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Market increase: Real Estate in the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica
Real Estate Markets in the Central Valley of Costa Rica have generally been supported by major corporations (IBM, Intel, etc.) that continue to put more money in to the business sector of the economy. Just taking an afternoon drive through Escazu, Costa Rica or downtown San Jose, Costa Rica will show you business is booming. To add to this, everywhere you turn there is a new site of construction being developed.
As for the real estate market on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica, it is mainly supported by vacationers, retirees and expats.
“Almost 1.2 million international tourists visited Costa Rica during the first six months of 2011, the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) announced Monday. The 1,197,199 tourists that visited Costa Rica from January to June was a 6.5 percent increase compared to the same period last year. In 2010, nearly 2.1 million tourists visited Costa Rica, a record.”
~Tico Times -Popular expat newspaper in Costa Rica
The tourism market has experienced an increase and following shortly behind it was an increase in the real estate market that stalled a few years ago. Another popular website Welovecostarica.com run by Scott Oliver in a recent post said:
“I would suggest that the worst of the price declines is definitely over, real estate inquiries and closings since December 2011 have increased dramatically so if you have been waiting for bargains, I would not wait too much longer if I were you …”
That’s great news for buyers and investors in the real estate market of Costa Rica. For buyers, now is the time to begin considering a purchase in Costa Rican real estate. If the market begins to swing further in an upward direction, prices will increase in the near future; both scenarios are good news for investors. From one angle an investor in a development project today, could see a quick and healthy return on their investment, and those who invest for the long term could see an even greater return on their investment as the prices of lots and homes increase.
“It’s starting to get better, honestly. Things are looking up,” said Les Nunez of First Realty
“I really think people are restless now. They’ve been sitting and waiting too long,” she said. “They want to buy something. They have the itch. And I think a lot of people want to relocate to Costa Rica.” ~Karen Ebanks of Karen Real Estate
“I see activity picking up now. This time of year it always picks up at the beaches. But I’m seeing a little more this year in the Central Pacific area than I have been.” “I think the growth in the future is really going to be in the Central Pacific. In Guanacaste, there’s just too much inventory,” ~Bruce Wood of Costa Rica Realty One
Other contributing factors leading to the increase in the real estate market in the Central Pacific Coast of Costa Rica are:
- The new highway that cuts travel time for vacationers
- The banks opening their doors once again to developers and buyers
- The increase in seller and developer financing
- 90% (2011 est.) of purchasers have paid cash on real estate
- Expats from the USA are seeking a stable and growing economy (politically and financially) in which to invest their retirement funds through real estate. Real estate in Costa Rica, statistically, has provided the best option as others such as South America and Asia are too far in proximity to family, friends and businesses still in North America. As well, these “farther” markets many times are in countries that do not have the business infrastructure support that is so prevalent and growing in Costa Rica.
For more information about the Costa Rican real estate market or to get a free consultation regarding your investing options in Costa Rica feel free to contact us.
May 17, 2012 Tags: costa rica, economics, investing, investment, investor, market, pacific coast, real estate, realestate
Category: Costa Rica, Economics, investing, real estate, Vistas De Suenos No Comments 
Water & Electricity are ON!
In this video we show you that the water is flowing and the electricity is running at our project, Vista De Sueños. These are crucial first steps that are needed to begin the construction at the project.
May 12, 2012 Category: Costa Rica, real estate, Vistas De Suenos No Comments
Investing in Your Dreams – Video
Every once in a while an opportunity comes along that doesn’t just tug at your wallet but also at your heart. There are authors and Gurus who will tell you to only work on what you love and invest in what you care about without concern for rewards or returns. There are also those who will tell you to put all feelings, emotions and intuition aside and take a completely logical and analytical approach to your endeavours and investing. May I propose a balance of benefits of both. I’ve played both sides of the spectrum both in investing and in my past businesses. I have found that both paths have great benefits, yet each has it’s limitations and sacrifices. Not knowing all the details can land you in a well paying project that hurts people in a third world country, or being involved with an investment that makes a huge difference in the world but leaves you worrying about whether your retirement funds are in jeopardy.
In today’s uncertain economic climate it is easy to see how important the need is for safe secure investing. It is also important to note that there is a shift in the global marketplace where trust, honesty and transparency takes precedence over high returns and flashy advertising. Trust today is more important than ever. It’s not that it ever wasn’t it’s just that people are becoming more aware of it’s necessity. You must know who you are dealing with, what they are doing and why they are doing it.
Every once in a while, you need to step back and refocus, re-evaluate and reorganize your financial objectives. When you do this make sure you are partnered with the right team of people. Partner with those who have like goals and values that not only will make you sleep well at night but also provide you with fantastic returns. Many years ago my Martial arts Master, Yang Jwing Ming told me to only do things that benefited me, others and the greater good. A win/win/win if you will. Try it, it’s million dollar advice.
December 22, 2011 Tags: dreams, investing, investment, secure investing, win win
Category: investing, Vistas De Suenos No Comments
December 14, 2011 Tags: fortress, frc, investing, investment, real estate, syndicate mortgage
Category: Canada, Fortress Real Capital, Projects, real estate No Comments
Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt Moving to Costa Rica
Being the father of seven amazing children, and having recently moved them and my wife to Costa Rica, I can completely understand the motivation to want a piece of this paradise. I came here a month ago to be front and center with our Higher Life land development project, Vista De Sueños in Esterillos, Costa Rica. This however was only part of the motivation to move to Paradise. Very much like the super star couple, I too want the best for my children and after searching the world over, I have found Costa Rica to be one of the best options available for my personal Higher Life. The people are amazing, the environment is second to none and no one can argue with the low costs of building and property taxes. I can build a million dollar quality home in Costa Rica for $80-$95/sqft whereas the same home in Canada or the US would cost me between $200-$250/sqft. That and the fact that property taxes are ONLY 0.25% and you soon realize that you don’t need to be a multimillion dollar movie star to get your own beautiful piece of this paradise.
December 13, 2011 Tags: angelina jolie, brad pitt, costa rica, expats
Category: Costa Rica, Uncategorized No Comments
Leaving the USA
For a long time the United States of America was seen as a land of opportunity and freedom. It was a shining beacon of light in a world of unjust practices and inequality. Lately, it seems that may be a vision of the past. Today… the freedom and practices of the good ol’ US of A is changing again.
“In a stunning move that has civil libertarians stuttering with disbelief, the U.S. Senate has just passed a bill that effectively ends the Bill of Rights in America.” Says the News Voice. It appears that another bill has “slipped” in that erodes the safety and rights of the average American citizen. So how are American’s handling this? Well some sit by in disbelief, some fight it.
There is however another group of people who claim to “see the writing on the wall” and become “expats”. An expatriate is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country and culture other than that of the person’s upbringing. Many expats who are leaving the USA are doing so because of the rapid erosion of their civil liberties and the impending financial crisis part two. A crisis that some say could be many times worse than the one we experienced a few years ago. So where are these expats going? One such place is Costa Rica, another is Panama where more favorable tax laws exist.
The main reasons that expats are emigrating to countries like Costa Rica are:
- The close proximity to the USA, which allows the ease of visiting friends and family.
- Economic stability and lack of unrest (Costa Rica abolished it’s army and diverted those funds to education and the environment).
- The climate (Atenas, Costa Rica rated the best climate in the world, by National Geographic)
- A highly educated work force and English as a second language is taught in schools. This makes for a great place to start businesses and investments.
- Costa Rica is the most visited country for tourism in Latin America.
- The environment. Costa Rica is known for it’s flora, fauna and abundant wildlife. It has some of the strictest environmental protection laws in the world. This creates a fantastic place for Eco-tourism as well as a beautiful and naturally abundant place to live year round.
- The People. Known as some of the Happiest people on earth by several studies.
With this migration of US citizen also goes their hard earned money. Expats are usually well informed about the economic instabilities that have arisen in their country and are searching for safe locals in which to invest.
Michael Simons, a successful realtor in Costa Rica says “99% of our clients paid cash” on the homes that they bought. That is a huge difference from the 5-20% deposits made on homes in the US. He also says, “I believe Costa Rica has one of the most stable real estate markets in the world.” This has drawn the attention of hundreds of thousands of Americans in their search for a safe haven for their investment dollars. With over 2 million people visiting Costa Rica a year for tourism, it appears that a sizeable amount of them are visiting on business as well as pleasure. As soon as you land in the San Jose Airport in Costa Rica it becomes very apparent that the Costa Rican real estate market is doing far better than it’s North American counterparts.
If you are one of those thinking about leaving the US or searching for a place to protect your investment dollars, contact us, we can help you.
December 12, 2011 Tags: costa rica, economics, expats, financial crisis, investment, USA
Category: Costa Rica, Economics, usa No Comments
Costa Rica Real Estate Investors Market Update For The Area Around Liberia International Airport
Article from http://www.welovecostarica.com
People always ask me how our real estate market is doing, is it stable? Did we see a big fall out like the USA?
I believe Costa Rica has one of the most stable real estate markets in the world for a couple of reasons:
99% of our clients paid cash.
There is no formal MLS in Costa Rica.
People can blame whoever they want for the crash of the real estate market in the USA. You can say it was greedy real estate agents, pushy mortgage brokers, banks looking the other way. You can blame it on one President or another or the law that was passed to allow easier access to housing which opened the door to non-qualifying loans. And all of these might be true but… READ MORE
October 30, 2011 Tags: costa rica, costa rica realestate market, financial, luxury homes, market, properties, real estate, realtor
Category: Costa Rica, Economics No Comments
New & Improved
Higher Life Estates is getting an upgrade! We are currently developing a new portion of our website to display our new projects in Costa Rica
. Our site will become more interactive with weekly video blogs and articles on every aspect of our developments and investment opportunities. As well you can enjoy an ever flowing resource of information about markets, alternative investing and investment and financial education that anyone can use to get onto the financial fast track and into their Own Higher Life.
September 10, 2011 Category: Costa Rica, Projects, Vistas De Suenos No Comments