Bahamas Real Estate: Gross Versus Net Pricing

Sometimes, people may be a bit confused when a property is advertised for sale. Bahamas Real Estate Association (BREA) members price their properties the same way. Unfortunately, some private sellers quote or advertise a net figure, which means they list the price at the amount they want at the end of the day in their pocket.

All Bahamas Real Estate Association members quote their prices based on what we call a GROSS figure. A gross price will include the agent's commission, one half of the applicable government stamp duty and the vendor's attorney's fee.

For example, if Bahamas real estate is listed for sale at $150,000, this means that the purchaser will have to pay on top of the GROSS price one half of the government stamp duty and his/her attorney's fee. This attempt to standardize asking prices was started approximately twelve years ago to avoid confusion.

In addition, all Bahamas real estate appraisals are valued at GROSS prices. Unfortunately, some owners who have appraisals prepared on their behalf mistakenly think that the valuation is, in fact a NET price to them. In other words, they think it's the amount they will receive in their pocket on the completion of a sale.

This is not correct. All appraisers explain in their valuation that the figure is a GROSS price.