By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A Bahamian realtor yesterday said "the private island market has gone hot like fire" as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, adding: "It's social distancing at its finest."

Gavin Christie, CA Christie's managing partner and broker, told a Business Unusual webinar on how the virus has impacted Caribbean real estate that private islands and remote Family Island locations were increasingly being viewed as "the new luxury" by wealthy buyers seeking to escape the threat to their health.

Revealing that his firm has seen "online activity almost double in the last 14 days", Mr Christie said The Bahamas needed to send the message that it remains "open for business" despite the border closures and travel bans associated with the global response to COVID-19.

He told the webinar, moderated by Alexander Britell, the Caribbean Journal's editor-in-chief, that the pandemic still represented "a huge opportunity" for Bahamian and regional realtors as they could now engage "a captive audience" forced to remain at home in front of their computers by curfews, lockdowns and other restrictions.

While yet to see sustained efforts to negotiate prices downwards on purchases already in motion, Mr Christie said both residential and commercial tenants are seeking to renegotiate rates and terms with their landlords. He noted, in particular, that there were large companies typically paying between $40,000 to $60,000 per month in rent who were closed and earning zero income to service this.

Mr Christie said he was encouraging buyers to "use this time wisely" and "do their groundwork" and research on properties that they would potentially like to purchase. And he was also urging sellers that "now is the time to go" given that the COVID-19 pandemic will have driven away "a lot of the tyre kickers" to leave serious buyers only in the market.

"When this pandemic really started to hit home and I realised all the world's borders were closing, I saw this as a huge opportunity," Mr Christie told the webinar. "It's the first time you have the entire world sitting down in front of a computer or smart device. I saw it as a huge opportunity to have a captive audience."

He explained that he quickly moved to develop social and electronic media content marketing himself, the firm and The Bahamas to both a local and international audience. Various audiences were targeted including his fellow realtors, who he urged "not to panic" over the uncertainty and market volatility caused by COVID-19. "The response we got was overwhelming," Mr Christie said.

"We need to let people know The Bahamas is still open for business. They have to understand we're still doing deals. If they want to be a luxury home or condo they can do it today. They only challenge is they can't physically view properties, but they can do it online. The private island market has gone hot like fire. It's social distancing at its finest. Social distancing is the new luxury."

Other Bahamian realtors, including John Christie, H. G. Christie's president, have also reported an increase in private island inquiries as high net worth individuals seek out remote locations where they can keep themselves and their families safe from COVID-19, future pandemics and other global crises.

Efforts to keep real estate sales flowing, and conclude deals in the pipeline, have also been boosted by the Government's re-opening of both the Department of Inland Revenue for the VAT stamping/payment on conveyances and the Registry of Records for their recording/lodging.

"With this global pandemic comes change, and with change comes opportunity," Mr Christie reiterated. "That's what I'm kind of seeing with my client base and data base. There's going to be a global shift in money, and you have a lot of high net worth individuals looking at new options, looking at restructuring.

"The Caribbean will be first in line. I'm seeing an uptick in business, uptick in queries. Social distancing is the new luxury for The Bahamas. What I'm seeing is that a lot of these potential buyers are not looking at Nassau, which has 80 percent of the population. They're looking at the Family Islands, Staniel Cay, Harbour Island. It's social distancing at its finest.

"They're looking for safety, security and seclusion. They can find that in the Caribbean. We are very busy, and a lot of opportunities will come out of this COVID-19 issue. I personally have been very busy over the last six weeks. The digital platform is the new norm and social distancing is the new luxury."

The Government, though, has yet to follow the lead set by the likes of Turks & Caicos, which has slashed the Stamp Duty rate on real estate transactions by 50 percent; waived planning fees; and reduced taxes on building materials in a bid to stimulate construction and real estate-related activity amid the tourism shut down.

Urging the Minnis administration to put similar incentives in place by focusing on "closing costs", Mr Christie said "the big question" over whether it follows Turks & Caicos by cutting VAT on real estate sales remains. He also called for the Bahamian real estate industry to be represented on the committee that the Prime Minister is forming to chart the post-COVID-19 recovery.

Real estate transaction closings are now taking place electronically in many Caribbean nations, with documents ferried via courier between attorneys. Mr Christie said he personally had two transactions that were "under contract" and moving ahead despite the pandemic, which he said signalled confidence in the Bahamian market among potential buyers.

"I've put a list together of 10 of my top clients and said: Now's the time to go," he added. "I said: 'Use this time wisely to start doing due diligence'. The borders remain closed, but I will use this time to connect with them, and do due diligence, do the ground work and work through the possibilities. I've told them that now is the time, and use it wisely to do due diligence on whatever the investment property is."

Sending a similar message to sellers, Mr Christie said: "It's a very case sensitive topic. I'm telling them now is the time to go. You have a captive audience, and a lot of money is shifting around. You want to be in front of it. Those shopping in the COVID-19 market; they're serious.

"It's kind of eliminated a lot of the tyre kickers. Those guys shopping are serious buyers looking to do serious deals. I'm saying you won't find a better time to go into the market on the luxury side. A lot of people are looking to move money, and The Bahamas and Caribbean is top of the tree."

While he had seen little pressure to-date to renegotiate purchase prices and terms, Mr Christie added: "What I have personally seen is more so on the rental side, where you have tenants - be it commercial or residential - who are looking for rental credits or to sit with the landlord and repay the loan.

"You have large commercial entities paying $40,000, $50,000, $60,000 a month and now their operations are closed. The problem is no one knows how long. We're seeing a lot on the residential side but not so much the commercial side."

Mr Christie said vacation rentals, guest houses and timeshares were among the elements of the real estate market hit hardest by COVID-19 as tourism business was now "non-existent" across the Caribbean.

He added that the pandemic had also enabled realtors to slow down from their "1,000 miles an hour" lifestyle of viewings, meetings and conferences to instead focus on family and other important life aspects.