WILLEMSTAD - Curaçao primarily builds in the higher-priced segment, according to figures from the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) in Curaçao, covering the past ten years from 2010 to 2021. Developers have focused on luxury projects, such as high-end apartments, villas, and exclusive gated communities, to cater to the demand from affluent buyers. 

The CBS attributes this to the influx of people from Europe, particularly from the Netherlands and the United States, who invested primarily in apartments priced at 350,000 guilders and above. There is demand for apartments for second homes and holiday accommodations in this price range. 

While demand for housing has increased since 2010, supply has decreased, resulting in a housing shortage overall. However, due to a decrease in the population, the shortage is less significant than expected. In 2017, there were still over 160,000 people living in Curaçao, but that number has since fallen to just under 154,000 in 2021. 

The CBS suggests that the housing shortage has decreased somewhat in line with the population decline, but the structural shortage of affordable housing for low-income groups remains unresolved.