Retirement: Windsor reports gains in 50-plus homebuyers

This golf-front residence with views of the Caribbean Sea was once for sale for $14.8-million but will now be sold at auction to the highest bidder above only $2.5-million

The Windsor-Essex Active Retirement Initiative (WEARCI) has reported encouraging results from its efforts to attract new retirees to the region, with over 200 new 50-plus residents chronicled in its latest yearly report.

A recent survey of realtors completed in June by the Windsor-Essex County Real Estate Board indicated 225 new residents age 50-plus have relocated to the Windsor-Essex region, investing $56-million in properties, between October 2011 and June 2012.

Combined with surveys conducted between July 2010 and October 2011, WEARCI’s latest survey results now bring the total to 885 new residents age 50-plus purchasing $228-million in real estate throughout the Essex region.

“We offer a unique location and lifestyle often misunderstood and overlooked, until now,” commented Krista Del Gatto, executive officer of the Windsor-Essex County Association of Realtors, and volunteer president of WEARCI. “Our initiative is working and returning economic spinoffs to our communities.  The region is growing in awareness as the preferred destination for active retirement living.”

Surveys show the nine communities that comprise the 100 Mile Peninsula and Pelee Island region are attracting over 70 per cent of new residents from Ontario with 34 per cent from the Greater Toronto Area. Western provinces account for 20 per cent; Quebec and eastern provinces, 4 per cent; U.S. 2 per cent and international 3 per cent.

Luxury Bargains in Dominican

Looking for a luxury retirement property in the Dominican Republic for, oh, about $15-million U.S.?

In what is considered a first for the resort area, a collection of high-end properties located in the Dominican’s Cap Cana development will be sold at auction by Platinum Luxury Auctions this month. The auction, which will take place in Cap Cana on Sept. 22, will feature four lender-owned properties, including a grand estate previously offered for sale at $14.8-million (all figures in U.S. dollars.)

Although sales of expensive Caribbean properties have slowed in recent years, sales figures from last year have shown that Cap Cana is still in demand. In 2011, buyers picked up more than $42-million in luxury property there (including individual sales above $5.5-million). Over 50 per cent of the purchasers were from outside the United States.

The most impressive of the properties offered at auction is a golf-front estate with views of the Caribbean Sea. The 11,200-square-foot residence features a design that blends indoor and outdoor living spaces. It was once offered for $14.8-million, but will now be sold to the highest auction bidder above $2.5-million. Additional auction properties include a large, golf-front residence (once valued above $2-million, now selling above $600,000), a private golf-front lot (once valued above $1.5-million, now selling above $500,000) and an elevated ocean-view lot (once valued above $1.5-million, now selling above $600,000.)

Cesar Herrara, owner of Great Dominican Estates, said of Cap Cana, “It is a special development, and these auction prices are the best deals we have ever seen here.”

Cap Cana is located on the easternmost border of the Dominican Republic in the Puna Cana region. It occupies more than 45 square miles of land and offers seven kilometres of beaches. Cap Cana is a 15-minute drive from the Punta Cana International Airport.