Costa Rica property boom

[mikew]

NPR had a interesting article on the Costa Rica property boom.

http://marketplace.publicradio.org/s...200507284.html

This connects to a real audio file.

Mike

[dougdo]

I've got two friends (from the USA and Canada) who both recently moved there and are buying property and they both say prices are really on the move in the last year.* *Living there and being patient you can still get some real bargains but you have to be all of persistent, patient and fast moving when you spot a deal.

I'm still thinking about it. One thing I don't want to encourage is speculators pricing out locals and us not-so-well-off-ERs. Plus the market is not nearly as liquid as a North American would expect. There's no central real estate board or listings or standard contract so it's all a little complex. Don't expect a quick flip. It can take a long time to find the right buyer, even in a hot market.

More of my thoughs on and photos of Costa Rica are at Travel Blogs Costa Rica

Doug.

[wildcat]

Buying there is not nearly as easy as some people believe. Caution - red tape.

[farmerEd]

Originally Posted by dougdo

Plus the market is not nearly as liquid as a North American would expect. There's no central real estate board or listings or standard contract so it's all a little complex. Don't expect a quick flip. It can take a long time to find the right buyer, even in a hot market.

Same in the Bahamas...we've been looking on and off for about 10 years (casually) and some of the properties we would look at would still be on the market 5-6-7 years later. The transaction costs are really, really high to. You can pay upto 10% of the property cost in a "stamp tax"...probably one reason things tend to sit so long; you buy a 600K house, and you need to sell it for over 660K just to break even. Things have picked up a bit lately.

[Sheryl]

Originally Posted by dougdo

I've got two friends (from the USA and Canada) who both recently moved there and are buying property and they both say prices are really on the move in the last year.*

Doug,
I'm curious how you split your time between BC and CR?* Do you rent when you are down there?*

[wildcat]

I believe he mentioned he does rent

[mikew]

Illiquid markets are interesting. It is very hard to get a real feel for a fair price. In Japan, the bubble burst over 10 years ago. Last year, we bought our 1000sqft apartment for 240000 USD. The 1500 sqft one above us is priced at 740,000.

Also, some properties like the one above us sit forever, just waiting for the bubble to come back. But anything interesting will move within hours, sometimes sight unseen. People are just waiting to pounce.

[dougdo]

Originally Posted by Sheryl

Doug,
I'm curious how you split your time between BC and CR?* Do you rent when you are down there?*

Yeah, so far I've just rented. I am considering buying but I haven't actually discovered the part of Costa Rica where I'd want to buy. I spent last winter in Manuel Antonio but for various reasons I'd like to go someplace both quieter and closer to the resources of the city. Hmmm, but then I'd lose the beach. So not sure...