“Surfer's Beach is for wave riders, but there are also beaches for snorkelers, swimmers and shell collectors. Best of all, you can have one all to yourself. Around midafternoon on New Year's Eve, when nearly all the island's rooms were booked, not a single soul could be spotted on Ten Bay Beach, six miles south of Governor's Harbour, despite a brilliant sunshine and near perfect temperatures.” New York Times, February 19, 2006.

It’s obvious that the reporter who penned these lines was seeing Eleuthera for the first time. Regular visitors are surprised to find anyone on their favorite beach. With sixty miles of beaches and a few dozen hotel rooms, Eleuthera is a paradise for beach lovers who enjoy privacy and unspoiled natural beauty. 110 miles long with a population of just 8000, Eleuthera is an island of rolling green hills and sleepy villages. There are no shopping centers on Eleuthera, no crowds, and no traffic. The guidebooks are fond of noting that Eleuthera has not a single traffic light, but that isn’t surprising when you consider that most of it has only one paved road. The Queen’s Highway, as it’s called, is a two-lane country road on which you can drive for miles without seeing another car. Needless to say, there is little need for a map, and on an island less than a mile wide for long stretches, you’re never far from the beach.

In the 1960’s, Eleuthera was a jet-set destination with resorts such as the exclusive Cotton Bay Club, Windermere Club, Rock Sound Club, and French Leave. In subsequent decades the resorts closed—due in large part to short-sighted government policies in the years after independence, which were anti-foreign-investment—and Eleuthera was forgotten. All that is changing now. Several new resorts have opened on the island in recent years, and considerable new home construction is underway.

Eleuthera is blessed with excellent infrastructure, in part because it hosted a U.S. Navy base for many years. The island has three airports, one in the south of the island at Rock Sound (RSD), one in Central Eleuthera at Governors Harbour (GHB), and one in the north (ELH). Municipal water is available throughout the island, as is GSM cell phone service, high-speed internet, and reliable electricity.

The two sides of Eleuthera look out on very different seas. The Caribbean side is shallow for a great distance and is usually calm and free of surf. There are sections of beach and sections of rocky shore and cliff frontage along this side. The beaches are typically not as wide (nor as expensive) as those on the Atlantic side. On the other hand, the cliff top frontage with its sunset views and freedom from salt spray is more valuable than cliff top land on the Atlantic side. The Atlantic side beaches are world class in many locations with pink sand and moderate surf. In areas where the offshore reef is not present to break the waves, the surf can be substantial. See Surfer’s Beach, below.

We will explore Eleuthera by dividing it into five components:

• South Eleuthera
• Central Eleuthera
• North Eleuthera
• Harbour Island
• Spanish Wells.

South Eleuthera
           
The largest town in South Eleuthera is Rock Sound, which has a large grocery store, hardware store, pharmacy, medical clinic, a bank with an ATM, a gas station, and several restaurants. There is a marina at Davis Harbour, not far from town, an airport (RSD) with just a few daily flights, and the island’s only golf course, an 18-hole Robert Trent Jones masterpiece which now suffers from haphazard maintenance.

South Eleuthera is home to one of the most prestigious addresses in the Bahamas. Windermere Island, long a favorite of the British royal family, made the news in 1982 when paparazzi scandalously photographed a vacationing—and pregnant—Lady Di in her bikini. More recently, Windermere Island has been in the headlines as the vacation home of singer Mariah Carey, who owns a large house on the island.

Windermere is a gated private island five miles long with a beautiful pink-sand beach running along much of the Atlantic side. A private club with a pool, tennis courts, and bar/dining room is maintained for members and guests. A 6000-square-foot, 6-bedroom home with 300 feet of beach frontage is currently for sale for $5 million.  An 1850-square-foot “cottage” is listed for $3 million.  A double beachfront lot of 2.2 acres is listed for $3 million. A double lot on the Savannah Sound side of the island, waterfront but not beachfront, is currently listed for $670,000, and inland lots can be had for under $300,000.

Savannah Sound is the body of water between Eleuthera and Windermere Island. (It is also the name of a small fishing village that overlooks that Sound.) Like so much of Eleuthera, the land on the main island across from Windermere is largely untouched. Four-acre waterfront lots with 100’ of frontage on the Sound are listed for $196,000. Utilities are not available for these lots, so bring your own cell phone and generator. 

Farther to the south, on the Caribbean side of Eleuthera, ¾-acre beachfront lots are for sale at Windermere Bay http://windermerebay.com The beach is relatively narrow and has some rocky outcroppings, but at $245,000, the price is very reasonable.

Atlantic Cove is located south of Savannah Sound, between that village and the village of Tarpum Bay. It sits on a two-mile-long Atlantic beach with a fine reef system just offshore. One-acre beachfront lots with 100’ of frontage are selling for $550,000, and ocean-view lots with deeded access are selling for $350,000.

Further south and a step up in price, Winding Bay Beach is a beautiful horse-shoe-shaped beach protected by a reef. There are a dozen or so homes along its 1.5-mile length. A 4300-square-foot, four-bedroom house on a 1.2-acre beachfront lot is currently listed for $2 million.  Undeveloped beachfront lots on Winding Bay are listed at prices ranging from $450,000 to $1.5 million.

Turning to the area north of Windermere Island, Double Bay is a beautiful, three-mile-long beach on the Atlantic side of Eleuthera. Double Bay is one of the old beachfront estate developments dating from the 1950’s. A dozen or so gracious old homes from this period still stand. There are in addition several dozen newer homes that have been built along the beach. Homes in this area sell in the $2 to 3 million range. A typical 1.5 acre lot on Double Bay with 150 feet of frontage would sell in the $1.5 million range.

On the opposite side of the island from Double Bay is Ten Bay Beach.  Like most Caribbean-side beaches, it is narrow at high tide, so prices are lower than for Atlantic beaches. Nevertheless, some Eleuthera fans swear by Caribbean beaches. The water is calm and shallow for a long way out, great for young children and lazy adults alike, and salt spray is never a problem. Half-acre beach-front lots on Ten Bay have recently sold for $350,000. A non-beach waterfront lot is listed at $170,000. Interior lots of 1/3 acre are currently available for $45,000.

Central Eleuthera

Central Eleuthera is centered on Governor’s Harbour, the island’s capital and largest town with a population of 1,500. Governors Harbour has a large general store, gas stations, two banks, building supply stores, dive shop, the island’s only movie theater, a medical clinic, a beautiful historic library, an internet café, a post office, a large harbor with a boat ramp, and numerous restaurants, shops, and government offices. The area has several new resorts, which we will review below. Governor’s Harbour and environs, with its colonial architecture and widest selection of restaurants, shops, services, and resorts, is generally viewed as the best location on mainland Eleuthera, the up and coming area that, with continued development, could become the next Harbour Island. As a result, the Central Eleuthera region has the highest property values on the Eleuthera mainland (not counting the island’s high-end resorts and enclaves) with price premiums in the 25% range.  It’s worth every penny.

Let’s begin by reviewing the new resorts in this section of Eleuthera. Starting from the south, the Pineapple Fields condominium hotel opened for business in 2004 and currently has 32 one and two bedroom condominiums on the Banks Road across the street from an excellent Atlantic-side beach. Pineapple Fields has a pool and a very popular restaurant, Tippy’s, perched above the beach. As part of a condo hotel, the Pineapple Fields units come furnished, and owners must make their units available for rent half the time. Pineapple Fields runs an expert weekly and nightly rental operation, and is one of the top resort hotels on the island. Pineapple Fields is selling its last few 625-square-foot, one-bedroom units (with an additional 300 square feet of decks) for $275,000 and up.

A mile farther to the north, the much-anticipated French Leave Resort and Marina has begun construction of its marina. Based on the site of the old Club Med, the resorts sits right upon the spectacular French Leave Beach. French Leave encompasses 270 acres with a mile of beach frontage.  In addition to the marina, it will feature an oceanfront hotel, villas & cottages, a small boutique restaurant/bar, fitness center, tennis courts, basketball court, golf pitching range, hiking/biking trails, and more. The Atlantic beachfront lots start at $1,125,000 for 50 to 134 feet of frontage.  Just a few are left.  French Leave is also offering one and two bedroom harbor-view cottages adjacent to the marina starting at $395,000.

Three miles north of Governor’s Harbour is the new Sky Beach Club www.skybeachclub.com. Sky Beach sits on 22 acres of land with 600 feet of frontage on a superb Atlantic beach. The land rises to a peak at the center of the island, so the homes on either side will have excellent views of their respective seas. The resort opened in late 2009 with four spectacular 3200-square-foot villas with private pools, three bungalows, an infinity-edge pool with a hot tub and a swim-up bar, and an excellent restaurant serving three meals a day. A new four-bedroom, four-bath villa is currently listed for $1.5 million.  Lots in the resort range in price from $400,000 to $1.5 million. 

Finally, eight miles farther north is the Buttonwood Reserve condominium development, where site work is completed and vertical construction imminent. Buttonwood consists of 50 acres that extend from the Caribbean on the west to a three-mile-long pink-sand Atlantic beach on the east. The land includes a lake and nature preserve. The condominiums will be located on a high ridge overlooking the Caribbean. They are connected to the Atlantic beach by a private road. Thirty-two units will be built along the top of the ridge, all with unobstructed Caribbean views. Units come with a large private garage beneath the building. The buildings will be of poured concrete throughout and engineered to withstand a Category 5 hurricane. Prices for the two-bedroom, 2100-square-foot units (including garage and decks) are $395,000 pre-construction.

Let’s take a look now at the main areas for vacation-home buying in Central Eleuthera.

North Palmetto Point is a popular location on the Atlantic side of Eleuthera with many vacation homes and a great beach for swimming and snorkeling. “The Point” is accessed by a charming sandy beach road, a little rough, but scenic, and is conveniently close to a hotel restaurant/bar distinctively named “Unique.” Prices for beachfront homes in North Palmetto Point range from $600,000 for a 2000 square foot house on half an acre on up to $3.5 million for an estate home on three acres with 450 feet of beachfront.

South Palmetto Point and the adjacent community of Palmetto Shores are on the opposite side of Eleuthera, facing the Caribbean. The shore here is mostly rocky, with some small stretches of beach, but being on the lee side is calm for snorkeling, sailing, and kayaking. The nearby village of South Palmetto Point, walking distance from the shore area, has restaurants and food shops. A marina is also under development at South Palmetto Point which, when completed, could make the area a haven for boaters. At present, real estate is slightly less expensive than across the island at North Palmetto Point. A 35-year-old, 1800-square-foot house on 200 feet of oceanfront is currently listed for $750,000.  A 20-year-old, 1400-square-foot house on a hilltop with sea views is listed at $379,000. Non-oceanfront lots in this area can be purchased for as little as $50,000.

Banks Road is actually a section of the old Queen’s Highway where it ran along the Atlantic side of the island. The stretch of Banks Road between Governor’s Harbour and Palmetto Point (and north of Governors Harbour for several miles) is known as The Golden Mile because of its desirable location and prime stretch of pink-sand beach. There are many old stately homes on this stretch which sit on 5 or 10 acres and have several hundred feet of beachfront. These homes, rarely on the market, would have multi-million-dollar price tags today. More modestly sized beachfront lots on the Banks Road (in the one-half to one-acre range) sell for $600,000 or more. Ocean view lots are available in the $200,000 range.

Moving to the north side of Governors Harbour, Cigatoo Estates consists of oceanfront lots, many with high elevations, along a somewhat rocky beach. These one-acre lots are offered at $275,000. Ocean view lots in this subdivision can be purchased for under $100,000.

Farther north, Wykee Estates is a small development that runs from sea to sea, bisected by the Queens Highway. The former vacation compound of the first Premier of the Bahamas, Sir Roland Symonette, Wykee and its original collection of houses date from the mid-nineteenth century. Newer houses in the development have been built of the same handsome fieldstone, maintaining the architectural uniformity. Wykee has a beautiful stretch of pink-sand beach on the Atlantic, a boat ramp on the Caribbean, and that rarest of luxuries on Eleuthera, a swimming pool. Half-acre lots with views of the Atlantic or the Caribbean sell for $200,000. Homes range in price from $500,000 to $1 million.

North of Wykee, Freedom Estates is a new development of one-story homes on quarter-acre lots with deeded access to a pink-sand Atlantic beach. Prices start at $439,000 for a two-bedroom, two-bath house with a one-car garage and a view of the ocean.

Further north along the Queen’s Highway, Banana Beach is a community of cottages on quarter-acre lots with deeded access to a beautiful Atlantic beach. Most homes have ocean views. Cottages start in the $200,000 range, and lots start at $75,000.

North Eleuthera

Unlike South and Central Eleuthera, there are no major resort developments in North Eleuthera (except on Harbour Island, which will be discussed separately). The most popular area for vacation homes is a large subdivision dating from the early 1970’s called Rainbow Bay. Rainbow runs the full width of the island from sea to sea and extends for two miles in length. The majority of its quarter-acre lots—which number 1,700—are still undeveloped, but new homes are being built every year. Rainbow Bay has five beaches, a tennis court, and a small resort called the Rainbow Inn with an excellent restaurant. Rainbow has a well-organized homeowners association that maintains and operates the roads and amenities with revenues from the $60 annual homeowner’s fee. (No, that isn’t a typo or a misplaced decimal: $60.00 per year.)

There are always a variety of lots for sale in Rainbow, and usually homes as well. Most of the oceanfront lots on both sides of the subdivision are rocky shore frontage, rather than beachfront. Caribbean-side lots are preferred to those on the Atlantic on this part of the island, as the latter experience considerable salt spray and, at some spots, flooding from high waves coming over the cliffs. In fact, only a few Atlantic-side lots have been built upon to date. Prices for Caribbean-side oceanfront lots are selling in the $125,000 range. Atlantic-side oceanfront lots are available in the $35,000 range, but build at your own risk. Ocean-view lots are available for $25,000.

Seven miles north of Rainbow lies the village of Gregory Town, which serves as an anchor for a number of vacation home communities. A combination of the local red dirt and ample rainfall make Gregory Town’s pineapples among the sweetest in the world, which is the village’s first claim to fame. The second is that Lenny Kravitz has a home and a recording studio on its outskirts. Elvina’s, the Gregory Town bar known to all Eleuthera regulars, hosts a lively open mike session twice a week, featuring everything from local musicians to the occasional appearance by Lenny himself. Gregory Town is also the center of surfing activity on the island: nearby Surfer’s Beach has excellent waves and a global reputation. Lest the reader conclude that Gregory Town is for parties only, the village has a perfectly respectable public boat ramp, bakery, gas station, and several shops and restaurants.

Eleuthera Island Shores (EIS) is a large subdivision just south of Gregory Town. EIS extends to both sides of the island and has considerable cliff frontage. The neighborhood is home to an interesting mix of artists, musicians, and surfers. The original developer of EIS neglected to provide utilities, so homeowners must either pay to bring in electricity from the Queen’s Highway or make do with solar power and gas cooking. The EIS homeowner’s organization has been less effective than Rainbow’s, and road maintenance has not always been up to date. A quarter-acre cliff-front lot in EIS lists for $149,000. Ocean view lots are available for under $25,000.

Just north of Gregory Town on the Caribbean side of the island, Oleander Gardens is a small, charming community with great views from its cliffs and a little rocky beach. Oleander has underground utilities and attractive landscaping. It is within walking distance to The Cove resort, which has an excellent restaurant. Quarter-acre cliff-front lots sell in the $100,000 range. Inland lots can be had for $50,000.

North of Glass Window Bridge is the Bottom Harbour/Whale Point area, a rugged part of the island with dramatic cliffs on the east side and a lovely protected bay on the west. The area is rich with marine life and offers excellent snorkeling. Harbour Island with its shopping and restaurants is just a short water-taxi ride away. Roads in this area are still rough, and neither landline telephone service nor municipal water is available. One-acre beachfront lots are selling for $350,000. Atlantic-side one-acre lots (oceanfront but not beachfront) are listed at $80,000 and inland lots can be purchased for under $35,000.

This passage was taken from How to Buy and Sell Real Estate in the Bahamas, by Matthew Simon.

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