Dear Real Estate Enthusiasts,
Welcome to Graham Real Estate’s second quarterly market report! In this analysis, we will delve into trends and performance indicators gathered from data on the MLS from April until June 2023.
We mentioned this last quarter and would like to remind you that the data sets are provided by the Bahamas MLS. Not all properties in The Bahamas are listed on the MLS, but the trends that we identify will provide a comprehensive analysis of the Bahamian Real Estate market.
This report will focus on single-family, developed property listings and sales. That includes single-family homes, townhomes, and apartments. Should you have any inquiries or require additional information, do not hesitate to reach out to our team of real estate professionals. We hope you enjoy your summer and look forward to reporting Q3.
Happy Reading,
Laura Kimble
Laura Kimble
Managing Broker
2023 Q2 GRE Real Estate Market Report
Homes Sold - examining the data from the MLS on sold residential properties (apartments, homes, and condos) since Jan 1, 2019, on the MLS in Grand Bahama, Abaco, Eleuthera, New Providence, and Long Island we can see the activity on this bar chart. While the total sales of Q2 in 2023 are down slightly from Q1 of this year, and down significantly from the ‘unicorn’ year of 2022, closed sales are still up from Q1 of 2019 and 2021. The Bahamas is experiencing a return to a more ‘normal’ market post covid and sales are still very strong.
Values - the median value for listed and sold properties for Q2 of 2023 is $630,000 (listed) and $620,000 (sold) as you can see in chart 2 this shows a slight increase from Q1 2023. However, the values are down slightly from Q2 2022.
The median list price for Q2 of 2022 was $655,500 and the median sales price for Q2 of 2022 was $629,229. It is interesting to see that Q2 for both 2022 and 2023 shows a higher value than Q1 for 2022 and 2023.
Supply - The inventory available for all of the MLS on July 1 2023 was 944 properties across all of The Bahamas. The inventory available on our five islands of focus on July 1 2023 was 865 properties vs 824 properties in Q1. Looking at closed data, the median days that a property was on the market was 210 days in Q1 and for Q2 2023 it is down to 149 days. In The Bahamas, the DOM does appear longer than in other markets because of the time it takes to close a transaction. Even if it is a cash purchase it typically takes about 60 days. A purchase that is financed by the bank can take between 90 - 120 days (or potentially even longer!). If you are interested in learning more about the home purchasing process in The Bahamas, then please contact laura@grahamrealestate.
Diving deeper into specific areas of the market... This quarter we wanted to take a look at three different areas in New Providence: Eastern Road, Cable Beach, and West Bay Street (inclusive of Love Beach).
Eastern Road
Homes Sold - The volume of homes sold in the Eastern Road area is less than in West Bay and Cable Beach. This is not surprising as the demand for homes on the Western end of New Providence is much higher than on the Eastern side of the island. The benefit that purchasers do find with buying in the East is that they can often find larger homes on larger pieces of land at a better price. In Q1 of 2022, five homes were sold, and in Q2 of 2022, there were three homes sold. In Q1 of 2023, three homes were sold, and in Q2 of 2023, five homes were sold.
Values - With lower numbers of closed sales the data is limited, but in Q1 of 2023 $564,000 was the median list price vs. $557,000 as a median closed price. For Q2 we saw a slight increase in the median list price to $630,000 but the median closed price was $555,000. It is interesting to see that looking at the overall market of our 6 islands we did see an increase in the median list price and closed sales price but this area does not show that it is benefiting from that increase. It will be interesting to see what the coming months bring.
Supply - As of July 1, 2023, there were 37 active properties on the Eastern Road. 15 of these properties are priced under $500,000 and 15 are priced from $500,000 - $1 million. This is a good indicator for purchasers of what they can expect to spend when looking for properties in this area.
Cable Beach
Homes Sold - The homes sold in Cable Beach seem relatively steady. In Q1 2022 and in 2023 Q1 there were 9 sales shown. For Q2 of 2022, there were 15 recorded closed sales, and 11 for Q2 of 2023. Could this show a decline in sales? Or perhaps just a drop in inventory.
Values - the median list price for Q1 2023 was $548,000 and the median closed price was $530,000. For Q2 2023 we saw a slight increase to $595,000 median list price and a $585,000 median closed price. We know that Cable Beach is a highly desired location in New Providence because of its close proximity to so many amenities.
Supply - As of July 1, 2023, there were 40 available properties for sale in the Cable Beach Area. 11 of the properties fell in the $500K - $1 million range, 9 were between $1 million and $1.5 million and 6 properties were $1.5 million to $2 million.
West Bay Street
Homes Sold - 7 properties closed in the West Bay Street area in Q2 of 2023 vs. 9 in Q2 of 2022. It is a slight decrease vs 2022 and after watching the data for a longer period of time we will be able to see market trends.
Values - The median list prices and sold prices for 2022 Q1 and Q2 and 2023 Q1 were quite consistent in the mid $500,000 range. Days on the market for closed sales are about 3-4 months which is typical of what we see in a closing process showing they are going to contract quite soon after being listed. Q2 of 2023 did show a spike in the median list and closed price in the $900,000 range so it will be interesting to see where it is in Q3.
Supply - looking at the active listings available on West Bay Street for Q2 of 2023 there were 56 active listings as of July 1, 2023. Only 14 properties available were under $500,000, whereas there were 26 properties available in the $500,000 - $1 million range.
