Luxury Real Estate: St. Lucia is in the process of becoming a Caribbean hot spot comparable to such world traveler's favorites as St. Barths and Anguilla. With an announcement from St. Lucia's minister of tourism that stated services on the island are going to be upgraded to support high-end property owners and the major luxury property developments in progress, it is a project that piqued our curiosity on its potential.

The massive projects include a 46-residence development with houses designed by award-winning architect Lane Pettigrew and the development of two five-star quality luxury resorts. There is the Jalousie Plantation Resort, which is receiving a $100-million makeover, and a new hotel, the Tides Sugar Beach Resort, which is scheduled to open fully in December 2011.

The Private Residences at Sugar Beach range in price from $2.4 to $9 million and include floor plans of two-bedroom to six-bedroom layouts. The construction of the exclusive community begins this fall.

According to Ms. Lisa Basire, marketing director of Sugar Beach, the Private Residences, which launched in December 2009, there have been three sales and there are two more transactions about to close. Ms. Basire also said, "This represents $12 million in sales and [this] shows the property market in St. Lucia is active and that demand for a high quality product is strong."