By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A Bahamian realtor has renewed plea for tax consistency and continuity in the sector amid concerns that constantly changing rates represent an increased investment risk for overseas buyers.

David Morley, Morley Realty’s broker/owner, told Tribune Business in a recent interview that the Bahamas Real Estate Association (BREA) has been trying to impress upon the Government the need to maintain a relatively seamless VAT transfer tax and real property tax policy that avoids continual rate changes in the annual Budget.

While it is unknown whether the message has got through, he added that “at one point in time” it was understood that the Government was considering raising the annual property tax cap from $150,000 to $175,000 in a bid to generate more revenue. However, it ultimately decided to leave the cap at $150,000.

“The big thing the real estate association (BREA) is trying to remind the Government of is, on the issue of taxation of property, they’ve got to have a period of consistency,” Mr Morley told this newspaper. “An international buyer doesn’t want to find out that, five years ago, it was this percentage and then last year it increased by two percentage points.

“They want to know that whatever taxation they’re buying into will be there for a longer period of time, so that getting money out might not be subject to the risk of increased taxation and, therefore, running a risk on their investment.”

Mr Morley added that his firm’s analysis of Multiple Listing System (MLS) data for the 2025 second quarter further affirmed that The Bahamas has five distinct, separate property markets - each with their own characteristics - in the shape of New Providence, Grand Bahama, Abaco, Exuma and Eleuthera.

“There’s no if’s, and’s and but’s about it,” he said. “There’s no doubt about it. There’s some similarities. If you look at the five different island markets throughout this report, some of the islands have similarities - it might be contracted sales or new listings - but when you look at other islands they might be somewhat different... You have to look at them as individual island markets.”

Mr Morley said the MLS data as a whole was “encouraging”. While new listings fell on Exuma and Eleuthera, they had increased on Abaco and New Providence. “We’re still seeing increases quarter-on-quarter on new listings coming on to the market,” he added, noting that the supply of available properties continues to exceed demand.

“The question was whether the volume of inventory coming on to the market would be sustainable for a long period of time or level out, but there’s still a significant amount of inventory out there,” Mr Morley continued. “The demand is obviously not greater than the supply coming in.

“It’s not depleting, and it’s not at the break even where demand meets supply. We’re not seeing that. We’re seeing a net increase in inventory.... I think it’s still a very strong market. If you look at the number of contracted sales, to me everything is up quarter-on-quarter, year-on-year, pretty much across the board except for Eleuthera homes where contracted sales are down 6-7 percent.

“Demand is still there, which is great. If the demand is still there it means financing is there with the banks. It’s really a situation where I think it’s a very good market. Is it a seller’s market? A buyer’s market? I think it’s still very much a seller’s market. If you look at the sales to listing price ratio most of them are north of 90 percent; some of them are close to 95 percent.”

Morley Realty, in its assessment of 2025 second quarter market trends, said: “Contracted and completed sales presented mixed results. New Providence stood out with a 47.2 percent increase in contracted home sales and a 32.1 percent gain for land. Abaco also performed well, with completed home sales up 46.7 percent.

“Eleuthera land remained active, with a 35 percent increase in contracts and 35.7 percent more closings. Exuma experienced some changes, with a 33.3 percent decline in contracted homes and a 14.3 percent decline in completed home sales, though land sales rebounded, increasing 350 percent quarter-on-quarter. Grand Bahama showed modest home sales growth and a 50 percent rise in land closings, though overall volume remained lighter.”

Elsewhere, Morley Realty added: “Sales prices were uneven, reflecting both seasonal variation and market recalibration. New Providence homes recorded a 56 percent drop in average price quarter-on-quarter, and Exuma homes followed with a 30.5 percent decline, though Exuma still led with an average price of $1.84m.

“Eleuthera saw modest improvement, with average home prices rising 1.5 percent over the quarter. Land prices showed a mixed pattern: Grand Bahama fell 57 percent, while Exuma land rose 1401.7 percent quarter-on-quarter. Median land prices climbed in Abaco, Eleuthera and Exuma, pointing to demand for mid-range land parcels.

“Days on market (DOM) saw sharp quarterly increases in several segments. Exuma and Abaco land both exceeded 225 days, suggesting slower closings. New Providence homes rose to 118 days, while land remained somewhat stead,” the realtor’s report added.

“Conversely, homes in Eleuthera and Exuma moved faster, with DOM dropping nearly 50 percent in both, signalling increased urgency. Grand Bahama homes were steady, while land took significantly shorter to sell.”