Industry Analysts Reveal Results Of Costa Rica Real Estate Report For 2013 | South Salem Real Estate
In an unpublished inside report this week, a leading real estate firm in Costa
Rica has revealed statistical data for the 2013 real estate season boasting
positive projections leading in to 2014.
Costa Rica Real Estate dot COM (CRREC) has established themselves as the authority in providing reliable market analysis within the real estate sector of this Latin American nation of just over 4.7 million. Once labeled the hottest real estate market on the planet by MSNBC - the fact is, there remains plenty of opportunity throughout the full spectrum of this thriving sector.
Fast emerging sub-markets are the beach locations. Areas around Costa Rica's northern province of Guanacaste and down south along what is often referred to as the Southern Zone, are both witnessing influxes of foreign investment. The Dominical real estate market is a developing area of the country where the lush landscape cascades to the coast and makes for some spectacular vistas across the blue waters of the Pacific Ocean. For the most part this area has remained under-developed in comparison to the popular beach communities of Guanacaste - more specifically, Playa Flamingo and Tamarindo.
Investor interest is growing considering that in the US there are over 10,000 baby boomers turning 65 each day. Surprisingly however, most foreign buyers in Costa Rica are not American. Data shows a steep interest coming from Italy, Belgium and France while a rising number of North American buyers are originating from Canada.
"We find that with the strong Canadian dollar, more Canadians are looking outside their homeland for investment with the promise of affordable living in paradise and a great escape from winter's gripe. My experience suggests that the American investor remains hesitant to pull the trigger abroad until the national economy stabilizes over there." said Brett Elliott, CEO of Costa Rica Real Estate (CRREC).
Furthermore he would add, "this is not to say Americans aren't investing, it simply means we are seeing a rising number of Canadians coming down than we have in the past and this is reflected in our report which revealed a rise in interest from countries other than the USA. The bottom line remains that of the total real estate transactions in 2013, the majority volume still comes from the United States."
With the data for foreign investment coming from areas outside the United States, 2013 showed an increase by about 13% for European investors over this time last year. This confirms projections that suggest 2014 will continue along this same path.
There are many attractive elements to buying real estate in Costa Rica, some include climate, ease of immigration, cost of living, quality of life and healthcare. However the top advantage to those considering investing here are the transactional costs behind purchasing real estate. Closing costs are fairly low, amounting to about 3.59% of the purchase price and includes legal fees of 1.59%, a 0.5 percent municipal stamp duty, and a transfer tax of 1.5%. These numbers remain very modest in comparisons to purchasing property in other Latin American countries. Fees can be lowered by also purchasing within a corporation which is granted certain tax benefits for buyers when it comes time to transfer the real estate. A current trend is for buyers to inherit the holding company of the real estate and avoiding the 1.5% transfer tax. Agent commissions are typically the responsibility of the seller, and vary depending on the region.
http://online.wsj.com/article/HUG1745167.html?dsk=y
Costa Rica Real Estate dot COM (CRREC) has established themselves as the authority in providing reliable market analysis within the real estate sector of this Latin American nation of just over 4.7 million. Once labeled the hottest real estate market on the planet by MSNBC - the fact is, there remains plenty of opportunity throughout the full spectrum of this thriving sector.
Fast emerging sub-markets are the beach locations. Areas around Costa Rica's northern province of Guanacaste and down south along what is often referred to as the Southern Zone, are both witnessing influxes of foreign investment. The Dominical real estate market is a developing area of the country where the lush landscape cascades to the coast and makes for some spectacular vistas across the blue waters of the Pacific Ocean. For the most part this area has remained under-developed in comparison to the popular beach communities of Guanacaste - more specifically, Playa Flamingo and Tamarindo.
Investor interest is growing considering that in the US there are over 10,000 baby boomers turning 65 each day. Surprisingly however, most foreign buyers in Costa Rica are not American. Data shows a steep interest coming from Italy, Belgium and France while a rising number of North American buyers are originating from Canada.
"We find that with the strong Canadian dollar, more Canadians are looking outside their homeland for investment with the promise of affordable living in paradise and a great escape from winter's gripe. My experience suggests that the American investor remains hesitant to pull the trigger abroad until the national economy stabilizes over there." said Brett Elliott, CEO of Costa Rica Real Estate (CRREC).
Furthermore he would add, "this is not to say Americans aren't investing, it simply means we are seeing a rising number of Canadians coming down than we have in the past and this is reflected in our report which revealed a rise in interest from countries other than the USA. The bottom line remains that of the total real estate transactions in 2013, the majority volume still comes from the United States."
With the data for foreign investment coming from areas outside the United States, 2013 showed an increase by about 13% for European investors over this time last year. This confirms projections that suggest 2014 will continue along this same path.
There are many attractive elements to buying real estate in Costa Rica, some include climate, ease of immigration, cost of living, quality of life and healthcare. However the top advantage to those considering investing here are the transactional costs behind purchasing real estate. Closing costs are fairly low, amounting to about 3.59% of the purchase price and includes legal fees of 1.59%, a 0.5 percent municipal stamp duty, and a transfer tax of 1.5%. These numbers remain very modest in comparisons to purchasing property in other Latin American countries. Fees can be lowered by also purchasing within a corporation which is granted certain tax benefits for buyers when it comes time to transfer the real estate. A current trend is for buyers to inherit the holding company of the real estate and avoiding the 1.5% transfer tax. Agent commissions are typically the responsibility of the seller, and vary depending on the region.
http://online.wsj.com/article/HUG1745167.html?dsk=y
Comments