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The tourism industry has become the second largest economically lucrative market for Bermuda. On top of this, low direct taxation on corporate or personal income has resulted in a financial boom for Bermuda.
Even though the financial aspects are quite positive for Bermuda, housing has become an issue for the locals. For this reason, the Bermudian listing market is not that attractive for international real estate. Bermudian rentals are quite attractive for buyers as the figure for the average property is around $2.6 million with a minimum tax of 22 per cent. The total amount is $3 million which is cheap compared to international rentals. But this price is completely ruled out as Bermudian real estate for sale is largely reserved for the housing and accommodation of Bermudians only. Due to this status, Bermuda’s International Listing and International Exchange are owned by the government in order to regulate and limit foreign ownership of land.
Real estate in Bermuda suffers in terms of foreign possession as Bermuda measures 2 miles wide and 22 miles long. The land area for Bermuda is only 21 square miles which makes it only a third of the size of Washington DC. The Bermudian land barely provides housing for its 66,000 citizens. So this leaves no room for non-Bermudians. Although around 37% of those who own property in Bermuda are non-Bermudians, this trend has been limited to create more opportunities for locals.
A law was brought in to restrict the Bermudian market to only locals, according to which if a person is not a Bermudian, it is prohibited. If however a person wants to be a native of this country and want to buy property, he has to marry opposite sex and stay married for at least 10 years. In addition, Bermudian sales restrictions have been issued which include the following points:
1) According to Bermudian law, local Bermudians could only transfer or sell property to other Bermudians.
2) Non-Bermudians are allowed to sell their property to other non-Bermudians or to Bermudians.
3) There is a ceiling price of $2 million for non-Bermudians and they cannot buy a property under this price.
4) The purchase of raw land is prohibited for non-Bermudians.
5) The prohibited persons referred to in the above law include corporations, trusts and partnerships.
6) If a non-Bermudian owns property, he should not think of it as a path to citizenship.
Real estate in Bermuda is no surprise to everyone, but the island’s boundaries and structure certainly make a difference.
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