Real Estate & Construction

The Trinidad and Tobago real estate market’s fortunes have long been tied to those of the oil sector. Between 1991 and 2006 house prices more than quadrupled as the country’s hydrocarbons and petrochemicals industries grew strongly. This stoked a construction boom that led to the rapid development of grade-A office and residential properties. Following the 2008 financial crisis, prices dropped by 20% but recovered strongly up to 2014, with residential properties reaching 8.7% year-on-year growth by the third quarter of 2014. Falling oil prices have since led to a slowing economy and the oversupply of grade-A residential and office space has depressed rents and valuations. Meanwhile, affordable housing projects have seen cost overruns and industrial estate projects have been slow to get off the ground. Even so, in the Ministry of Finance’s “Review of the Economy 2015” the construction sector was forecast to have a strong 2015, growing 3.4% and accounting for 5.3% of GDP.