In a study, conducted with the Luxury Institute in New York, more than 1,200 individuals from households with incomes of $150,000 and higher were surveyed. This top 10% of American households now control 74% of the country’s wealth and account for nearly 50% of U.S. consumer spending.

In all 74% of luxury travelers surveyed have visited the Caribbean, with 44% having visited the Bahamas, making it the most frequently visited island destination. 16% of affluent Americans already own or are considering vacation homes in the Caribbean, with the highest concentration in the Bahamas.

Regional competition is a constant in and around the Caribbean, and today luxury travelers surveyed reported the following destinations as the most visited: The Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Virgin Islands, St. Maarten, Cayman Islands, Bermuda, Aruba, Barbados and the Dominican Republic.

To meet the growing demand for luxury travel, real estate investments in the development and construction of luxury destinations in the Dominican Republic is booming. The Punta Cana area of the East coast has been ground zero for the past few years with such development. Now, the North coast is joining that trend.

Just recently the ground breaking ceremony took place for the US$400 million Costa Norte Playa Grande project with smaller luxury projects such as Sanctuary Bahia Esmeralda also in development. Investors can frequently take advantage of pre-construction pricing in such projects. If a Dominican real estate investment of this nature might be of interest, contact us at www.drreba.com for further information.

By Rob Chenvert, ABR®