No longer a well kept secret

Only recently discovered as an international holiday destination, the Cape Verde islands of the coast of Senegal offer sun, sea and still sensational property prices.

Hilton is to build a five star hotel in the up and coming Cape Verde islands. To be situated on the island of Sal, the project should be completed by 2010 when it will mark a further step in the country’s seemingly relentless drive to better itself.

To be found in the North Atlantic, 450 miles off the Senegal coast, the once Portuguese-owned islands have long been known to sailors as a convenient port of call on route to the south Atlantic. In their history they have profited from the slave trade, from whaling and as a fuel stop. But the 10 islands (plus five smaller, largely uninhabited, islands), have until recently been less well appreciated for their own possibilities - including a year round climate and stunning scenery.

Recently that has all changed with Cape Verde being tipped as ‘the next big opportunity’ for property investors.

In the past four years the islands of Sal, Boa Vista and Santiago in particular have become known as desirable holiday and second home destinations – so much so that Cape Verde's expatriates now outnumber its locally born population.

The islands' economy has benefited substantially from tourism, construction and real estate – creating an influx of business people, who Hilton plan to accommodate. But that is not the whole story.

The last 20 years have seen sustained economic and political development, culminating in the announcement in 2004 that the United Nations had decided Cape Verde was ready for transition from ‘lower’ to ‘middle’ income status – a transition which at the start of this year the UN confirmed had been completed.

Cape Verde, is not, then, just another emerging location being targeted by cheap flight providers, package tour operators and developers of low grade real estate. It has ambitions and plans to become one of the most economically stable nations in Africa, to make the most of its natural attributes, and to develop ethical, high end and sustainable tourism and property industries.

Just 15 degrees north of the equator, its climate is moderated by cool sea currents. Meanwhile the islands boast pristine beaches, tropical vegetation, and coral reefs that are home to exotic fish. In general there is little rain, a bonus for holidays but a possible problem when in comes to fresh water supplies.

The Foreign Office, which judges the islands ‘stable’ and relatively safe, says although recent property development has created investment interest, the future market will depend largely on overseas investors.

But getting there has got much easier with introduction of direct flights from the UK, Ireland and European mainland – just last year in many cases. This created an almost overnight lift of 20 per cent in what remain attractive property prices. Similar rates of growth are forecast for 2008.

The result has been a surge in property development.

With tourism arrivals climbing, with the World Bank having approved projects costing $255.9mn as of September 2007, and with the attractive property market receiving sustained international interest, developers are aware that there is significant room for high end development of luxury real estate.

According to Steve Worboys, managing director of Experience International: ‘2008 is going to be a very exciting year for Cape Verde. The archipelago has achieved the enviable “middle income country” status from the UN and is in receipt of significant loans and funding from the World Bank for growth and competitiveness programmes. Meanwhile the government's ambitions to raise the standards in terms of tourism and real estate projects are finally coming to fruition with some stunning property projects coming to the market’.