by Marlon Madden
Barbados’ premier villa rental company, Realtors Limited, is predicting a steady increase in property rentals over the medium to long-term as the Barbados 12-Month Welcome Stamp continues to attract young professionals.
In fact, stating that 2021 should be a year of “exciting opportunities”, the real estate company said the visa initiative, which went into effect at the end of July last year, was “the silver lining in the COVID-19 cloud”.
“As Bajans always do, we make lemonade out of lemons and now welcome visitors from around the world to experience our island and learn why Barbados is one of the safest places in the world to be,” the company said in one of its latest blogs.
“As 2020 comes to an end, we look forward to many exciting opportunities in 2021. The Welcome Stamp has put Barbados on the map as an attractive destination to relocate. We anticipate
a steady rise in the number of
mid-to-long-term rentals as the island attracts more young professionals looking to work from Barbados,” it added.
The over 67-year-old company said the Welcome Stamp arrivals were expected to bring short-term rentals and sales; many of those arrivals were expected to encourage friends and families to visit the island.
“With more eyes on Barbados and hearts falling in love with our island, we can only anticipate an increase in real estate investors choosing to invest in Barbados,” it added.
Looking back at 2020, the company said notwithstanding the challenges, it was a “great” year. “Realtors Limited had a great year despite COVID’s interruptions,” it said, adding that the year started with its exciting Vineyards, St Philip development.
“Open day was a huge success; [we sold] many of the 78 lots. Fifteen lots received accepted offers at the fair,” it pointed out.
The company also reported success in closing several other notable sales.
“Rentals were slower over 2020 due to travel restrictions, but once borders reopened, we saw a steady increase in the mid-to-long-term rentals islandwide.
“We have a lot of hope with the vaccine being released and the positive spin placed on Barbados as being a destination which is safe and also well controlled in terms of the pandemic. Once people can travel, 2021 will be a good year,” the company added.
