Jamaica IMF reform 2013
Trinidad Carnival 2014 arrives today — March 3-4 sees Port of Spain host the Caribbean’s greatest festival, generating an extraordinary economic impact on the hospitality and property market. This edition covers the lead-up period and publishes as Carnival opens its doors. Jamaica’s reform programme advances, Caribbean spring investment season opens, and CBI programmes generate growing property flows.
February 2014: the Caribbean winter season is at its most commercially intense, with Trinidad Carnival just 28 days away and Port of Spain’s accommodation market generating peak demand. Jamaica’s mortgage sector is supporting property transactions despite the IMF reform environment. Barbados’s winter tourism season is performing better than expected. CBI programmes are entering 2014 with strong momentum.
2013 closes as a year of recovery and divergence for Caribbean property: the Dominican Republic booms, Trinidad & Tobago posts strong economic performance, Jamaica completes seven demanding months of IMF reform, and the hurricane season delivers its quietest outcome in years. The 2014 Caribbean investment outlook is broadly positive as the region enters the new year.
Caribbean Property & Investment Review surveys the region at year-end 2013: the holiday season is set to deliver the most commercially vital fortnight of the year, Jamaica’s IMF reform programme is demonstrating sustained credibility, Trinidad & Tobago’s economy is among the Caribbean’s strongest, the Dominican Republic is approaching a record tourism year, and the 2014 investment outlook is broadly positive.
Caribbean real estate investment is gathering momentum as the winter season opens. Trinidad & Tobago’s energy-driven property boom shows no sign of slowing. Dominican Republic luxury hotel openings are elevating the country’s profile. Jamaica’s IMF reform programme is demonstrating credibility through quarterly compliance, and Barbados’s winter tourism season is generating cautious optimism.
October 2013 marks the opening of the Caribbean’s winter tourism season. CBI programmes across St Kitts, Antigua, Dominica, and Grenada are generating growing property investment flows. Trinidad & Tobago’s luxury residential market is strengthening, Barbados faces economic headwinds, and Jamaica’s NHT continues to support affordable homeownership under IMF constraints.
The 2013 Atlantic hurricane season is tracking well below normal, bringing relief to Caribbean property markets. But an emerging sargassum seaweed crisis is threatening coastal property values from the Lesser Antilles to Jamaica. Meanwhile Jamaica’s IMF reform faces mid-programme headwinds and Trinidad & Tobago’s energy economy continues to power property demand.
Peak Caribbean summer 2013: tourism arrivals are running ahead of prior-year levels across most territories, Jamaica’s IMF fiscal reform is gathering momentum, Trinidad & Tobago’s construction boom is reshaping Port of Spain, and citizenship by investment programmes are generating growing property investment flows.
The inaugural baseline edition of the Caribbean Property & Investment Review surveys the region in summer 2013: Jamaica two months into its IMF Extended Fund Facility, Trinidad & Tobago riding high on energy revenues, the Dominican Republic powering ahead, and Caribbean tourism delivering a strong season.