Movie stars buy them for privacy and the rich buy them for the prestige
RICHARD Branson owns one, so does Johnny Depp and predictions are demand for these type of properties is going to rise.
RICHARD Branson owns one, so does Johnny Depp and predictions are that demand for these types of properties is on the rise.
Private islands are the ultimate trophy asset according to the latest Candy Global Prime Sector report.
And demand will continue to grow according to Charles Weston-Baker, a director of Savills International Residential.
Mr Weston-Baker said the last ten years were the decade of prime urban investment and the next ten years will see a growing appetite for island lifestyle.
“The lower end of the luxury island market is set to explode as young money buys into ultra prime property and resorts on the world’s most sociable islands,’’ he said.
“This spurt of activity will also drive demand at the top end of the market. The uber wealthy, in search of the ultimate adventure, will seek out the rarest opportunity, paying a premium for scarcity.
“Whether the buyer seeks a fishing island in Uganda’s Victoria Lake, or invests in the boutique islands off Fiji, the world’s wealth is soon to discover the island lifestyle, adding to their portfolio of urban mansion blocks, farmland or gaming reserves, and chasing a sense of
being somewhere, not just anywhere.’’
The report revealed that research by private fortune experts, Wealth X, found there had been a four per cent rise in the size of the global ultra high net-worth community.
Among that massive pool of wealth about 25 per cent of their investment portfolio was dedicated to real estate.
Nick Candy of Candy GPS said buying an island was a “purchase of passion’’ not driven by need or economics, and the best islands often stay within families for generations.
He said the rise in number of wealthy people who owned private planes meant they had more access to islands and were more interested in buying them.
He said financial return was not the primary motivation for buying an island.
“These buyers are seeking the ultimate hideaway and a chance to shape their own world,’’ he said.
According to Vladi Private Islands, just 5 per cent can be classed as “quality islands”, that is those in proximity to the mainland, in regions of political stability, with development permits, the potential to add services and infrastructure and with security of tenure.
The remainder of private islands do not meet all these criteria and have limited potential for permanent habitation.
It said after the global financial crisis prices of islands fell and in core markets such as the Bahamas, and were yet to recover from their pre-recessionary highs.
“Price falls have been most acute among secondary islands, where prices have fallen by as much as 90 per cent,’’ it said.
The report was produced by Savills Research in partnership with Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management and Candy & Candy.