Sabadeco Terrace is about five miles north of Kralendijk, a small coastal city with a few thousand residents and a strip of shops, supermarkets, restaurants and other amenities, Mr. Bartikoski said. The 111-square-mile island of Bonaire is a magnet for scuba divers, but also attracts wind surfers to Lac Bay and kite surfers to Atlantis Beach. Pink Beach, on the islands southwestern shore, and Washington-Slagbaai National Park, on its northern tip, are each less than 20 minutes away by car. Bonaire International Airport is a 15-minute drive.

The Dutch island of Bonaire, with about 21,000 residents, has long attracted outsiders with its arid climate, coral reefs and relatively low risk of hurricanes. In recent years, its largely tourism-based economy has generated a flourishing real estate market, and not unlike many other tropical locales, its allure seems to have grown during the coronavirus pandemic.

The outbreak of the pandemic has only enhanced the islands appeal, Mr. Cooper said. Weve seen a steady rise in inquiries this year, including a huge surge the day after the U.S. election.

According to Bonaires most recent official data, reported by Statistics Netherlands in 2018, the housing index showed prices for residential properties were on average 21.6 percent higher than they were the previous year. The number of housing transactions from 2017 to 2018 grew by 52.8 percent, from 214 to 327.

Official data for 2019 is not available, but real estate experts said the market has continued apace. Its been insane, said Roderick Groenman, a notary with the office of Aniek H. Schouten. For the past three or four years, things have been going really well.

Mr. Groenman attributed the consistent growth to the islands status as a special municipality of the Netherlands, which provides free, high-quality health care to residents. (Aruba and Curaao, by contrast, are autonomous constituent countries of the Netherlands.) He also pointed to Bonaires stability on the U.S. dollar, which the island adopted as its currency in 2011. The economy has been expanding, with a 3.9 percent increase in the gross domestic product in 2018, and this year the Dutch government has provided subsidies to thwart an economic downturn.

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House Hunting on Bonaire: Perched Above the Caribbean for $1.5 Million - The New York Times