There is no best Caribbean island for property buyers. There is the island that scores best on the handful of factors you personally care about, and those are usually ownership rules, total transaction cost, ongoing tax, air access, rental demand, language, currency and lifestyle.
St. Maarten has four differentiators that are genuinely unusual rather than marketing. It is the smallest landmass in the world divided between two nations, so you choose between Dutch and French systems on 37 square miles. Princess Juliana International Airport is the hub for the northeastern Caribbean, which is why travellers connect here for Anguilla, Saba, St. Barths, Statia and Nevis. The Dutch side has no annual property tax and no capital gains tax on resale. And property there is priced and settled in US dollars in practice, even though the guilder is official at a peg of about 1.79.
Where we can cite verified figures for this island, we do. Where another island’s specifics are involved, we tell you what to check rather than assert a number we have not verified, because rates, licence requirements and fees vary and change. Confirm anything financial or legal with a notary or tax adviser before relying on it.
The factors that actually decide it
- Can a foreigner own freehold, and does it need government permission?
- What is the total cost to complete a purchase?
- Is there an annual property tax, and how is it assessed?
- How are capital gains treated on resale, locally and at home?
- How good is air access from where your family lives?
- What does rental demand look like across a full year, not just February?
- What language will you deal with lawyers, doctors and contractors in?
- What currency are prices, mortgages and your income in?
- What is daily life like, including medical care, schooling and storm exposure?
Where St. Maarten sits on each factor
1. Foreign ownership
There is no restriction on foreign ownership on either side. A buyer of any nationality can hold freehold title without a permit or a nationality test. Elsewhere, a number of Caribbean jurisdictions require government permission before a foreign buyer can take title, sometimes called an alien landholding licence. Ask what it costs, how long it takes, and whether a future foreign buyer would need one too.
2. Transaction costs
On the Dutch side, transfer tax is 4 percent and notary fees run roughly 1 to 2 percent, so most buyers complete for about 5 to 6 percent, or 6 to 7 percent with a local mortgage. The notary is a neutral officer of the law who verifies title, drafts the deed and registers the transfer at the Kadaster. On the French side, notaire fees and duties total roughly 7 to 10 percent, so entry cost is about 8 to 10 percent. Elsewhere, insist on the total including duty, legal fees, registration and licence costs, because headline rates hide a lot.
3. Annual property tax
The Dutch side has no annual property tax, which is unusual and compounds over a long hold. The French side levies the taxe fonciere. Elsewhere, ask what is charged annually at the value you are considering, whether people who are not resident pay a different rate, and how often valuations are reassessed, because a low rate on a stale valuation can change quickly.
4. Capital gains
There is no capital gains tax on resale on the Dutch side. On the French side, gains on a profitable resale can be taxed at up to 34 percent, with relief where the property was the seller’s main home. Elsewhere, ask whether gains are taxed and whether a withholding is deducted at closing from sellers who are not resident. Then ask your own adviser how your home country taxes the gain anyway.
5. Air access
This is hard to match in the northeastern Caribbean. SXM takes direct service from North America and Europe and acts as the connecting point for the smaller islands around it, which is why Maho Beach at the end of the runway is famous. Ferries run from Marigot to Anguilla and from Simpson Bay and Philipsburg to Saba and St. Barths. Elsewhere, check nonstop routes from your home airport, how many carriers fly them, and whether they run all year.
6. Rental demand and seasonality
High season runs roughly mid December to mid April and low season roughly late August to October, which overlaps peak hurricane season. Annual yield is decided in the shoulder months, not by your January rate. St. Maarten has more demand drivers than most islands its size: the cruise terminal at Port St. Maarten with Front Street and the Philipsburg Boardwalk behind it, a large yachting sector across Simpson Bay Marina, Palapa Marina, Isle de Sol and Yacht Club Port de Plaisance, and an events calendar including the Heineken Regatta in early March. Model low season honestly with the rental yield calculator in our property tools.
7. Language
English is the working language of daily business on the Dutch side, with Dutch official. That matters more than buyers expect, because you negotiate, insure, get medical care and manage contractors in it. The French side operates in French. Decide whether you want to conduct legal and medical business in your first language.
8. Currency
The guilder is official on the Dutch side and pegged to the US dollar at about 1.79, but property trades in dollars, which removes exchange risk from purchase and eventual sale for a dollar buyer. The French side is in euros. Elsewhere, ask whether the currency is pegged or floating, what currency property is quoted in, and what any mortgage would be denominated in.
9. Lifestyle, services and resilience
On 37 square miles you get two national systems, two hospitals, an international airport, Mullet Bay Golf Course, the villa market in Terres Basses, lolos and fine dining in Grand Case, and hiking on Pic Paradis and at Loterie Farm. On resilience, be direct with yourself: Irma made landfall on 6 September 2017 as a category 5 storm and reset the building stock, so newer construction generally reflects stronger standards. Verify that property by property.
What the entry cost difference looks like
An illustration using the verified St. Maarten figures on a purchase price of 750,000 US dollars. This is an example, not a quotation.
| Cost line | Dutch side | French side |
|---|---|---|
| Transfer tax or duties | 4 percent, 30,000 | Included in the combined figure below |
| Notary or notaire fees | 1 to 2 percent, 7,500 to 15,000 | Duties and fees combined, roughly 7 to 10 percent |
| Typical total to complete | About 5 to 6 percent, 37,500 to 45,000 | About 8 to 10 percent, 60,000 to 75,000 |
| With a local mortgage | About 6 to 7 percent | Higher again, confirm with the notaire |
| Annual property tax | None | Taxe fonciere applies |
| Capital gains on resale | None | Up to 34 percent, relief for a main home |
On this example the entry cost gap between the two sides of one small island is roughly 22,500 to 30,000 dollars, before counting recurring taxes across the holding period. That is the scale these factors produce. Our Dutch versus French comparison tool runs it on your own number.
What genuinely sets St. Maarten apart
- Two countries, one island, shared since the Treaty of Concordia in 1648. You choose the legal and tax system you buy into and enjoy both cultures.
- The airport. A regional hub with direct service from North America and Europe, supporting family visits and rental demand at once.
- No annual property tax and no capital gains tax on the Dutch side. Two recurring costs removed from the whole holding period.
- Dollar pricing in practice, even though Sint Maarten became an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands on 10 October 2010 and keeps the guilder as official currency.
Where another island may suit you better
- If storm exposure is your main worry. The southern Caribbean, including the ABC islands, sits below the traditional hurricane belt. That reduces exposure without eliminating it, and the compromise is usually air access.
- If you want a formal route to residency or a second passport. Several Eastern Caribbean states operate investment programmes with a real estate route. Sint Maarten does not market one, and buying here does not automatically grant residency on either side. Take that objective to an immigration lawyer before you look at listings anywhere.
- If you want the lowest entry price. Larger, less developed islands offer more land per dollar, with correspondingly thinner resale markets.
- If you want one legal system and one language. Living across a Dutch side and a French side is more administration than a single jurisdiction.
A framework to use on any island
| What to check | The question to ask | Who answers it |
|---|---|---|
| Ownership rights | Can a foreigner hold freehold? Is a permit required, at what cost and delay? | Local attorney or notary |
| Total closing cost | The total percentage including duty, fees, registration and any licence. | Notary or notaire, in writing |
| Annual property tax | What is payable yearly at this value, and how often is it reassessed? | Tax authority or local adviser |
| Capital gains | Is resale taxed? Is there a withholding for sellers who are not resident? | Local and home tax advisers |
| Air access | Nonstop routes from your home airport, how many carriers, and are they seasonal? | Airline schedules, two seasons |
| Rental demand | Realistic occupancy in shoulder and low months, and management cost. | Local managers and your own model |
| Running costs | Association dues, what they include, and how funded the reserve is. | Association accounts and minutes |
| Insurance | Windstorm cost, and whether the named storm deductible is a percentage of value. | Licensed insurance broker |
| Construction | Built or rebuilt when, to what standard, with what claims history. | Seller, surveyor, insurer |
| Currency | What currency the price, the mortgage and your income are in. | Your bank and your adviser |
Ofta ställda frågor
Which Caribbean island has the lowest property taxes?
It varies and it changes, so verify island by island at the time you buy. For St. Maarten we can be specific: the Dutch side has no annual property tax and no capital gains tax on resale, while the French side has the taxe fonciere and gains taxed at up to 34 percent with main home relief.
Can foreigners buy property freely in St. Maarten?
Yes. There is no restriction on foreign ownership on either side and no nationality test, so freehold title is open to buyers of any nationality. That is not the case in every Caribbean jurisdiction.
Dutch side or French side?
The Dutch side generally wins on entry cost, ongoing tax, English as the working language and dollar pricing. The French side appeals for the villa market in Terres Basses, French schooling, and a legal culture buyers describe as strong on consumer protection.
Is St. Maarten a good rental market?
It has an unusually broad demand base for its size, combining stay over tourism, a cruise terminal, a large yachting sector and a full events calendar. The honest test anywhere is shoulder and low season occupancy rather than peak week rates.
Does buying property in the Caribbean get me residency?
Not automatically, and not in St. Maarten. Some countries operate investment programmes linking property to residency or citizenship, each with its own conditions. Take your circumstances to a qualified immigration lawyer and confirm current requirements, because they change.
Compare properly, then decide
Most buyers we meet have already fallen for an island. That is fine. The work is checking that the island you love also holds up on cost, access and tax across a fifteen year hold, and the framework above lets you do that in an afternoon rather than a year.
Model your own numbers in our property tools, see what the market actually offers in current listings, and if you want a comparison that includes the reasons we might tell you another island suits you better, talk to us or read about our team. Confirm every figure involving tax, duty or title with a notary or tax adviser, because rules change.
