While many professionals returned to work this month with baited breath, wondering what impact value-added tax (VAT), introduced January 1, will have on their futures, one top-producing property broker says she sees brighter days ahead.
Silvina Andrews, who recently returned to Bahamas Realty where she carved a successful career over 18 years before diverting for a short sojourn elsewhere, said the concern with VAT's impact going forward should be considered against economic realities of the recent past.
"We are emerging from what was a nearly six-year long economic slump," said Andrews, a bilingual residential sales and leasing specialist. "The impact of that was huge - much larger, I believe than the impact of VAT will be. We went through years where banks were reluctant or less able to lend. Even with lower interest rates where lending was available, buyers were hesitant. All but the highest end investors were doing a stutter step waiting for things to settle down and improve."
By comparison, said the four-time top performing agent at Bahamas Realty, a rebounding economy facing a 7.5 percent increase in taxes is far more encouraging.
"When the global economy crashed in 2008, sales came to a near-grinding halt," Andrews said. "That was serious business and honestly, it was a little bit scary for all of us, though rentals remained steady. Gradually, as more jobs were created in the U.S. and there were other signs of improvement - unemployment figures fell, airlift to The Bahamas increased from Canada, more money seemed to flow through the local economy, consumer confidence returned - we experienced the start of a turnaround. Once again, banks were seeking clients for mortgages and other less risky lending. So taking the long view, the absence of a recession and the return of a belief in the future is of far greater importance than a 7.5 percent increase in service fees or goods as a result of new taxes."
Bahamas Realty Chairman Larry Roberts agrees.
"In addition to the positive, practical and highly individualized approach which Silvina always brings to the table making us very happy to welcome her back to Bahamas Realty, I agree with her summation of the economic impact of VAT on real estate sales," said Roberts, a director and one of the founding partners of the firm that is celebrating its 65th anniversary. "Overall, we in The Bahamas are in a much better place now with VAT than we were during recent years when we endured a global slump not of our making but impacting our very livelihoods, including our willingness to invest in businesses and in property. The positives, especially given the imminent reality of Baha Mar, far outweigh the negatives."
Andrews, who was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina and educated in Canada, moved to The Bahamas more than 25 years ago, starting her career in the resort industry. The first time she won recognition as the firm's non-director top-performing agent, she confessed to be shocked. Soft-spoken, working mostly from her home, car and cellphone in between mom roles, she succeeds, says Roberts, by treating clients as if they were family.
"Silvina is the gentle agent who takes on clients and makes them second family," said Roberts, "Now, she is speaking out in a way that I hope will be helpful to a lot of people, easing fears."

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