JERSEY Jewels of Jersey property


With worldwide private wealth booming, high-net-worth investors are expected to train their eyes on the island’s property market. Carla Passino finds out what’s on offer


T


HE sun is shining on Jersey. At a time when offshore juris- dictions are changing rapidly,


the Channel Island has bolstered its reputation as a centre of wealth-man- agement excellence and a prime desti- nation for affluent property buyers from Britain and beyond. Jersey weathered the global reces-


sion better than many other locations, although local agents disagree on the full extent of the impact it had on the island. Geri O’Brien of Savills says that ‘between September 2007 and March 2009, prices rose by about 20% in both the Jersey market and the Guernsey open market’. In those months, prime London saw drops to the tune of 21%. However, Margaret Thompson of Thompson Estates notes that, once the slump hit the island, it lasted until 2012, with an upturn in 2013. Statistics from the States of Jersey


show that the rolling four-quarter average price of properties sold on the island saw a small dip between 2009 and the first part of 2014, then


12 Country Life, Jersey, Summer 2015


reflected in a very active housing market


‘


Such an active economy will be


picked up in the last quarter of last year before recording a 2% increase in the first quarter of 2015. From a long- term viewpoint, growth was good, with values in Jersey rising by more than 50% since 2002—the average price of a property on the island is now £437,000. Sale volumes are also back on a par with the years before the downturn, according to Miss Thompson. More importantly, however, the past


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few years have seen Jersey’s wealth- management industry—a key driver for the local property market—adapt to new global regulations. Mrs O’Brien explains that, lately, offshore centres


have improved their ratings, but lost some ground to onshore locations, so they’re trying to specialise and forge new relationships in order to maintain their relevance. In Jersey, wealth managers have


successfully changed their business models to meet these fresh challenges and, as a result, the future looks bright. ‘High-net-worth individuals remain positive about prospects for future wealth generation in coming years and they hold their wealth man- agers, and their firms in Jersey, in high regard when it comes to their ability to offer valued advice and service,’ Mrs O’Brien confirms. Today, the island combines excel-


lent wealth management with high quality of life and a business-friendly environment. People may initially look at Jersey for its low personal-tax rates, and no inheritance, wealth or capital gains taxes, but they are usually won over by its many other attractions. After all, states Mrs O’Brien, ‘choos- ing a jurisdiction that is to become


Le Vivier, La Grande Route de Rozel, St Martin This historic property lies at the heart of St Martin and is surrounded by farmland. Once the second house to Rozel Manor, it’s now a striking country house with 4–5 bedrooms, an indoor pool complex and two cottages. £5.5m through Savills (01534 722 227)


www.countrylife.co.uk


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