How much living space does $1 million buy?

For ordinary citizens, prime real estate in the Cayman Islands may still look expensive. But according to a report from independent real estate consultancy Knight Frank, that is nothing compared to the tiny monarchy of Monaco. In the most expensive place for luxury real estate worldwide, living space costs roughly seven times more than in the Cayman Islands.

Currently there is a noticeable rush to buy luxury real estate worldwide. The structural low interest rate environment ensures favor able financial conditions, and since the credit crisis more people consider prime residential real estate as the best investments alternative.

The super-rich, whose numbers continue to grow, are under particular pressure to invest. Many are attracted by the metropolises of the world, even if it is just to own a second or third home in these locales. The high demand for prime real estate makes its mark in luxury property prices. Luxury living space is expensive, and players in that market need deep pockets. Nevertheless, within that segment, the price differences worldwide are still significant.

This is also confirmed by data in the Wealth Report 2014, published by Knight Frank.

The most expensive city, according to this report, is the Principality of Monaco, where $1 million buys just 161.5 square feet of living space. Investors are not getting much more in Hong Kong or London, 221.7 square feet and 271.3 square feet, respectively. Per square meter (10.76 square feet), the prices in Monaco for luxury range between $60,000 and $73,300.

The cheapest prices among the locations included in the report can be found in Cape Town, South Africa. There an investment of $1 million buys 2,315 square feet. With square-meter prices between $4,200 and $5,100, Cape Town is not really that cheap either.

Looking at the Cayman Islands, the data provided by Knight Frank's local partner IRG Cayman suggests that $1 million buys prime residential living space of 1,107.6 square feet on island. That is a lot more room than in Miami, where $1 million equates to 700.7 square feet. Other data shows a price decrease for the Cayman Islands in 2013 by 5 percent on average. However, Christian de Meillac, who manages the Caribbean team at Knight Frank, is more optimistic for the future: “The Cayman market is closely tied to the U.S. economy and as their economy grows and international economy recovery continues, we expect the Cayman property market to follow. Even more so, as Cayman is limited in supply and demand is growing.

“The islands also offers a unique product from the rest of the Caribbean, being a strong business hub, with fantastic facilities, accessibility, beaches and Caribbean climate. The prices, therefore, can maybe go up 3 percent over the next year and 12 percent over the next three years.”

Additional support for the local market could come from Asia, he says. “We surely feel that there is room for growth in the Caribbean, as indicated by large amounts of Chinese investment across the islands.”

Globally, there is also no shortage of demand for luxury real estate in sight. On the contrary, the number of ultra high net worth individuals across the globe rose by 3 percent last year, which took the number of people with more than $30 million in assets to more than 167,000 worldwide. Forecasts expect a further increase of 28 percent of UHNWIs around the world by 2023.

The Cayman Islands has a significant number of homes matching the $1 million dollar bracket and above. Looking at the Cayman Islands Brokers Association site, we see a 113 listings between $1 million and $3.5 million. Interested? Contact IRG today as luxury property is our forte and our specialty and with access to all CIREBA listings IRG is guaranteed to find the right home for the right investor.

Here are just some Cayman Islands facts for you:

• The Cayman Islands are made up of 3 islands, with Grand Cayman being the largest and George Town being the capital, nestles just 400 miles south or a one hour flight from Miami.
• With international flights from other gateway cities like New York, Dallas, Chicago, Washington DC, Charlotte NC, Tampa, Orlando Toronto and Heathrow it’s easy to get to and from Cayman without the hassle, stress and delays of multiple flights.
• When it comes to Caribbean lifestyle, Cayman always comes out on top thanks to a safe, secure and comparatively crime free environment.
• We could carry on about what feels like an infinite choice of highly rated restaurants, cafes and bars, but we won’t. Suffice to say that Cayman is on the map of the annual Cayman Cookout where celebrity chefs Anthony Bourdain and Eric Ripert host a weeklong event that’s always sold out.
• As for activities, we dare you to run out of options; swimming, snorkeling, scuba diving, hiking, botany, helicopter flights, rock climbing, birding, kite surfing, wind surfing, sailing, paddle boarding, kayaking, boating, meeting indigenous iguanas, arts and culture and so much more.
• As the 5th largest offshore financial center and with 67% of the GDP contributed by the financial services, Cayman has a lot to offer in terms of employment opportunities within the financial or corporate service sector.
• Thanks to Cayman’s status as an offshore financial center you can rest assured that quality of infrastructure is extremely high, you can expect highly rated private schools, professional medical services, well kept roads and neighbor hoods and this all brings us to the subject of real estate….

On the three islands of approximately 50 000 people there is an abundance in choice of real estate. From condos to homes to commercial property, from water front to canal front to beach front or from ocean view to canal view. There is a home for you here in The Cayman Islands….whether it’s a vacation home, a vacation rental or your new home away from home, it’s all here in Cayman. And this is where IRG can help you, this is where our expertise counts, as not only do we have access to multiple listings but we also specialize in relocation services for our clients too.

Not only will we find you your home in the Caribbean, we will even help you move here and help you work through all the logistics with our know-how.

So what are you waiting for? When will you make your move….to The Cayman Islands?