English-speaking and less than a three-hour flight from the southern United States, Belize is a well-loved retirement haven and second-home destination.
Lapped by Caribbean waters, its long coastline is punctuated by bays and inlets and dotted with hundreds of cayes—sandy, low-elevation islands that sit atop the coral reefs.
Ambergris is the biggest, and thanks to Madonna’s “Isla Bonita,” best-known caye in Belize. It’s 26 miles long and just one mile wide, surrounded by turquoise waters, and skirted along its eastern side by the longest barrier reef in the Western Hemisphere.
The diving and fishing in these warm, life-rich waters are world-class. Sunshine is abundant year-round, the locals are friendly and welcoming, and you can establish residency simply by showing up and entering the country as a tourist.
Living here, you could enjoy all the benefits of life in the Caribbean… waking up each day to the sound of waves gently lapping onto the white-sand beaches just outside your window and the faint crash of the ocean farther out breaking against the coral reef…
The heart of Ambergris Caye is San Pedro. This is where the expat community is based. It’s a quirky, comfortable little beachside town with open-air bars and restaurants, art galleries, wine shops, and bakeries… a lot of infrastructure that has developed over the past 10 years or so, specifically as a result of the big North American presence.
Ambergris Caye is a mini melting pot. The passion and vitality of Latin America co-exists alongside the comforts and amenities of the Western world. Many expats on the island hail from the United States and the U.K. (Belize got its start as a British colony), but you also find plenty of Canadians, Europeans, East Europeans, Middle Easterners, Asians, and others. This variety of ethnicities is evident in all aspects of life here, especially in restaurant options.
This isn’t the budget destination it was a few decades ago, but it is still a bargain compared with higher-profile Caribbean markets.
Investors choose to get in the market by buying now for appreciation or by buying into cash-flow producing condos.
Land banking is also a great choice in this market if you’re looking for something hassle-free and with few ongoing fees. Land in the path of progress in Ambergris has been appreciating at about 15% to 20% per year over the last three years, with local agents predicting it will continue to increase.
Belize has an active short-term rental market that can generate excellent yields on your investment property. Low property taxes, income taxes, and repeat visitors are factors that have helped keep occupancy rates at strong levels and kept yields high.
Annual ROIs on projects we’ve recommended before on Ambergris Caye stay between the 7% and 12% mark, well above an average return on rental investments.
Ambergris is becoming an ever popular tourist destination. Right now, it’s still secret enough… not recognized as much as Cancun or Punta Cana, and still not as off the beaten path that an average tourist won’t visit. Prices are increasing quickly due to the increasing demand, but opportunities haven’t plateaued yet.
Our local Belize experts expect the market to completely change in the next 10 years. They believe the investors who take advantage of current opportunities will not regret it.
To smooth travels and successful property buys,
Sophia Titley
Editor, Overseas Property Alert
