The first step in getting familiar with Eleuthera real estate is to look at the two sides of the island, which are quite different.  The Caribbean side is shallow for a great distance and is usually calm and free of surf. There are sections of beach and sections of rocky shore and cliff frontage along this side. The beaches are typically not as wide (nor as expensive) as those on the Atlantic side. On the other hand, the cliff top frontage with its sunset views and freedom from salt spray is usually more valuable real estate than cliff top land on the Atlantic side. The Atlantic side beaches are world class in many locations with pink sand and moderate surf. In areas where the offshore reef is not present to break the waves, the surf can be substantial. See Surfer’s Beach, below.

We will explore Eleuthera real estate by dividing it into three components:

• South Eleuthera real estate
• Central Eleuthera real estate
• North Eleuthera real estate

Harbour Island and Spanish Wells, while part of Eleuthera, are separate islands and will not be considered here.

South Eleuthera Real Estate

The largest town in South Eleuthera is Rock Sound, which has the only shopping center on the island, a large grocery store, hardware store, pharmacy, medical clinic, a bank with an ATM, a gas station, and several restaurants. There is a marina at Davis Harbour, not far from town, an airport (RSD), and the island’s only golf course, an 18-hole Robert Trent Jones masterpiece that is playable but not in the best condition. These facilities serve the local community as well as a growing resort presence. South Eleuthera is home to several resort developments. We’ll take a look at these high-end developments first. If they are out of your price range, don’t be discouraged: there is a lot more to Eleuthera real estate than expensive resorts.

Powell Point at Cape Eleuthera , located southwest of Rock Sound, has a magnificent deep-water marina and was designed to appeal to the serious boating crowd. It also has a 4500-acre private beach preserve, so there’s plenty of room for picnics. Buyers can choose from townhouses facing the marina, beach villas, or estate homes. The estate lots sell for $800,000 and up, 1/6-acre beach villa lots are $600,000 and up, and the furnished 2-bedroom, 2.5-bath townhouses (already built) are $800,000-850,000 each. Garages are available for an extra $65,000.

The second major resort in South Eleuthera is Cotton Bay. This 1500-acre development is situated around a spectacular pink-sand beach and will include a boutique hotel to be operated by Starwood, estate lots from $700,000, and villas from $1 million. The clubhouse and villas are under construction as of June 2008.

There is a third major resort in this part of Eleuthera, but unlike the other two, it has been around a long time. Windermere Island, long a favorite of the British royal family, made the news in 1982 when paparazzi scandalously photographed a vacationing—and pregnant--Lady Di in her bikini. Windermere is a gated private island five miles long with a pink-sand beach running along much of the Atlantic side. A private club with a pool, tennis courts, and bar/dining room is maintained for members and guests. Starting in 2006, the uninhabited northern portion of the island was opened for development. You can buy a beachfront lot on Windermere for $1.5 million. An oceanfront (but not beachfront) lot is currently listed for $449,000, and inland lots can be had for as little as $290,000.

These three resorts are impressive, but most of us don’t have a couple million on hand for a vacation home. Fortunately, there are affordable Eleuthera real estate options. Here’s a look at some of the areas in South Eleuthera where one can buy a beachfront or oceanfront lot or house.

Savannah Sound is the body of water between Eleuthera and Windermere Island. (It is also the name of a small fishing village that overlooks that Sound.) Like so much of Eleuthera, the area on the main island across from Windermere is largely untouched. As of May 2008, four-acre waterfront lots with 100’ of frontage on the Sound are selling for $200,000. Utilities are not available for these lots, so bring your own cell phone and generator.

Atlantic Cove is located south of Savannah Sound, between that village and the village of Tarpum Bay. It sits on a two-mile-long Atlantic beach with a fine reef system just offshore. One-acre beachfront lots with 100’ of frontage are selling for $550,000, and ocean-view lots with deeded access are selling for $350,000.

Further south and a step up in price, Winding Bay Beach is a beautiful horse-shoe-shaped beach protected by a reef. There are a dozen or so homes along its 1.5 mile length. No homes are for sale as May 2008. However, two-acre lots are available with 150-200 feet of beach frontage and asking prices of $900,000 to $1.5 million.

Turning to the area north of Windermere Island, Double Bay is a beautiful, three-mile-long beach on the Atlantic side of Eleuthera. Double Bay is one of the old beachfront estate developments dating from the 1950’s. A dozen or so gracious old homes from this period still stand. There are in addition several dozen newer homes that have been built along the beach. Homes in this area sell in the $3 million range. A typical 1.5 acre lot on Double Bay with 150 feet of frontage sells for over $1 million.

On the opposite side of the island from Double Bay is Ten Bay Beach. Like most Caribbean-side beaches, it is narrow at high tide and not a spectacular beach, so prices are lower than for Atlantic beaches. Nevertheless, some Eleuthera fans swear by Caribbean beaches. The water is calm and shallow for a long way out, great for young children and lazy adults alike, and salt spray is never a problem. Half-acre beach-front lots on Ten Bay have recently sold for $350,000.

Central Eleuthera Real Estate

Central Eleuthera is centered on Governor’s Harbour, the island’s capital and largest town with a population of 1500. Governors Harbour has a large general store, gas stations, two banks, the island’s only movie theater, a medical clinic, a beautiful historic library, an internet café, a post office, a large harbor with a boat ramp, and numerous restaurants, shops, and government offices. The area also has several new resorts which we will review below. Governor’s Harbour and environs, with its colonial architecture and critical mass of services, is viewed by some as the best location on mainland Eleuthera. As a result, the Central Eleuthera region generally has the highest real estate values on the Eleuthera mainland, not counting the island’s high-end resorts and enclaves.

Let’s begin by reviewing the new resort developments in this section of Eleuthera. Starting from the south, the Pineapple Fields condominium hotel opened for business in 2004 and currently has 32 one and two bedroom condominiums on the Banks Road across the street from French Leave Beach. This Atlantic-side beach, three miles long with deep pink sand, is one of the finest beaches in the Bahamas. Pineapple Fields has a pool and a very popular restaurant, Tippy’s, perched above the beach. As part of a condo hotel, the Pineapple Fields units come furnished, and owners must make their units available for rent half the time. Prices range from $275,000 for a ground-floor one-bedroom unit of 625 square feet (plus 300 square feet of decks) to $430,000 for a ground-floor two-bedroom unit.

A mile farther to the north, the much-anticipated French Leave Resort and Marina has not yet broken ground. Based on the site of the old Club Med, the resorts sits right upon the spectacular French Leave Beach. French Leave encompasses 260 acres with over half a mile of beach frontage, and includes a marina on the Caribbean side of the island. Prices have not yet been revealed, but you should prepare for plenty of zeros before the decimal.

Three miles north of Governor’s Harbour is the new Sky Beach Club. Sky Beach sits on 22 acres of land with 600 feet of frontage on a prime Atlantic beach. The master plan calls for 35 stand-alone homes and a clubhouse. The land rises to a peak at the center of the island, so the homes on either side will have excellent views of their respective seas. Six of the homes, which have a modern architectural style, have been built as of May 2008. A one-bedroom house at Sky Beach Club is listed for $700,000, and a four-bedroom house, $2.7 million. Sky Beach is also offering fractional ownership. Units must be made available for rental at least six months of the year.

Finally, eight miles farther north is the Buttonwood Reserve condominium development, where site work is underway. Buttonwood consists of 50 acres of land and extends from the Caribbean on the west to a three-mile-long pink-sand beach on the east. The condominiums will be located on a high ridge overlooking the Caribbean. They are connected to the Atlantic beach by a private road. Thirty-two units will be built along the top of the ridge, all with unobstructed Caribbean views. Units come with a large private garage beneath the building. Construction is of steel. Prices for the 1140 square-foot two-bedroom units (plus 390 feet of decks) start at $395,000.

Let’s take a look now at some other Central Eleuthera real estate options.

North Palmetto Point is a popular location on the Atlantic side of Eleuthera with many vacation homes and a great beach for swimming and snorkeling. “The Point” is accessed by a charming sandy beach road, a little rough, but scenic, and is conveniently close to a hotel restaurant/bar distinctively named “Unique.” Prices for beachfront homes in North Palmetto Point range from $800,000 for a 2000 square foot house on half an acre on up to $3.5 million for an estate home on three acres with 450 feet of beachfront.

South Palmetto Point and the adjacent community of Palmetto Shores are on the opposite side of Eleuthera, facing the Caribbean. The shore here is mostly rocky shore, rather than beach, but being on the lee side is calm for snorkeling, sailing, and kayaking. The nearby village of South Palmetto Point, walking distance from the shore area, has restaurants and food shops. A marina is also under development at South Palmetto Point which, when completed, could make the area a haven for boaters. At present, real estate is slightly less expensive than across the island at North Palmetto Point. Oceanfront lots sell in the $400,000 range.

Banks Road is actually a section of the old Queen’s Highway where it ran along the Atlantic side of the island. The stretch of Banks Road between Governor’s Harbour and Palmetto Point is known as The Golden Mile because of its desirable location and prime stretch of pink-sand beach. There are many old stately homes on this stretch which sit on 5 or 10 acres and have several hundred feet of beachfront. These homes, rarely on the market, would have multi-million-dollar price tags. Quarter-acre lots along this beach are currently selling for $650,000 with one-acre lots in the $1 million range. Ocean view lots are available in the $350,000 range.

Moving to the north side of Governors Harbour, Cigatoo Estates consists of beachfront lots, many with high elevations, along a somewhat rocky beach. These one-acre lots sell in the $450,000 range.

Farther north, Wykee Estates is a small development that runs from sea to sea, bisected by the Queens Highway. The former vacation compound of the first Premier of the Bahamas, Sir Roland Symonette, Wykee and its original collection of houses date from the mid-nineteenth century. Newer houses in the development have been built of the same handsome fieldstone, maintaining the architectural uniformity. Wykee has a beautiful stretch of pink-sand beach on the Atlantic, a boat ramp on the Caribbean, and that rarest of luxuries on Eleuthera, a swimming pool. Half-acre lots with views of the Atlantic or the Caribbean (and sometimes both) sell for $250,000. Homes range in price from $600,000 to $1.5 million.

Further north along the Queen’s Highway, Banana Beach is a community of cottages on quarter-acre lots with deeded access to a beautiful Atlantic beach. Most homes have ocean views. Cottages sell in the $250,000 range, and lots start at $75,000.

North Eleuthera Real Estate

Unlike South and Central Eleuthera, there are no major resort developments in North Eleuthera (except on Harbour Island, not covered here). The most popular area for vacation homes is a large subdivision dating from the early 1970’s called Rainbow Bay. Rainbow runs the full width of the island from sea to sea and extends for two miles in length. The majority of its quarter-acre lots—which number 1,700--are still undeveloped, but new homes are being built every year. Rainbow Bay has a beach, tennis court, and a small resort called the Rainbow Inn with an excellent restaurant. Rainbow has a well-organized homeowners association that maintains and operates the roads and amenities with revenues from the $60 annual homeowner’s fee. No, that isn’t a typo or a misplaced decimal. $60.00 per year. There are always a variety of lots for sale in Rainbow, and usually homes as well. Most of the oceanfront lots on both sides of the subdivision are rocky shore frontage, rather than beachfront. Caribbean-side lots are preferred to those on the Atlantic on this part of the island, as the latter experience considerable salt spray and, at some spots, flooding from high waves coming over the cliffs. In fact, only a few Atlantic-side lots have been built upon to date. Prices for Caribbean-side oceanfront lots are in the $150,000 range.

Seven miles north of Rainbow lies the village of Gregory Town, which serves as an anchor for a number of vacation home communities. A combination of the local red dirt and ample rainfall make Gregory Town’s pineapples among the sweetest in the world, which is the village’s first claim to fame. The second is that Lenny Kravitz owns a cottage on the outskirts. Elvina’s, the Gregory Town bar known to all Eleuthera regulars, hosts a lively open mike session twice a week, featuring everything from local musicians to the occasional appearance by Lenny himself. Gregory Town is also the center of surfing activity on the island: nearby Surfer’s Beach has excellent waves and a global reputation. Lest the reader conclude that Gregory Town is for parties only, the village has a perfectly respectable public boat ramp, bakery, gas station, and several shops and restaurants.

Eleuthera Island Shores (EIS) is a large subdivision just south of Gregory Town. EIS extends to both sides of the island and has considerable cliff frontage. The neighborhood is home to an interesting mix of artists, musicians, and surfers. The original developer of EIS neglected to provide utilities, so homeowners must either pay to bring in electricity from the Queen’s Highway or make do with solar power and gas cooking. The homeowner’s organization has been less effective than Rainbow’s, and road maintenance has not always been up to date. A quarter-acre cliff-front lot in EIS recently sold for $150,000.

Just north of Gregory Town on the Caribbean side of the island, Oleander Gardens is a small, charming community with great views from its cliffs and a little rocky beach. Oleander has underground utilities and attractive landscaping. It is walking distance to The Cove resort, which has an excellent restaurant. Quarter-acre cliff-front lots sell in the $125,000 range.

North of Glass Window Bridge is the Bottom Harbour/Whale Point area, a rugged part of the island with dramatic cliffs on the east side and a lovely protected bay on the west. The area is rich with marine life and offers excellent snorkeling. Harbour Island with its shopping and restaurants is just a short water-taxi ride away. Roads in this area are still rough, and neither landline service nor municipal water is available. One-acre beachfront lots are selling for $500,000.