Prime Minister Gaston Browne says the expansion of luxury villas and high-end residential tourism is creating a fast-growing property-management sector in which Antiguans are already earning premium salaries, including five-figure monthly incomes.
Speaking on the Browne and Browne Show, Browne said several Antiguans are now managing multimillion-dollar homes for overseas investors, including properties at Jumby Bay.
“I know of a few Antiguans who are managing properties for these people, even here at Jumbie Bay,” he said.
He pointed to one young Antiguan woman as an example of the sector’s earning potential, saying she previously made “maybe about $3,000 a month” before receiving a management contract that pushed her income into “five figures now.
A month, you know.”
Browne said the rise of luxury homes has resulted in a sharp increase in the number of locals earning between $10,000 and $15,000 monthly.
“You’d have had a doubling, well almost… a quadrupling, of people making between 10 and 15,000,” he said, adding that “lots of those individuals have been paid to manage homes.”
He encouraged university graduates to take advantage of the opportunities created by the wave of high-end development across Antigua and Barbuda.
“We expect them to make themselves available as we attract these luxury properties… apply to manage them,” he said.
A co-host underscored that property management extends far beyond building maintenance. “Real serious property management… is about bringing in revenue and managing expenses,” the co-host said.
Browne described the wider economic impact of the sector, noting that luxury villas often require full service teams—including pool staff, landscapers, chefs, butlers and housekeepers—and that wages are higher because these properties cater to ultra-wealthy visitors.
“You get paid at a premium,” he said, pointing to similar models in Cabo, Mexico, where property managers earn US$5,000 to US$6,000 monthly plus housing.
The Prime Minister said the rise of high-value residential tourism has been a major driver of economic growth over the past decade, creating jobs well beyond the traditional hotel sector.
He added that the government intends to continue attracting luxury investment to expand these opportunities for Antiguans.
