Property for sale in Saint Barthélemy

Is the main town of the island of St. Barthelemy (also known as Saint Barts). It was named after King Gustav III of Sweden. St. Barts was a French possession originally, and the area was called Carenage after the shelter it provided to damaged ships.

Is an overseas collectivity of France. Also known as Saint Barth in French, or St. Barts in English, the collectivity is one of the four territories among the Leeward Islands

St. Barth - as its legions of devotees attest, is one of the Caribbean’s most unique islands and a truly special destination.

In the past 20 years, more than a thousand foreigners, primarily Americans, but also many Europeans, have bought or built second homes on what is commonly called St. Barts, an island of 2,072 hectares, or roughly eight square miles. They are lured not only by the beaches, but also by the sophisticated lifestyle, the French cuisine and wines and the luxury boutiques. And, unlike many Caribbean islands, St. Barts is virtually crime-free.

This is also a market unaffected by currency fluctuations; buyers here generally are so wealthy that it does not matter. The people who are buying here don't care if the dollar goes down 30 percent.

The fact is, over the past 30 years the people of St. Barts needed the island to be opened up to luxury development.

In the center of Saint-Jean, the Eden Rock, one of the island's first luxury hotels, which is built on a boulder jutting out into the bay, is marketing five new villas as the Eden Rock Owners Society. "This is not the sale of property. It's the sale of the use of the property," said the Eden Rock owner, David Matthews. He also is building two even grander houses, one surrounded by a wall of 3.4 meters, or 11 feet, on an adjacent site and is considering selling those outright.