The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

The Government has been urged to “shine the light” on Grand Bahama and “stop pushing everything to Nassau”, a real estate broker arguing that the island is simply “not on anyone’s radar”.

Donna Laing-Jones, a real estate broker with Keys Bahamas Realty, told the Grand Bahama Business Outlook last week that the island was now losing out on real estate sales to islands such as Eleuthera and Abaco.

She added that there were persons on Grand Bahama who were acting as real estate agents but were not licensed Bahamas Real Estate Association (BREA) members.

During a presentation on ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly’ of Grand Bahama real estate, Mrs Laing-Jones said sellers were now more negotiable than ever, with more properties on the market and prices the lowest they have been in decades.

“Right now, one has the potential to become a real estate investor. That’s the amount of potential we have on Grand Bahama,” said Mrs Laing-Jones.

“The bad news is when we look at what Grand Bahama used to be, Freeport’s magical past compared to our present state, it is not good. Having reached out to real estate industry partners, it would be misleading to suggest that things are going great. The current state is sad.”

She added: “The Government should reduce the requirement for permanent residency status on Grand Bahama to encourage foreign persons to invest in Grand Bahama.

“All agents working in Freeport and The Bahamas as a whole should be licensed by BREA. Right now, there are persons working and walking around as agents giving incorrect information.You have persons who have collected money from buyers, and those buyers think that they are purchasing properties, when that agent has no right at all to sell.

“It should be mandatory for a BREA-certified realtor to be a part of every real estate transaction in a development. For example, the Ginn development sold over $200 million worth of properties in west Grand Bahama; maybe one or two agents benefited.”

Mrs Laing-Jones suggested that banks be more flexible in giving potential home buyers a chance. “Our buyers do not have a 20-30 per cent down payment to purchase a property,” she said.

“We need to get single mothers and young couples into their first home. There are a few banks reducing the down payment requirements, but the vast majority are not.

“We cannot compare to the Nassau, Abaco or Eleuthera consumer. We need the Grand Bahama Port Authority and Grand Bahama Development Company to reduce those astronomical service charges being levied on the consumer.”

Mrs Laing-Jones said that even with all its potential, Grand Bahamas was losing out to other islands. “We are losing out because we are not competing and cannot compete,” she said. “We are not on anyone’s radar.

“We need the Government to shine the light on Grand Bahama and stop pushing everything to Nassau. We need the Grand Bahama Port Authority and the Grand Bahama Development Company to do what there missions say: Developing and bring in investors, and bringing life to Grand Bahama.”