The first link in the Grenadines chain, Bequia doesn't conform to happy hour convention. It doesn't have one. The holiday visitors are yachties from St Vincent making only brief stopovers. The natives are busy fishing, boat-building or whaling. Most of the 200 or so foreigners with homes on the island are committed do-it-yourselvers - not ones to spend each afternoon sipping piña coladas.
Take Peter Rattey and his wife Maryclare, who have spent the past 18 months renovating Orchard House, a 1970s plantation home they spotted two years ago while touring the Grenadines. "We came over from St Vincent, thought Bequia was gorgeous but couldn't find anywhere decent to stay [until] we saw this place," Maryclare says. They quickly bought it, tracked down a local builder and set about sourcing materials to fix it up. "Most goods had to get shipped over from Trinidad, which stretched out the project completion dates," says Peter, a retired oil exploration manager from Scotland. Still, he relished the challenge.
Richard and Katie Brindle have a similar story. They purchased a 100,000 sq ft plot in Friendship Bay in 2001, intending to build something alternative and modern - a "new age" beach house - with help from London-based eco-friendly architects Cullum and Nightingale as well as local builders. "Richard was keen to keep everything local as much as possible, so we [also] employed a structural engineer from St Vincent, our 'eyes and ears', who took us through the planning and construction process," Katie says. "Materials like the monopitch corrugated steel roofs were sourced from Trinidad and Guyana. [And] we used local greenheart timber because it's hard-wearing and fares better than metal in the harsh coastal atmosphere. There was a lot to think about - landscaping, access points, ground and floodwater issues."
Still, the house was completed in nine months and on budget. Dubbed New Eden, it blends in well with its palm-fringed surroundings. Split into two, three-storey, rendered concrete and timber wings, it has two living areas centred around an open connecting stairway that provides maximum ventilation and exposure to ocean breezes.
Less pioneering people might balk at the idea of building a home and living in Bequia. After all, says Rattey, "there is [still] no mains water on the island, so everyone collects rainwater from the roof in a tank and uses a solar panelled hot water system."
But, 14 years after the island opened its airport to accommodate small aircraft, it seems to be getting ready for more buyers of holiday and retirement properties. There are plans for a new international airport on neighbouring St Vincent, and 1,000 acres of government-owned land is being released for residential development. Investors are allowed to purchase minimum half-acre plots for the construction of three-bedroom, single-storey houses, and applications for land purchase are assessed on a case-by-case basis.
"Real estate has become Bequia's golden ticket," says property consultant Lara Cowan of Grenadine Escape.
Since much of the island is dominated by volcanic terrain, most of the island's existing holiday or retirement homes are built on the coastal stretches of Admiralty Bay, near the town of Port Elizabeth, and close to the airport on the Atlantic side spreading out from Friendship Bay. "Expat houses total around 100 with much of the land owned by local families who have lived here for generations," says Suzanne Gabriel of Bequia Real Estate.
Developers are now focusing on the same areas. Friendship Heights is a 60-acre site with hillside views and half-acre plots priced at $130,000, while Crown Point is selling parcels of land for $100,000 and up. "We've sold 11 since release at the back end of August last year," Cowan says.
Foreign buyers must apply for a licence, which can take up to three months and costs EC$2,500 ($900) to process, and pay a one-off fee of 6-7 per cent of the value of the land or villa, as well as dividing a 10 per cent stamp duty payment with the seller.
Concerns have been raised about speculators flipping their land or homes and repatriating the profits instead of investing in the community but, in general, local reaction has been positive. "Bequia simply doesn't have adequate domestic capital at present for major investment. Foreign capital is essential to bridging that gap, with a profitable service-based economy as the long-term pay-back," says Harold Dougan of state-run development agency National Properties Ltd.
"Anyone buying will have their financial background checked," he adds. And "the island plans to have a balanced basket of real estate projects - not just high-end - with residential tourism being closely integrated with, and of clear benefit to, the local community, the environment, and the economy at large."
Cowan acknowledges that sticking to sustainable development will be difficult but she is optimistic. "Developers given the go-ahead [so far] are boutique-oriented," she says. "Friendship Bay Hotel, for example, has permission for just six villas in the grounds. The plots are big enough to indicate an upmarket low-density footprint, which is reassuring. Plans to limit the number of self-contained resorts, which can fuel a 'bunker-mentality', will also help."
Dougan notes that prices are rising sharply. "Land that sold [10 years ago] for $2 per sq ft [is] now nearer $6. Based on high quality build guidelines, a three-bed 2,500 sq ft villa with pool and coastal views will cost around $300,000," he says. "But you'd be lucky to get the pool for that in neighbouring Mustique. To a large extent that's just the market playing catch-up to a more realistic level."
The pioneers already settled in Bequia seem confident that it won't be transformed into a what Katie Brindle calls a "deluxe ghetto" like Mustique. "There's no chi-chi place to go for cocktails in your Anya Hindmarch kaftan, just funky bars where locals and foreigners mingle," she explains.
Long-time resident Alan Curran agrees. "We have friends who toyed with the idea of buying but then long-distance reality set in and they backed off," he says. "It's not for everyone."
Dougan also sees a natural limit to the property boom. "It's self-selecting," he says. "An island like this won't attract bargain hunters."
Bequia Real Estate, tel: +1 784-457 3209; www.bequia-realestate.com
National Properties Ltd, tel: +1 784-451 2094; nplmanager@vincysurf.com
