Investing in Seychelles real estate: a strategy to diversify your portfolio

Nov 2

5 min read

Updated: September 2026

Investing in Seychelles real estate can serve several objectives: geographically diversifying your assets, acquiring a second home, adding real estate in an international destination to your portfolio, or combining personal use with investment where the property allows.

However, investing in Seychelles should not be considered solely through the appeal of the destination. For an international buyer, the choice of property, its legal accessibility to non-Seychellois purchasers, its management structure, rental possibilities and resale conditions are essential considerations.

Here are the main factors I recommend analysing before including Seychelles real estate in a wealth diversification strategy.

Why diversify your portfolio with Seychelles real estate?

Diversification means avoiding concentrating all your assets in a single market, currency or asset class.

Buying property in Seychelles can therefore provide geographical diversification for a portfolio already holding assets in other countries.

However, diversification does not mean the absence of risk. Real estate is generally less liquid than certain financial investments, and its performance depends on factors including the purchase price, location, future demand, ongoing costs, taxation and resale conditions.

This is why I prefer to analyse the property itself rather than rely on general promises of returns.

Not all property in Seychelles is accessible to non-Seychellois buyers

This is probably the first point to understand.

An international buyer cannot consider the entire Seychelles property market to be freely accessible. Acquisition conditions depend, among other things, on the property and its legal status.

Certain properties and developments are accessible to non-Seychellois purchasers, subject to the applicable rules and authorisations.

For a detailed explanation of the acquisition process, Sanction and purchasing costs, see my guide to buying property in Seychelles.

This distinction is essential: a property for sale in Seychelles is not necessarily an investment opportunity that can be purchased by an international buyer.

What types of property should you consider when investing in Seychelles?

There is no single model for investing in Seychelles real estate. The right choice depends primarily on your objectives.

Eden Island: an established residential market

Eden Island has an established resale market offering apartments, houses and villas for sale in Seychelles within a residential marina development.

For an investor, one of the advantages of an established market is the ability to analyse existing properties, their location within the development and the individual characteristics of each unit.

Meliá Seychelles: investing in a new development

Meliá Seychelles offers a different approach, as it is a new development with several types of residences.

Usage and rental conditions differ depending on the part of the development. It is therefore important to determine from the outset whether the objective is primarily residential, wealth diversification or rental-related.

Desroches Island: an ultra-high-end approach

Desroches Island represents a very different segment of real estate in the Seychelles: ultra-high-end island property combined with a resort environment and high-level services.

This type of acquisition generally responds as much to considerations of long-term ownership and personal use as to purely financial analysis.

Second home or rental investment?

This is an important distinction to make before even selecting a property.

Some buyers are primarily looking for a second home that they can use for several weeks or months each year. Others want to prioritise rental. Others are looking for a combination of the two.

However, usage and rental rules can vary considerably from one development to another.

Before purchasing, you should therefore verify:

the periods during which the owner can occupy the property;
any conditions relating to renting the property;
the management structure;
costs associated with the property and development;
and the owner's freedom to use or rent the property.

An advertised return should never be analysed independently of these factors.

Resale should be part of the analysis from the moment you buy

When I analyse a real estate investment, I also consider how the property may eventually be resold.

The liquidity of a property depends on factors including its location, type, price, condition, demand and the number of potential buyers eligible to purchase it.

In Seychelles, accessibility to international buyers is particularly important. A property that can be resold to an international clientele does not necessarily operate within the same market dynamics as a property with a more restricted pool of potential purchasers.

Your exit strategy should therefore be part of the investment analysis from the outset.

What costs should you include in your investment strategy?

The advertised property price is not the total acquisition cost.

For the properties I currently market at Eden Island, Meliá Seychelles and Desroches Island, the main costs to consider are, as an indication:

5% Stamp Duty
1.5% Sanction
approximately 1.15% notary fees

This represents approximately 7.65%, which I generally recommend rounding to around 8% of the purchase price when establishing an initial budget.

A SCR 3,000 Sanction application fee should also be added.

Notary fees may vary depending on the notary and the transaction. Costs should therefore always be confirmed for the specific property concerned.

What about annual property taxation?

An Immovable Property Tax may also apply to certain residential properties owned by non-Seychellois.

Where applicable, it is currently calculated at 0.5% of the property's market value per year, subject to the applicable rules and exemptions.

This cost should be included in the overall investment analysis, alongside potential management, maintenance and service charges.

How should you select a real estate investment in Seychelles?

I recommend not starting with the question:

“Which property offers the highest return?”

but rather:

“Which property corresponds to my objectives, and what will its market look like several years from now?”

A real estate investment should be considered as a whole: location, quality of the development, legal status, purchase price, recurring costs, possibilities for personal use and rental, potential resale market and intended holding period.

This is particularly important in an island market where two properties located only a few kilometres apart can have very different investment characteristics.

Investing in Seychelles: choose a strategy suited to your profile

There is no single ideal property for every investor.

A buyer looking for a second home to use regularly will not have the same priorities as an investor focusing on rental, or a purchaser seeking to hold an ultra-high-end property over the long term.

After 10 years working in Seychelles real estate, including at Eden Island, my approach is to start with the buyer's profile and objectives before selecting the properties that may be appropriate for them.

You can explore my selection of real estate in Seychelles for sale.

PROPERTIES AVAILABLE

If you are considering investing in Seychelles real estate and would like to determine which type of property corresponds to your objectives, you can also contact me directly.