Second homes: In Jamaica, island culture is the calling card

In the postwar 1950s, Jamaica became the hot spot of the Caribbean. The British colony until 1962 was a vacation and second-home destination for A-list artists and celebrities, including Hollywood actress Katharine Hepburn, British playwright Noel Coward and British author Ian Fleming, who built his Goldeneye villa and wrote 14 James Bond novels there.

Today, Jamaica is trying to shake its crime-ridden image and enjoy a renaissance. Though the capital of Kingston, near the eastern tip of the island, still has a high crime rate and is largely avoided by visitors, the long-popular northwest coast continues to grow. The less-developed south shore is taking off, and development is moving forward at the same time it has slowed in much of the Caribbean.

"Jamaica is unique because we have so much indigenous culture," says Nicola Delapenha of Coldwell Banker Jamaica Realty. "I'm always amused when I travel elsewhere in the Caribbean, and any time you see live music, the first song is always (Jamaican singer and songwriter) Bob Marley or another of our singers. Everyone knows (native Jamaican) jerk chicken around the world. We are also very diverse for an island."

The traditional second-home and resort strip of the island nation runs from Ocho Rios, in the center of the north coast, to Negril, at the western tip. Montego Bay is in the middle.

"We have an international airport in Montego Bay, it is easy to get to Ocho Rios or Negril, and there is no reason for second-home owners to fly into Kingston," Delapenha says. "People choose that area for its beaches, the best in Jamaica, and Montego Bay is popular because it is the first port of entry for most visitors."

The area includes venerable resorts with real estate offerings, including Tryall Club, Round Hill, Half Moon and the Rose Hall estate. There are many golf courses and hotels, including a Ritz-Carlton, and the newer Goldeneye boutique resort, fashioned from Fleming's estate.

"The infrastructure in the north has been in place for 40 years, they have great nannies, great service, and for a lot of regular visitors the staff become part of their family," Delapenha says.

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Sandy Tatham, another Coldwell Banker real estate agent, specializes in the emerging southern shore, also at the island's western end, which is less expensive than the north and is attracting both American and British buyers.

"Second homes have been popular in the north since the '50s, but the south is just getting started," she says. "The developments here are much smaller, more Jamaican, with a less-sanitized feel. It's community-based tourism, for the buyer who wants to get to know people in town and go down to the docks to buy from the fishermen pulling in the catch."

A look at three Jamaica neighborhoods

•Montego Bay.The area is home to some of Jamaica's longest-established second-home communities, Tryall Club, Round Hill and Rose Hall. "You can find a decent little house under $500,000 outside of the main resort communities," says local real estate agent Nicola Delapenha. "But if you want Round Hill, it's all over a million, and Tryall is from over a million to about $5.5 million. Homes are quite large and these are the gold standard for second-home communities in Jamaica."

•Ocho Rios.Ocho Rios lies two hours east of the Montego Bay airport. It's lush and green. "Instead of communities, Ocho Rios is more oceanfront villas on private lots, some quite spectacular, many on or near the ocean," Delapenha says. Outside Ocho Rios is Ian Fleming's Goldeneye villa, which has been converted to a luxury resort with 14 new villas, from $900,000 to $1.2 million.

•Southwestern Coast.This area has few planned or gated communities and is the latest to be developed for vacation real estate. Many buyers purchase lots and build on their own. "Right now it is mostly individual villas built by second-home owners," says agent Sandy Tatham. "The area is known for being comfortable, not lavish, and you can get two- to four-bedroom homes right on the beach for $380,000 to $600,000." The popular Jamaica-based, all-inclusive chain Sandals just opened the first large-scale resort here, Whitehouse. Jake's, a sister boutique resort to Goldeneye, is selling beachfront lots for custom villas. Prices are rising, Tatham says, but the area is still less expensive than the north.