By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A Bahamian realtor yesterday disclosed that its 2024 first-half closed sales have “surpassed” 2023’s full-year performance as it moves to “accelerate” deals at a south-west New Providence project.

Ryan Knowles, founder and chief executive of Maison Bahamas Real Estate, told Tribune Business that the first six months have been “pretty incredible” with closed sales boosted by deals that “spilled over” from 2023 to be completed this year.

“We’ve had a very strong first half of the year,” he said. “Our first half of the year, we surpassed our 2023 results in just the first six months. For us, it was quite a big first half. Some of that was pending sales from the fourth quarter last year that closed in the first half of this year. Some of that was spill over.

“As far as closed business, we surpassed last year in the first half of this year, which has been pretty incredible. It’s definitely in excess of everything we did last year already. It’s a good time for the real estate market. We’ve seen strong demand at all price points - the mid-market, $1m and up, to the high-end at $5m-$10m. We’re seeing growth in actual business and in new development business.”

Mr Knowles said the “new development business” includes Windsor Lakes, the south-west New Providence community whose principal developers are former Chamber of Commerce chairman, Robert Myers, and Bahamas resident, Michael Huttman. He added that some 43 percent of available lots have either been sold or are in the process of closing.

“We’ve been able to sell 40 percent of the project with no sales gallery, no model home having been built,” Mr Knowles said. “It speaks to the strength of the market, strength of the product. The market is in a good place overall.”

With 75 of the 173-strong lot inventory at Windsor Lakes now sold, or closed upon, he added that the developers are aiming to start construction of two model homes this September in a bid to further drive sales by showing what living in the community will ultimately look like.

Mr Knowles revealed that sales agreements impose a “five-year build compulsion” on purchasers to prevent persons simply buying a lot and sitting on it for years, with no construction or development activity taking place, or quickly flipping it to someone else for a profit.

“We have a five-year build compulsion,” he explained. “It’s a little different from other developments that take time to fully mature. You have to start construction within five years and complete it within 16 months. It will be a family-oriented community and it will help everyone’s property values.

“We don’t want a community where someone buys a lot and sits on it for 20 years. It keeps everyone’s property value down and you don’t get the community you are hoping for. The five-year build compulsion is great. It means that in a short time you will have a fully built-out community.

“We have building guidelines and restrictions to ensure buildings meet certain standards, which will protect the integrity of the community and protects property values as well. It also speeds construction up.”

Mr Knowles said the first of three storage buildings, each containing 40 units, “is about to be completed in the next two weeks” and turned over to the Windsor Lakes developers. He added that around half the units in the first property “are spoken for”, in terms of being sold and leased, and the remainder will be marketed once it is finished to meet the demand for storage space in that part of New Providence.

“There’s going to be a total of 120 units when it’s completed,” the Maison Bahamas chief said of the three buildings, adding that they will have separate entrances and access points from the Windsor Lakes residential with fences also keeping them apart physically.

Suggesting that construction on the two other storage buildings could also begin shortly, Mr Knowles added: “We’re going to wait to get this one and work out the kinks to ensure everything works the way it was anticipated. If we see enough demand we will get going right away. This one, the guinea pig is now complete, and we will understand all the kinks the next two will face.”

With utilities installation poised to start imminently, he confirmed that the Windsor Lakes developers are still planning a $15m investment in a commercial complex that will form the project’s final phase. “That’s still definitely in the plans for a later phase of the development,” Mr Knowles told Tribune Business.

“That’s probably realistically a couple of years away from commencing. It will comprise retail on the ground floor, office space on the second floor and restaurant space on the third floor. I believe the number is around $15m, but we want to establish the residential side of things first, build critical mass and have the flow of people we need to sustain the business. But we expect to get there pretty quickly.”

Along with the developers’ planned model homes, Mr Knowles said around three to four residential buyers were hoping to start work on their properties “at the same time. Quite a number of buyers intend to build as soon as they can.

“We expect to be busy with construction next year right through 2025 into 2026,” he added. “By the time the developer is ready to pull the trigger on the commercial centre there will be quite a number of residents who have moved in and more homes will be underway.” Construction of the clubhouse and other amenities is expected to start in January 2025 and be completed after the first quarter’s end in April next year.

“People have bought into the vision of the community and bought into the location,” Mr Knowles said. “It’s really unique. It has exceeded expectations, but we realise now we have something truly special. The market has responded to that. As soon as we get one of the homes going that is going to further accelerate sales, and we expect to have another major boost in sales and a price increase.”

Windsor Lakes is presently selling lots at prices between $225,000 and $350,000, with the cost of a home construction package ranging from $1.2m to $1.5m.