Conference to ask if property boom can last
RICS Cayman Chapter Leadership Committee (L-R) Ruth Watson, Senior Valuation Officer with the Lands & Survey Department; Andrew McBean, Senior Quantity Surveyor, Arch & Godfrey; Uche Obi, Caribbean Business Development Manager, DDL Studio; Alex Farrington Chartered Surveyor, Quayside Surveyors Ltd; Jeremy Superfine, Director, BCQS International (click to enlarge)
(CNS): The question of whether or not the local real estate boom of recent years is sustainable will be one of the main topics of discussion at the Cayman Islands Property and Construction Conference, to be held in March next year, hosted by the Cayman branch of RICS, the professional body of quantity surveyors. The issue of when the property bubble will burst is a significant one for Cayman, as construction and property sales have both fuelled domestic economic growth and filled government coffers. Construction grew by 7.2% in 2017 and property sales by 9%, according to official figures.
The local real estate market has been on a steady incline for several years and the RICS conference will be looking at the regional and global factors impacting the economics of real estate in Cayman.
“Recently, the Cayman Islands has experienced an unprecedented increase in activity in the real estate and construction sector that has had a positive impact on the economy,” said Uche Obi, Chair of the RICS Cayman Chapter. “It is uncertain how long the boom will last.”
The conference will allow those in the business to discuss the “internal and external factors that have influenced the boom and explore the future”, Obi added.
Category: Business, Construction, Real Estate
All great stuff! Great comments! Should be an entertaining conference where can I get a ticket!
Link to ticket page
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/rics-4th-cayman-islands-property-and-construction-conference-tickets-52887358513?aff=ebdshpsearchautocomplete
These guys need to go back to school to learn how to stop undervaluing properties then our real estate boom might stand a chance of continuing…
maybe you need to start by going to school….
Well this comment didn’t age well
Lol classic. Came here straight from the all-time record / $1 billion+ sales article… as I am sure you did.
North Side will boom too when the bypass extension is done next year!
Not until the incumbent is dethroned
There has never been a better time to buy real estate in the Cayman Islands.
When the bubble bursts the money laundering done under the guise of construction of buildings that never get leased and restaurants that never make any money will come to light.
How about some rent controlled pricing for the high end condos like they do in NYC?
Some of these so called RICS chartered QSs wouldn’t know what they were looking at even if it had a big fat label on it. This is coming from personal experiences with them.
All the foreigners getting rich of Cayman land – feel so sorry for the young caymanians of the future. We have let them down and handed over our paradise for cheap. Now they make millions of what our four fathers toiled for. Anyone notice how it’s all outsiders deciding what’s up for grabs in cayman. Yet they say we are entitled.
You have four fathers? How odd.
Not in Cayman where Moms change “husbands” on a weekly basis.
That’s why those moms love to come to Cayman where they are unknown.
Given an example because all I hear is sour-grapes from your fore-fathers selling property that you want back.
Here’s the thing. Someone had to sell it at some point.
Your forefathers sold it for much less than it’s worth today but still a lot more than they acquired it for.
They also had no way to know whether it was going to go up or down in value. Property has gone up and up but so has Apple. That doesn’t mean either was a foregone conclusion.
By your logic no one should ever sell anything. Just keep it and be rich on paper with no actual money.
Pointless rant, if buying property and investing in real estate only makes you rich on paper then why so many foreigners are rushing here to gobble up every piece of Cayman islands property then can find ? lol
I think people are more concerned about the growing trend in replacement values being HIGHER than market values for both existing and new residential homes, even commercial properties. I understand that if you are unwise enough to build a $500k home next to a bunch of $250k homes then you are asking for trouble but this value discrepancy is occurring for all types of properties with no plausible logic. There appears to be a lot of inconsistency with property valuations which needs addressing and monitoring.
Are property values genuinely decreasing? Does it impact certain areas only?
Are foreclosures pushing values down?
Are construction costs inflating enough to distort values?
Its not a question of if rather its when and its going to be bad. This madness cant go on forever. Seems like planned development will never happen.
Not true, as long as demand continues to outstrip supply, it can.
Whether that demand is authentic or just a marketing scam is true. We will see.
Lets have a “conversation” while the smart ones have already made their decision.
As long as the CIREBA cartel keep artificially raising prices to cover their commissions, we’re all good. Seriously, where else in the world are brokers allowed to reap such rewards for so little with no oversight except their own? How do i sign up to be a member?!
I think you maybe dreaming here a little..The market or the homeowners themselves sets the price, not CIREBA, They are basically sales agents for the owners..No one can tell me how much to price my property neither can someone tell me I have to pay a higher price than I think something is worth.
Cayman has a market driven economy and we should be happy if the prices of our properties are on the rise..
It is a sellers market right now and if I want to list my home at a price where I feel I can get an excellent return on my investment, no one including anyone form CIREBA can force me to do differently.
Most RICS members have been to college or university and done 2 to 4 years of further education at a minimum. They then have to get qualified which entails 2 years professional experience followed by an interview plus a written submission.
To be a CIREBA member, you need no qualifications. Most of them were former dive instructors, bar tenders and cruise ship employees. They make 7% commission. Who do you think is more trustworthy?
None of the above really…
nonsense… if that were true the prices would never go down as they did in 2010-2015
The RICS is a professional body that includes quantity surveyors as well as building surveyors, valuation surveyors and land surveyors.
Professional, that’s a laugh. I’ve dealt with some of these characters before. They were far from it.
Especially the one found guilty of “Deception” by a friendly judge some years ago . Today he would have been sent to prison instead of being free to continue screwing people as a “professional”.
who dat?…if its in the courts you can name them…
like crows looking into a milk bottle…no one can predict the future and these local ‘experts’ can’t even give you stats on property value increases over the last few years.
While this is happening I hope that Government will take a look at a suggestion put forward by Administrator John Cumber way back in April 1967 :“Looking ahead to legislation which may be considered necessary in the future, His Honour mentioned the advisability of the Assembly giving thought to protecting some land for Caymanians which would not be available for sale to expatriate purchasers”. Link; https://www.caymancompass.com/2017/04/02/50-years-ago-administrator-cumber-tackles-district-concerns-at-meeting/ At present it seems as if all development is aimed at high end customers which excludes the majority of Caymanians.Perhaps a developer should be obliged to develop or make available property not only for the millionaires but also for people less fortunate.
Downtown reach? There are more places being developed but that’s the most recent.
April 1967? We’re far beyond that now.
The Government receives $20k per every new apartment built in West Bay Road area, ‘Affordable Housing Fees’, perhaps ask your representative where thoe many millions are going…
And the developer gets $20k for every WRB condo sold. What’s your point ?
I hope they do their best and stop ruining people’s invesments such as undervaluing homes!
You mean the quarter-million house that was built at a cost of 25,000 on flooding land with terrible neighbors. Oh yeah, that house.
No was actually referring to market value being $650,000 yet replacement value is $875,000 and I’m compelled under insurance law to pay insurance on the latter. So in all not only ruining my investment but also conning me out my money on property insurance.
ok…so you know nothing about market valuations….
Yikes, its worse that I thought. Everybody’s got an angle to scam homeowners.
Ask Edlin. He got some good priced insurance he’ll sell you.
Let me teach you something. Market Value is based on sales evidence alone. The replacement value includes cost to construct, cost to demolish and professional fees. The 2 numbers have no relation to each other.
Bubble is going to burst and when it does it is going to be bad. Many are going to be holding heavy bags.
This thing is over heated like crazy. There is going to be some tears shed when the bubble bursts.
You are ignoring riots in Paris and chaos in the U.K. People want a safe and easy life. Cayman provides it (at a price) for those willing to pay it. Everyone benefits. There are plenty of wealthy people on their way coming from places where the square foot costs are much higher than here. Prices in the upmarket areas are secure, and will continue to rise.
Lots of people will get their fingers burnt
Utter bollocks. The answer is no.