Property values are expected to increase over the next five to 10 years, according to some of the country's top realtors and developers.
John Christie, vice president at H.G. Christie Limited, shared with Guardian Business that property values, which have been stagnant for the last five years, are poised for an increase.
In fact, Christie estimated that prices could go up five percent on an annual basis.
"Once the demand is greater than the supply, the prices will push up quite a bit. We are expecting that to happen because we are at sort of an equilibrium now. No one really knows how the world is, there could be a lot of economic uncertainty.

If the world becomes unstable financially then you will find that prices that will stay down. If the world continues to make slow progress, then we should see a steady progress in price appreciation."
The realtor also believes the construction of the $3.5 billion Baha Mar mega resort will be a factor in the real estate market demand.
"Once that happens, we are looking for a lot more traffic and bodies. If there are more buyers that will certainly push the prices up. The number of rentals will also drive the prices up. If the rental prices go up, the sale prices will go up. That's the way it's worked in places like Sandyport," according to Christie.
Jason Kinsale, president of the Balmoral development, said that in addition to Baha Mar's December 2014 opening, a big indicator that will determine an increase in real estate prices is the strength of the country's financial services sector.
"We need the bankers to keep driving the demand for rentals and that would bring investors into the market.

Baha Mar is going to have a major influence on what is going on. When we see strong rental demand that is really what is going to drive the prices even higher."
Kinsale also believes scarcity will play a significant role.
"Scarcity is really what is going to drive up prices, so you look at the major gated communities, Sandyport, Columbus Cove, Caves, they are all really getting to a point where they are essentially sold out or have very little inventory left. The reality is that a lot of people don't want to go further west than Caves. There is Lyford Cay and Old Fort Bay, which are unique developments. Even Old Fort Bay is getting to the point where you are seeing vacant lots becoming scarce," he said.
"Historically we have seen prices increase. If you want to use Balmoral as an example, when we launched in 2008 our townhomes that sold for $350,000 are now selling for $390,000 and we validated that price point through actual sales. There is quite a difference between what people believe something is worth and what the actual market will pay. That's a $40,000 increase in some pretty difficult times so if we have been able to do that over the last four years, I'm sure we will be able to do that over the next five to10 years at least."
According to him, The Bahamas generally follows U.S. trends and recovers approximately nine to 12 months after that jurisdiction. Markets like Florida, New York and California are already starting to see an increase in real estate prices.
"If you look at what's going on in the Florida real estate market, that's actually starting to boom again. If you look at what's going on in Cincinnati, they're up by 13 percent, New York, California they are recovering and it's important to get positioned now before you have to pay those higher prices," he shared.
He is encouraging both buyers and sellers to take advantage of the market's current pricing.
"I'm seeing that the foreigners are buying and Bahamians really have to start making decisions because they are going to be a victim of these price increases. One of the things that we have to think about is if a $400,000 townhome increases by three percent or even four percent year over year, how does the average person find $12-16,000 the next year?
"I think if you are buying real estate right now, my opinion is that you have to appeal to the foreign market. Foreigners want to be on the ocean and in gated communities. To buy properties outside of those environments is not opening up your market internationally and selling domestically will limit growth in international demand."

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