combination of compliance and preservation of existing tax benefits that should drive more international buyers to these shores.

“We see a huge opportunity. With full FATCA implementation we become a bit more attractive to high net worth individuals and foreign buyers, and that’s going to drive real estate up a bit,” he told Tribune Business.

“We retain some of our benefits, and the tax efficiencies of our jurisdiction are going to - especially with the FATCA implementation - drive increased real estate sales.”

The Bahamas’ FATCA compliance means that non-US foreign investors, and those with assets and money in this nation’s financial institutions, will not be caught up in the US dragnet and suffer a 30 per cent ‘withholding tax’ on all their US source income.

Mr Sweeting said he and other real estate agents worked “in tandem” with Bahamas-based Costwold Insurance, which provided an insurance trust product that “retains some of the pre-FATCA benefits in the Bahamas”.

He was speaking to Tribune Business ahead of Bahama Islands Realty’s ‘Priceless Sunset’ series of corporate ‘mix and mingles’, which is scheduled to kick-off this Thursday, July 17, at Old Fort Bay.

The concept, invented by Mr Sweeting, aims to put a new twist on real estate viewings by making them more than just a simple ‘open house’. While all held at showcase luxury properties, the Priceless Sunset series is intended to provide attendees with an event experience.

To do so, Bahama Islands Realty has teamed up with exclusive auto, catering and landscaping partners, who will help host and exhibit the events. Naughty Johnny’s will handle the dining, while the Auto Mall and Executive Motors, together with their Lexus, BMW and Hyundai brands, will provide the vehicles. And Caribbean Landscaping will ensure the grounds are in shape.

Mr Sweeting explained that the three Priceless Sunset events were also intended to introduce potential high-end buyers to Bahamian professionals and service providers they would likely engage once based here.

“It mixes luxury vehicles, art and wine,” Mr Sweeting told Tribune Business. “We’re calling it ‘The Priceless Sunset’. We wanted to take a different approach. High-end buyers have an appreciation for art, and we may be able to merge the two spheres together.”

He added that Bahama Islands Realty had wanted to differentiate its events from standard ‘open houses’, to which buyers and professionals were invited to all the time.

Potential expatriate buyers, he suggested, would be able to meet the head figures at the Bahamas Institute of Chartered Accountants (BICA) and Bahamas Bar Association, while the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation (BCCEC) would also have a presence.

The Priceless Sunset series will showcase properties and communities that Bahama Islands Realty is marketing. Following this week’s Old Fort Bay appearance, it will be held on subsequent Thursdays in July, namely at Bayroc on the 24th and Baha Mar on the 31st.

Mr Sweeting said presentations would be given at each event. These will feature the BCCEC outlining what it has done to-date and its future plans; Ryan Pinder, minister of financial services, speaking on the sector’s future; and Baha Mar giving an update on its project.

Expressing hope that the Priceless Sunset series could provide a platform for Bahamian art, Mr Sweeting added: “We want to be cutting edge and follow trends internationally.

“We want it to be an intimate crowd, invite only, of about 75-100 people.” He further suggested that real estate marketing methods had become too “mundane”.

Carmen Massoni, Bahama Islands Realty’s broker, told Tribune Business that with investor/buyer interest in this nation increasing, her firm wanted to “give a little more” than the normal open house.

“As a company we try to encourage our agents to think outside the box and do things in a more interesting way to attract and expose properties to the right clientele,” she said. “It’s a good way of exposing these to the right kinds of people.

“This is a way to expose our company to the world, show them we do luxury real estate and do it well. It’s good to partner with reliable companies that are looking to get the same results we are - restaurants, car dealers and landscapers.

“We are all working for the same market, and can make it a bit more interesting. It’s a pretty good way to kill three or four birds with one stone.”