St. Mary

“Day oh! Da..ay…ay ohhhh! Day dah light and me wanna go home.”

These well known words, sung by the world famous singer and movie star, Harry Belafonte, were the opening phrase of the signature song of the St. Mary banana farmers of yesteryear in Jamaica, as they carried bunches of green bananas on their heads from the fields for tallying before the bananas were taken to the ships for exporting overseas.

Real estate in St. Mary, Jamaica, was originally all about bananas and their production. The economic activity then started to include cattle rearing and coconuts, as the land and its topography lent itself to this. The song of the Banana Man however, has remained popular both with Jamaicans and vacationers visiting this Caribbean island, as its music offers that pulsating rhythm popular with so many music lovers.

The cultivation of the coconut in Jamaica has experienced its ups and downs throughout the years. The tall variety of this gracious tree lost much of its inventory to “lethal yellowing” several years ago. Other dwarf varieties have taken their place …harvesting from these is much simpler and statistics indicate coconut production is on the rise and doing extremely well, not only in Jamaica but in the Caribbean and worldwide, based on the many health benefits derived from the fruit. Coconut water is now being bottled here; the coconut oil is deemed a healthy alternative to other oils and recipe books carry a wide variety of recipes for which the coconut is the main and healthy ingredient. Should you travel around the entire island, you would see coconut trees in each parish. As banana production has decreased, tourism has become an increasingly important source of income for St. Mary families, many of whom are employed in the various hotels along the coast.

Today, St. Mary, Jamaica is the home of many villas as well as hotels that offer vacation packages for the family as well as for ‘couples only’ who just want to get away for a while.  The famous playwright, Noel Coward fell in love with the island and Firefly Estate, his Caribbean home, (formerly owned by one of St. Mary’s most famous early residents, Sir Henry Morgan) still sits atop a hill over-looking the Port Maria harbour, offering the most breath-taking and spectacular views of the coast. The home is now a museum designated a National Historic Site and the location is extremely popular, deemed one of the best venues ever for weddings.  Its attraction is heightened by the awesomely romantic atmosphere experienced with the “up-front and in-your-face” view of the moon rising over the silvery Caribbean Sea off the coast of Port Maria.  Definitely a “WOW” factor.

Have you ever seen the thrilling James Bond movies?  This infamous fictional spy, James Bond, was created by the English author and journalist Ian Fleming at his home, Goldeneye in Oracabessa, St. Mary. Ian Fleming, like our present-day returning residents, came to Jamaica and invested in real estate.  He purchased land which fronted on the beautiful azure Caribbean Sea, then had his home built from which he wrote his twelve James Bond novels, the first of which he started in February 1952. This home is presently owned by Chris Blackwell of Island Records and is proving a popular vacation location for the rich and famous. Today an international airport has been constructed in Boscobel near this property and it has been named the Ian Fleming International Airport.

Property in St. Mary that comes on the market for sale in today’s world tends to consist mainly of a few farms, but mostly residential lots and homes. Many mortgage companies have been in healthy competition through reduction of interest rates in an effort to attract clients and to finance their purchases of real estate. Real estate in this parish is very popular with returning Jamaicans, who tend to live in residential communities along the coast where they can enjoy delightful views of the surrounding hills while at the same time being able to relax in sight of the sparkling Caribbean Sea. Some purchase homes already built. Others purchase the land and then build their homes large enough to accommodate their own family as well as an additional section that is suitable for rental, thereby affording them additional income to help with finances in their years of retirement. It’s a win win situation!

…………………………………………