The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

TRIBUNE Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMIAN realtors yesterday revealed that overall sales and transaction volumes are up between 18 to 20 percent year-to-date, with one saying he is warning clients: “Waiting costs money.”

Matt Sweeting, REMAX Bahamas managing broker, told Tribune Business that market data shows Bahamian buyers who delay often end up paying more for their dream home and location later with 2026’s average sales price up $100,000 year-over-year and new available inventory down.

“We still have a very strong market,” he said. “What the numbers indicate is the listing counts are down year-to-date slightly, but the initial sales price or listing prices are up $100,000 on average. While there are fewer listings year-to-date, the average sales price has gone up considerably. The value has increased with less listings but higher sales prices leading to higher total sales.

“What that means for the market is that there’s less opportunity for buyers in the market. There’s less opportunity for them. If we talk about the local market, it indicates you are paying a higher price for the same property than you did last year and sellers are getting at or near asking price.

“What I have been telling buyers is that waiting costs money. The numbers here, the industry data, supports that,” Mr Sweeting added. “If you said you are going to wait; this property seems too expensive, it’s not in an ideal area, there are too many compromises - the same property you may have purchased a year later ends up costing 10 percent more.

“And so that bears out the point - waiting costs money.” Mr Sweeting told this newspaper that his company’s transaction volumes are up 20 percent for the first three quarters of 2026 compared to the same period last year, adding that market activity remains robust despite “a slight dip” in the number of properties for sale and other elements.

“We’re up probably about 20 percent in terms of production, in terms of transaction count, even in this market,” he revealed. “When I look at the amount of transactions we did last year year-to-date versus this year year-to-date we’re up about 20 percent. I think it speaks to our international reach but also our outreach in trying to bring clients value.

“Their desperation to find a home in 2026, so even though the market is showing a slight dip in a number of segments and elements, there’s still considerable activity even on the local end of the market. We are doing probably 75 percent to 85 percent local business. We specialise there.”

As for Bahamian real estate’s international segment, Mr Sweeting added: “The higher end market is still doing extremely well. I had a recent trip to Abaco and spoke to Montage Cay, the Hope Town Club. We’re very excited about opportunities for the islands. Palm Cay, Bimini, Exuma are reporting good numbers.

“Those are indications of a strong international market and considerable interest - the high-end market above $2m for people looking for condos and second homes in The Bahamas.”

Mr Sweeting’s assessment was echoed by Gavin Christie, managing partner at the Corcoran C.A. Christie real estate firm, who revealed that “overall sales” handled and generated by the company were up by double-digit percentages compared to the same period in 2025 despite a 6 percent drop in transaction volumes year-over-year.

“If you look at business year-over-year so far for 2026, we’re about 18 percent up from the previous year,” Mr Christie told Tribune Business. “That’s overall. We’re about 18 percent up in total sales. When I crunched and looked at the numbers, our overall transactions have actually decreased by about 6 percent but our average sales price has increased by between 18-20 percent.

“Transaction volumes are down, but property values remain very strong throughout The Bahamas. There seems to be a balanced amount of inventory in the market - a balanced amount of inventory and demand. That’s always a sign of a healthy market; we’re not lopsided.”

Mr Christie identified the emergence of “branded” high-end residential products, such as the Four Seasons Ocean Club Residences proposed for a site overlooking Paradise Island’s Cabbage Beach, as one of the key factors driving the country’s high-end real estate market as he predicted more such investments will take root in this nation over the next decade.

“There just seems to be a very strong demand for luxury turnkey properties and waterfront properties,” he told Tribune Business. “I think it’s a combination of a number of things. One of the big factors is the global geopolitical uncertainty that is the wars that are happening [Iran and Ukraine].

“There are very few places in the world that have been able to keep the brand of safety, security and seclusion, and The Bahamas has done a good job of that. We have become this diamond in the rough for high net worth individuals from around the world. That’s one of the driving factors.

“I think another is we’re seeing for the first time, in a long time, a tech boom with artificial intelligence (AI) and all these IPOs happening, so a lot of new wealth is being born globally and is looking for a safe destination where they can have beautiful properties and a lifestyle like we have in The Bahamas.”

Mr Christie added that “the birth of branded residences in The Bahamas” has created a new force in the nation’s high-end real estate market, describing the product as “the new big in luxury real estate that buyers are gravitating to” in the US and elsewhere in the world.

“These are brands people know globally, have experience of and know what they stand for,” the Corcoran C.A. Christie chief said. “They feel safe, comfortable when they see them tied to real estate products. That’s a big new trend, and we’ll see over the next three, five, ten years a lot more branded residences coming to The Bahamas.”

Mr Christie added that “all indications show a strong start to 2027, and a very healthy and robust market”, especially in the first quarter which is typically the Bahamian industry’s strongest three-month period of the year.

John Christie, president and managing broke at HG Christie, agreed that the Bahamian real estate market has “been pretty strong all year although it’s been a little quieter in the past few weeks” - something he attributed to the upcoming US mid-term elections set to be held in early November.

“Our biggest problem going into the New Year will be lack of inventory,” John Christie said. “It’s pretty low, at least in the luxury communities. You go into Sandyport and there’s hardly anything for sale. Lyford Cay, Old Fort Bay, there’s very little for sale, but the islands are still very strong.

“The demand is there; it’s just a question of getting the inventory…. There’s more demand than there is supply. It’s definitely a seller’s market in the higher end communities in New Providence, that’s for sure. But The Bahamas is still a great place, and with all the turmoil in Europe and the Middle East, and being a tax neutral country, we’re getting people here.”

John Christie said HG Christie had enjoyed “a fantastic year”, with transaction volumes for the full year potentially on pace to beat 2025 by 15 percent if current trends hold.