The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Baha Mar’s woes have resulted in a 20-30 per cent increase in rental unit vacancies in the nearby Cable Beach area, a well-known realtor told Tribune Business yesterday.

William Wong, an ex-Bahamas Real Estate Association (BREA) president, said numerous expatriate employees and contractors at Baha Mar had left New Providence in recent months as the $3.5 billion project’s construction ground to a halt.

“Certainly, in the last few months, with Baha Mar being at a standstill, a lot of expatriates left town, leaving a lot of units to become vacant,” said Mr Wong, who operates in the Cable Beach area.

“Several of our clients had to give back their apartments and move back home. The impact is that there are a lot of units on the market for rent, and a lot of people in this area were hopeful to have Baha Mar online so they could have units for rent.”

Mr Wong, co-partner in Darville-Wong Realty, told Tribune Business that many apartment and residential property owners in the Cable Beach area had invested heavily in upgrading/acquiring rental units in anticipation of leasing them to Baha Mar staff.

“People in this area thought Baha Mar was a God send, and tried to capitalise on it by investing in and increasing rents, and now they’re looking for tenants,” Mr Wong said.

“It will have a significant impact, and depends on how quickly Baha Mar can get themselves organised. Once the dust settles, hopefully we’ll have a better idea of the way forward.

“We’re all together and pulling for Baha Mar to come through this. We’re hoping Mr Izmirlian will be able to get things sorted out and the place opened up. Those 2,000 jobs are a big blow for the country, and it’s too big to fail. It’s just a matter of when it’s going to open up.”

Mr Wong told Tribune Business that views on the wider impact of Baha Mar’s Chapter 11 filing on the real estate market were mixed.

“It depends on who you speak to,” he added.”Some say it will not be a major problem; some say it will kill the market.”