Costa Rica What’s Happening in the Real Estate Market 2022

Retiring in Costa Rica is a popular choice for many, 🏡🌴 drawn to the natural beauty, simple way of life, and laid-back living that the country offers. 🇨🇷 However, it’s important to remember that there are ✅ pros and ❌ cons to living in Costa Rica, or any foreign country for that matter. Living as an 🇺🇸 American expat in Costa Rica is a dream for many, and moving to Costa Rica with your family 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 can also be incredibly rewarding. As with any major decision, 💭 it’s important to do your 🔎 research and 📝 homework before making the leap. If you’re 🤔 wondering where the expats and gringos tend to live in 🇨🇷 Costa Rica, we’ve got you covered.👍 Some of the most popular places include 📍 La Fortuna, El Castillo, Nuevo Arenal, Tiliran, Tamarindo, Samara, Nosara, Mal Pais, Montezuma, Manuel Antonio, Jaco, Dominical, Uvita, the Osa Peninsula, Grecia, Atenas, Santa Ana, and San Ramon, just to name a few.

“Renting before buying can be a wise choice, especially given the phenomenon of “Gringo Pricing.”

Are you considering making a life for yourself in the tropical paradise that is Costa Rica? Before taking the plunge, it is important to note that it is recommended to spend at least 6 months to a year living in Costa Rica before making any permanent decisions such as buying property. Renting before buying can not only save you thousands of dollars but also spare you from a year’s worth of sleepless nights. It’s worth noting that “Gringo Pricing” is a real phenomenon, and whether you’ve spent time in Costa Rica or not, it can impact your wallet.

Welcome to the world of real estate in Costa Rica! At Travel Costa Rica NOW, we are thrilled to reconnect with Costa Rica Matt, the founder of Latitude 10, a reputable real estate agency located in the Tamarindo, Guanacaste area. We admire Matt’s honesty, knowledge, transparency, and his personalized approach to client relationships, which aligns with our values. In this informative video, we discuss the state of the Costa Rican real estate market as we move from 2021 into 2022 and on to 2023. We delve into the important questions that anyone interested in purchasing property in Costa Rica would want to know, such as whether it is a buyer’s or seller’s market, the hottest properties, how to get a good deal, renting before buying, luxury homes, and the impact of Covid-19 on the housing market.

You can check out Matt’s YouTube channel for even more insights. It is crucial to note that our goal is not to persuade you to invest in Costa Rican real estate, whether it be land, a beach condo, a family-style house, or a gated community. Instead, we aim to provide you with a clear understanding of the current real estate landscape in Costa Rica. We both share the same love for the pura vida lifestyle and if our opinions differed, we would not hesitate to let you know. So, sit back, relax and join us as we embark on an exciting journey into the world of Costa Rican real estate.

In conclusion, retiring in Costa Rica can be a dream come true for many, offering a beautiful natural environment and a relaxed way of life. However, it’s important to consider the pros and cons of living in a foreign country and to do your research before making any major decisions. Renting before buying can be a wise choice, especially given the phenomenon of “Gringo Pricing.” If you’re interested in purchasing property in Costa Rica, it’s crucial to understand the current real estate landscape, and in that regard, Travel Costa Rica NOW and Latitude 10 offer valuable insights into the market. With the right preparation and knowledge, moving to Costa Rica can be a rewarding experience.

What Was Said In the Video

Hey guys, I’m michael alan for travel Costa Rica, now real estate. We’re going to be talking to our old friend Matt, man. We haven’t talked to him in a long time, but we’re going to get updated about what’s going on in the real estate. Now just so you know, we’re about December 1st, 2021. So, we’re going to update. Let’s welcome Matt Barry. Where is he at? I think he’s there. I don’t know.

Yeah, yeah.

Matt, how’s it going?

It’s going spectacularly well. Thanks very much for having me, Mike.

You know, well now that you don’t, you know, we haven’t talked for so long, so I’m assuming you’re super busy because you have no time for me anymore to do these updates, but it’s fine. It’s fine.

You’re not the only person. Earlier today, I had people knock on my door. I literally have the door locked because I’m recording stuff. It’s definitely continued to be a busy time. And you know, you’ve seen the accumulation of a lot of interest in the real estate market get pushed into a shorter time span. You know, ever since 2020, a lot of people were sitting on their couches in the US and Canada. They were watching a lot of YouTube. They were fantasizing about getting out, and now it’s like a pressure valve has been released. I mean, we started seeing it in November of 2020. The second the borders opened, the real estate market started picking up. And it was a steady build-up throughout the year, where, you know, January through April in our area, the high season last year was incredible. We had tons of real estate moving. And then really what we saw was that the low season never happened. May through October, when normally we realtors get a break, when you see less touring, all of a sudden, there were still people in the area looking for real estate. Even as recently as October, I was shocked to still be on tours in what usually is a dead month for us.

You know, it’s strange. I don’t want to get into too much COVID-19 stuff, but you know, there’s a, because I see it in my emails, there are a lot of countries, doesn’t matter why, but they’re getting upset with the way their country is doing stuff. And I’m, I just was seeing a lot of emails, Canada was off the charts with emails to me personally, in Germany, the United States, even France, Australia. So, I know you had to be getting them, and you’re right, it never really slowed down because it just was people just, Costa Rica got on their map, on their radar, even if they’ve never been here before, in a sense.

And really, the percentage of clients that I’m talking to, I mean, it’s almost one-hundred, that are citing one version or other of the political situation in their country that they hate as the reason that they’re looking for a home in Costa Rica. And you know, I think that for many reasons, it’s, I don’t like to see it. I really, when clients say, “You know, I’ve come to Costa Rica fifteen times now, I love the food, I love the people, I love the culture, I love their values, I love the ambiance.” That’s the kind of positive sale that I want to make, where people are trying to get to Costa Rica because they’re yearning. And you are seeing a lot of people that are escaping, and it’s a negative reason that they’re looking here in Central America and not staying at home.

I know, and then, you know, what I hate to say, but just because they may not be happy here, man, there’s a lot of other things to consider besides just because your country may not be going the direction you want it to. I’m not sure if you just, just, you know, throw the dart at the map and go, “Oh, honey, let’s go to Costa Rica and buy property.” You know, but unfortunately, nothing’s normal anymore. And so, I’m just saying, I get a lot of those emails, and I try to direct them, “Yes, but let’s slow down a bit, slow down. Just, you know, take a breath.” Because they were people were going, “Should I come now, Mike? Should I come out now? Should I?” No, you’re, you’re good.

I was gonna say, there’s another reason to be patient when you’re thinking about real estate these days, and that’s because, you know, this is a hot market. I’m specifically talking about Guanacaste, but everyone’s reporting the same thing. I was talking to a guy in Jaco and they’re hot as well. The southern beaches down by Dominical, Ojochal, Uvita, those are all growing fast too. This is about the worst time for you to be in the buyer’s position in a lot of Costa Rica real estate markets, and you should absolutely, you know, trying to rush into a hot market is preparing yourself to pay the absolute peak price that involves in many cases a lot of hype and scarcity. Like we had a new construction moratorium on any commercial projects from 2015 basically through 2019 and 2020 in our entire area, Tamarindo, up north, nothing was built in terms of large condos or very few projects that have been grandfathered in. So you had limited supply already factored in when 2020 hit, and rather the reopening started, there were few units on the market to begin with relative to where we’ve been in history. And so now, if you try to rush in right now, “I gotta get to Costa Rica, I gotta buy my fantasy property and get out of the U.S,” you are basically going to pay more than you need to because of the hype in the market right now.

So what other, okay, that’s obviously very good advice, is there any other advice you would give somebody that’s kind of chomping at the bit? Because, you’re right, so if people have been here fifteen times or for the last twenty years, obviously, they have a little bit better understanding of Costa Rica, maybe, and they want to buy. I can understand that, but is there any other advice you would give for people who are not sure and are kind of riding the COVID wave in a sense?

Well, you know, I think that the best place to look for real estate in Costa Rica will be in the community that you want to live in. Or rather, the best home base to have while you’re trying to find the perfect property is living right in that community. And I’d love to see more people moving deliberately to rent long-term in the area that they want to buy and sitting there patiently. And you might even meet somebody at dinner that owns one of the condos that would really be of interest to you. You become friends, you can really know what the market suggests is a fair price, and with that patient approach living in the community, you can be in the best position possible to actually get a good value and understand what’s going on. If you can’t live in the community while you search, you should really, really be there, hopefully multiple times, before you’re actually looking to make that purchase. And you should build a relationship with somebody who lives there, probably your realtor, who can immediately keep their eye on the market for you. And rather than rushing in with “I have to buy, I want to buy,” set your list of goals and what you want to accomplish with this dream property. Take a step back and wait for your budget and the timing and everything to fall into place because rushing in is definitely how people end up in bad situations here.

Tell me, tell me if this is true. Like, you know, there are a lot of properties here, and I guess maybe up in your area where you know it’s the beach, the condo areas or whatever, you know, you’re paying top dollar, and that might be true right here in like La Fortuna Central, maybe when you’re close to town, but it’s almost like it’s a seller’s market too. It’s almost like a combination here of a buyer’s market, a seller’s market. Does that even make any sense? There’s tons of property because, unfortunately, a lot of people around, at least in this area, got hit pretty hard but they own land, but they don’t have any cash.

Yeah, let me qualify everything I’m saying with, I think Costa Rica’s rural areas, or anywhere outside of the central valley, if you’re looking for undeveloped land and you don’t have to be right next to town, Costa Rica is going to be a buyer’s market for you for years and years and years, and nothing can change that dynamic because there are so many areas that transition from agriculture to other sources of income. Like all of that land is now for sale. And so, yeah, if you don’t need a paved road, if you’re okay being a little away from town on a just a funky farm, you should be able to, I’d say, take the same approach, move to that town, figure out what road you really like, sort of the, you know, you could even figure out where the nice airflow is, and sort of up on that hill might be a good location, and start pinging people and figuring out who the farmers are. And yeah, land is absolutely available.

You’re totally right. Yeah, there’s a lot of it here. A lot of people are like, “Oh, I know you have a real estate channel. My grandmother’s got some land. My uncle’s got some land. I got two lots over here where, you know, cheap, cheap, cheap.” But then again, you’ve got some places here that, you know, and around town or businesses that are quite pricey if you were to get into them. You know, it’s a different thing. So, you’re right, the land thing might be a little different, but, I think our areas are maybe just a little different too. You have a hundred percent. There’s a lot of tourism and pricey stuff on the beach and condos. You also have your hidden places, don’t you?

Of course, you just have to go further from Tamarindo to find this cheap land, then you have to go from La Fortuna, you know? Whereas you probably had two blocks out of town, and you’ve already found three farmlands. Now in Tamarindo, that farmer two blocks out of town, he’s gonna hit you up for millions of dollars.

Right.

You know you have to, in our area, you do have to avoid that coastal tourism corridor and really get so far away from the infrastructure. You know, like I would imagine, take a paved highway and 20 minutes on a dirt road in any direction from that pavement, as long as you’re not headed out towards the coasts and the beaches and tourism, you could find those options here in Tamarindo too.

Matt, one more question, you know, it’s starting to rain, and I’m afraid the microphone’s gonna pick up the rain in a second. How do you see the future of real estate here, whether it’s in your area or Costa Rica?

Well, first, I take a little bucket of water and use a dowsing technique. No, I’m just kidding. Really, it’s anyone’s guess. I don’t want to make predictions. I think that out of a hundred potential scenarios for where the market is in one year, I think most of the scenarios are that it’s just done well, and we’re still strong because even if Omicron brings another serious shift in travel or the economy, there’s still going to be a lot of latent momentum in the market. It would take something very, very crazy for things to change within one year, but, you know.

Yeah, nothing’s been crazy, Matt. There’s been nothing crazy going on in the last year and a half.

Yeah, exactly. So I feel very positive overall. I think that the most probable scenario is that in six months to a year, we’ll still be happy with the real estate we saw over this high season. You’ll still have a lack of inventory in the tourism hubs. That means prices are too high, and that won’t start to change until the next big shock that scares enough gringos. Because there’s that flight tendency that people have, where you know, we could get something that scares the world economy, whatever happens. All of a sudden, you see a ton of gringos who decide they need to be back in the United States because they’re worried about being here for whatever reason. That’s going to be, you know, to me, the next game changer.

All right, man. I want to spend some more time, more in-depth when we can actually hear, and I want to make sure that people can hear from you. It’s starting to rain. I just want to say real quick, guys, if you’re in the Tamarindo area, you’re thinking about real estate in the Tamarindo area, anywhere up there, Matt is the guy, man. He’s the honesty. He’s the transparency. He goes the extra mile, so I got no problems recommending him.

Enjoy your rain.

I have a real estate channel, and I still promote Matt.

Yeah, even though we’re deadly competition, fierce competition.

Hey, guys, I’m michael. Thank you. Thanks a lot, Matt. I’m michael alan, Travel Costa Rican Now.com, Real Estate. Peace, guys. Hope it helps.

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Costa Rica What’s Happening in the Real Estate Market 2022

What Was Said In the Video

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