January 2023 — Property Cayman | Real Estate Experts in the Cayman Islands

The cat is out of the bag. We now officially offer property management.

I say officially because, to us, the property journey has always been more than just buying and selling. Our aim, since day one, has been to assist property owners in preserving their property value long-term, no matter where they are on the property ladder. Offering matter-of-fact advice and always putting our client’s interest over the commission.

It’s an approach that means helping clients set up their electricity, water, and internet services to even arranging storage and movers. It’s an approach that also means when there is a leaky sink or a wall that needs repainting, the first call made has always been to us, asking: “Can you recommend someone to help?”. If you looked at our team’s Whatsapp chat, you’d see what I mean. We have been in property management for years, harnessing our collective knowledge for our clients.

A different approach to property management

But now it’s official. And, like everything we do, it’s different. Our bespoke services allow owners to choose what we manage of the day-to-day operations, from routine property health assessments and arranging for repairs to screening tenants, maintenance, and bill payments. We give you precisely what you need and nothing you don’t. It’s simple, cost-effective, uncomplicated property management that works.

Property management is part of the property journey and our natural evolution. It is responding to our client’s needs and providing them with the best all-around service. The key difference is that it is a service built for the individual. Not a one-size-fits-all model.

Property Management is essential for those looking to rent their properties or who spend extended or frequent time away from home. For landlords, we can handle all aspects of the tenant relationship as well as serve as the liaison with your homeowner’s association (aka Strata). In addition, we inspect properties and identify areas for potential preventative maintenance as well as schedule repairs, troubleshoot problems for guests or just stop by to make sure everything is okay while you’re away from home.

Your in safe hands

How do we do all this? Cue Mariasol-Hernandez Antillon. Mariasol was hand selected to lead our property management department. She has a bachelor’s in business administration and over 15 years of Cayman management experience.

With decades of collective real estate experience on our team, we have carefully selected and vetted all the service providers we work with and have thorough screening procedures for tenants. In addition, we have secure billing, reporting, and tracking software with safeguards to protect your information. It’s about providing security. Clients entrust us to take care of one of their most valuable assets. And we will.

Launching property management services

We soft-launched property management with Mariasol at the helm at the end of 2022, and overnight we were actively managing 13 properties and facilitating numerous rental placements. A fun fact about Mariasol, she is an excellent juggler — proven in both the literal and figurative sense now!

We asked her how she balances all the client requests, tenant communication, and repairs. She laughed and said, “I meditate. But really, it’s not that complicated. It’s my job to be the calm resource. The owner needs to know that I can confidentially and efficiently troubleshoot the issue, so they don’t have to. So I get it done. It’s that simple.”

Mariasol works closely with our team of agents and administrative wizzes and is one seriously efficient go-getter. I also think it is important to note that on any given day, it is entirely normal for one or more of us to say ‘Hola Mariasol!’ with a shimmy of the hips as this legend enters the office at 51 Fort Street! She has the best positive attitude and such a great laugh that it’s impossible not to feel at ease with her around.

If you want to know more about property management or Mariasol’s tip and tricks for being the calmest person… ever, you can contact her directly at (345) 925-9271 or [email protected].

Check out our property management service page because owning a home in paradise should be just that, paradise. Leave the heavy lifting to us.

Cayman’s real estate market showed resiliency in 2022. In many ways, it was a banner year for the island’s real estate market.

Almost US $1 billion in property was sold this year. The second highest in Cayman real estate history. And the average value of each transaction was the highest we have ever seen.

Long story short — as a safe, tax-neutral jurisdiction with the best infrastructure in the Caribbean, Cayman remains a strong investment.

Another record year

The US $972,230,658.22 sold this year is just below the record-setting year of 2021, when there was $1,084,760,978.86 in sales value, according to the Cayman Islands Real Estate Brokers Association (CIREBA).

To put those numbers in perspective, the total sold value of properties sold in 2020 and 2019 was only about 60-70% of that.

The average value of each transaction in 2022 was higher ($1.131 million) than it was in 2021 ($1.015 million). An 11% increase year on year.

This reflects what we are seeing in the United States as well, where the number of home sales is forecast to drop 16% in 2022 compared to 2021, but the value of those homes is expected to grow by 10% as well, according to the National Association of Realtors.

The great reset

While sales value numbers remain strong, 2022 was in many ways a year of recalibration.

We’re experiencing an uptick in housing supply following 18 months of record housing scarcity. This is an expected and completely healthy shift in the market. After all, rising interest rates, inflation, volatility in the capital markets and the war in Ukraine have combined to slow the economy generally, impacting those who require financing. There were 1,037 active listings as of the last week of the year, while there were 688 this time last year.

While that shows an increase in supply, those numbers really come in line with pre-pandemic housing availability. There have been times in my career when I’ve seen more than double that number of active listings, meaning even a recalibrating Cayman market is a strong one.

Trends

External economic factors have begun to affect more of our clients. Initially, it was really those needing to borrow who were most impacted by inflation and subsequent interest rate hikes. However, we’ve now started to see the impact on just about everyone, regardless of income or type of property.

This has led to some softening of prices or has required more patience from sellers. It has led to difficulty in acquiring financing for buyers and caused some hesitation.

Another trend I expect to see is an increase in rental rates. That may sound counterintuitive, seeing as how there are several new developments online or coming online soon. But with the current environment making it more difficult to borrow, more people who may have been interested in buying will have to rent for the time being. This will increase the demand in the rental market.

Tourism

Tourism in Cayman is back!

Anyone on the island has noticed the influx of visitors over the past few months. This is our first “high season” without COVID-19 related restrictions on travel since the start of the pandemic.

Talking to those in the industry, they say the hotels are very close to being at 100% capacity, despite many increasing their rates. That means a wealthier visitor arriving in Cayman, which bodes well for local real estate.

In December, Tourism Minister Hon. Kenneth Bryan told Parliament that visitor numbers in October and November were approaching those of Cayman’s record-setting 2019 numbers.

Opportunity

Set yourself up today to have success tomorrow. I’ve said it time and time again, and it remains true even in today’s economic environment.

Cayman Islands real estate has proven to be resilient and a sound investment. If you’re a potential buyer, take notice of what’s happening. Increased supply and the potential for more negotiating leverage may mean now is the time to move forward before demand and prices spike.

For sellers, don’t panic. This recalibration is temporary, and even those who need to sell now will see an impressive return on investment.

The most important thing to remember is the property journey is different for everyone. There is no one-size-fits-all solution. For a more bespoke detailed report tailored to your personal property journey, feel free to drop me a line.

Happy New Year and have a wonderful 2023.

Month: January 2023

Property Management: Taking care of your home like it’s our own