Visitors to the Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews (5 – 8, October 2006) will be among the last to benefit from the low pre-launch prices on offer from the agents selling property at Punta Perla, the luxurious new golf, marina and spa resort in the Punta Cana region of the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean.
A significant hike in prices is expected when the official launch of the properties available takes place just weeks after the tournament.
In the Dunhill Links tented village, Punta Perla Sales Ltd of Cambridgeshire will be displaying plans for the resort which include the first of three signature 18-hole golf courses. It is to be designed in association with Colin Montgomerie who returns to this year’s event at St Andrews in a bid to defend his title.
Earlier this year an agreement was signed between the developers of the 1,100 hectare (2,718 acre) Punta Perla resort, Paraiso Tropical, Colin Montgomerie and European Golf Design who will create the golf course.
Berkshire-based European Golf Design, which was established in 1992 as a joint venture between the European Tour and IMG to provide a golf course design service, has produced successful resort, members and tournament courses around the world. In the Caribbean they include Black Bess and Sugar Hill in Barbados, Tryall in Jamaica and Kittitian Heights in St Kitts.
Commenting on the plans for the Dominican Republic’s newest resort, Colin Montgomerie said, “I am thrilled to be so closely involved in the design of the first golf course at Punta Perla. I select the locations for golf courses which carry my name very carefully indeed, but Punta Perla was an easy choice. This is a stunningly beautiful corner of the Caribbean. The world-class golf course we are planning will be magnificent – not only for players; it will also provide a wonderful green outlook for the people who buy the homes which overlook it.”
At Punta Perla the three signature courses, each with their own clubhouse, will be at the heart of the resort. A golf academy will assist first-time golfers as well as experienced players wishing to improve their game.
Purchasers of properties at Punta Perla will be automatically entitled to become members of the resort’s golf club.
The membership fee of US$10,000 and annual subscription (currently US$1,500) include golf and sports club services. The membership is transferable with the property if it is sold at a later date.
Several other brand new golf courses are planned in the area. Already well-established are those in the Catalonia Bavaro Resort, located alongside the Punta Perla resort, and the championship Punta Cana course – one of the longest in the Caribbean – which is ten minutes away by car.
“A Colin Montgomerie golf course at Punta Perla will give a further boost to off-plan property sales in the resort,” says Mark Lynn of Punta Perla Sales Ltd which is selling the 8,000 homes planned for Punta Perla’s 1,100 hectares (2,718 acres) fronted by 3.5 kilometres of white sandy palm-fringed beach lapped by warm shallow turquoise water protected by a reef.
They range from waterfront apartments and palapas (traditional Mexican-styled homes roofed with palm leaves) to custom-designed multi-million dollar luxury mansions, as well as golf villas, village townhouses and ‘water homes’ built on offshore piers and man-made islands.
At St Andrews, Punta Perla Sales Ltd will be selling 51 sq metre (550 sq ft) one-bedroom apartments from US$199,000, and two-bedroom villas on a signature golf course from US$440,000.
Mark Lynn says visitors to the Dunhill Links have no time to lose they want to buy at pre-launch prices. “Having said that, even if the prices of our properties doubled in value, they would still be half the cost of comparable ones in places like the Bahamas and Barbados.”
There are no restrictions on foreigners buying property in the Dominican Republic where investors can benefit from the fact that, for the first purchaser of a new property, there is no stamp duty on the purchase, no VAT, no tax on rental income and no capital gains tax when they sell.
Punta Perla Sales Ltd offers investors a guaranteed annual rental return of eight per cent over the first five years. Punta Perla is attracting a new generation of investors who, until now, believed that it would be impossible for them to buy property in the Caribbean.
“For them, prices are affordable and, with four million tourists expected to visit the Dominican Republic this year, the growing demand for top quality accommodation from major tour operators will ensure that both rental returns and capital growth are maximised,” says Mark who welcomed the DR Government’s announcement in August that it will invest US$5 billion in tourism infrastructure.
The plans for Punta Perla include one of the largest inland marinas in the Caribbean. In addition there will be four five-star hotels, an international spa and around 60 restaurants.
A wide variety of sporting and leisure facilities is planned as well as a shopping centre with tax-free shopping status, a hospital and places of worship. A business centre will provide meeting and conference rooms as well as the full range of office support services required by visitors wishing to keep in touch with their businesses or clients.
The first properties will be available for occupation in the summer of 2008 when 1,700 homes as well as shops, restaurants, the marina and the first of the golf courses are completed.
Conservation and sustainability are at the heart of Punta Perla, which has been designed to reflect and enhance the Caribbean ‘feel’ of the location, capitalising on its sunshine, sea and natural environment.
Punta Perla Sales Ltd has high hopes of success at the 12th International Property Awards presentation dinner in London on 3 November 2006, as the resort has been nominated for awards in the Best International Marina Development, Best Caribbean Marina Development, Best Caribbean Property and Best Caribbean Development categories. The awards have been dubbed ‘the Oscars of the property industry.’
Punta Perla Sales www.puntaperlasales.com
Punta Perla prices set for increase
