THE BAHAMAS Law and Practice Contributed by: Alistair Chisnall and Erica Paine, Graham Thompson
Graham Thompson Sassoon House Shirley Street & Victoria Avenue PO Box N 272 Nassau The Bahamas Tel: +1 242 322 4130 Fax: +1 242 328 1069 Email: info@gtclaw.com Web: www.grahamthompson.com
1. General 1.1 Main Sources of Law
Most non-Bahamian purchasers appeared to be individuals or families keen to establish alterna- tive options for their lifestyles, schooling and work (particularly as hybrid working arrange - ments became the norm around the world). Often, more simply, purchasers sought a sanc - tuary or retreat from their home bases and the issues or frustrations that challenged life in the preceding year of social, health, financial and sometimes political turmoil. In all such cases, the historic attractiveness of The Bahamas as a politically stable jurisdiction with common lan - guage and currency exchange rate, and being nearshore or easily accessible to their home jurisdictions, was a tell-tale feature in the deci - sion-making of many buyers. The losses from the global shutdown and the shattering impact of Hurricane Dorian (in 2019) were so dismal a backdrop as to make any posi - tive improvement appear to be all the greater, but many in the industry quite justifiably view the period beginning in late 2020 through to mid- 2023 as one of the greatest and most aggressive real estate markets that The Bahamas may ever see.
The Bahamian legal system is based on the Eng - lish common law system. The main sources of real estate law are local legislation, local case law and case law from Commonwealth jurisdic - tions. 1.2 Main Market Trends and Deals The global COVID-19 pandemic, whilst having a profoundly adverse effect on tourism in The Bahamas, also heralded an unprecedented real estate boom, which lasted from late-2020 to mid-2023. During this period, frenetic activity was seen in the mid-level, high-end and ultra-high-end mar - ket ranges. By and large, most purchases were cash transactions from foreign investors and buyers, with gated residential and resort com - munities being amongst the most sought-after areas. However, domestic borrowings and pur - chases by residents also returned with renewed vigour and strength, in a marked turn for that aspect of the industry.
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