Speightstown City Guide

Speightstown, the historic second town of Barbados in the Parish of Saint Peter, anchors the quieter northern end of the West Coast. Once the island's busiest port, it retains a charming heritage waterfront and now sits at the centre of an upscale-yet-relaxed property market that includes the marquee Port St Charles marina and the beaches of Mullins Bay. It offers West Coast prestige with more breathing room and somewhat better value than Holetown. Pricing runs roughly US$500-1,000 per sq ft, with non-beachfront homes from around US$750,000 and prime marina or beachfront residences (Saint Peter's Bay from about US$1.6M, Port St Charles villas higher) commanding premiums. As part of the West Coast, Saint Peter is seeing around 10% annual growth, ahead of the national 6.8%, with high-end vacation rentals achieving 7-10% gross yields. Foreign buyers face no ownership restrictions but must register inbound funds with the Central Bank's Exchange Control Authority; sellers pay the 2.5% transfer tax and 1% stamp duty, non-residents owe no capital gains tax, and offshore-company ownership is standard to avoid those taxes on resale.