As I wrote in my previous article “The Current Market”, the normal means that are commonly used by the world’s investors for determining if an investment is any good were misleading in the case of buying land here in Costa Rica. One would have needed to throw off the shackles of conservativism and forge ahead in what any conventional commerce maven would have deemed foolhardy behavior. But such is life. The “foolhardy” ones scored the big bonus, and the conventional ones find themselves here wondering how to capitalize on what has been, and continues to be, a strong investment opportunity.
So then the question: how does one go about it now, now that the sub dividable parcels are gone?
There has been a tremendous surge in land acquisitions down south of Ojochal. (For some reason, this word “Ojochal” is hard for North Americans to say correctly. It is frequently pronounced “Ocochal”, and who knows why. There is no “c” there where people say it. “J” in Spanish is “H” to our English way of looking at things. So it is pronounced “oho-chall“, with the emphasis on the “chall”).
When all those well heeled investors arrived to jump onto the land-grab ship, and they realized that there were no more investment properties in the Dominical area, they collectively did something sort of unique. They stood on the coast looking out at the Pacific wondering how they could have missed something so lucrative. As the waves continued to roll into the shore, and the pelicans flew overhead they got to thinking about how stuff just keeps moving on and forward motion is what keeps the guy on the bike from falling over. So what else does a guy do now but look to the right, up the coast to the north, up towards Manuel Antonio? This would make
good sense as far as progress goes, since after all, Manuel Antonio is THE most visited tourist area of Costa Rica, bar none. There is the little problem of that infernally bumpy road though. This kicked all but the most ardent investors off of that idea. So what about that forward motion? Well, the obvious next thing was to look to the left, towards the south and the Osa Peninsula, with that natural marvel Corcovado. What the heck, lets ask around a bit about that direction. Whats down there?
From Dominical, you drive down past Uvita, and get to Ojochal. Word is that the area had been initially settled by French Canadians, which is readily apparent when one visits the few shops and restaurants around. Go into the Internet café in Ojochal, and you are bound to hear any number of different languages being spoken. Apparently Europeans have also been drawn to that area. Ojochal is lacking in infrastructure. They are just now getting their land lines in for phone, and cell phone coverage isn’t the greatest. But the land there is beautiful, and the infrastructure is being worked on as I type.
Moving on down the coast, we get down to areas that are known as San Buenas, Tres Rios, Balsar. The towns are: Cortes, Coronado, Palmar Sur and Palmar Norte. These areas and towns are the current frontier. There are still a few large parcels available, and there has been a considerable amount of activity there. The current wave of investors, many of whom have impressive financial backing, have purchased and are developing these large tracts of land. So, there is a great selection of ocean view lots there.
Downside
The beauty of the Dominical to Uvita zone is the proximity of the ocean to your cool mountain, ocean view lot. A property in this zone can put you at 300 – 1,200 feet elevation, and still have you minutes from the beach. 
In the south-of-Uvita zone, the mountains move back away from the ocean. This results in a number of factors that affect the value of the lots.
1. The ocean views are further away.
2. The air is warmer since it passes over some flat lands prior to getting to the lot.
3. The distance to a swim-able or surf-able beach is longer.
4. Some say that they feel “out in the boonies” there.
5. Some of the accesses to the properties are a lengthy drive on dirt roads.
Upside:
The big winners in the Dominical to Uvita area bought when it didn’t really make sense to buy. We can easily envision a repeat of this in the south-of-Uvita zone. It is possible to visit this area and feel like it’s a bit removed from everything. But it is exactly this point that makes it so promising.
The 2 most basic reasons that foreigners move to Costa Rica are to invest, and/or to re-locate. Both of these motivating factors can be achieved by buying land in this zone of Costa Rica. The infrastructure for the area is arriving at an astounding pace… well astounding by Latin American standards. When the government agencies are slow to build or improve, the investors have been known to take matters into their own hands and do it themselves. The roads accessing the various developments are among the best around, so one can drive back from the coastal highway to their property in relatively smooth conditions, (although it should be mentioned that 4 wheel drive is a must, if not to get home, but to live in the area and get around).
Reasons to consider the south-of-Uvita zone:
1. Great selection. You can shop any number of beautiful, large, ocean view lots and likely find one with the features you’re looking for.
2. Prices are low relative to the other more developed areas of Costa Rica.
3. The developers are doing high quality developments and providing the infrastructure (water, electric, roads, Home Owners Association, etc…)
4. The views, although not being close to the beach, are breathtaking. A typical view in this area can see out to the Pacific and take in the Osa Peninsula, the Terraba river, year round sunsets, misty mountain and valley views.
5. Large lots are available if one wants to ensure privacy in the coming years.
6. It is early so the upside for property appreciation is high.
7. There is an International Airport planned for Palmar Sur. History indicates that this will have a rather marked affect on land values in the area.
8. There is a modern hospital in construction in the heart of this zone. This indicates that the government sees tremendous growth for the area.
9. When the road linking Quepos and Dominical is paved, the southern zone will likely open up to much more tourism. (Aside from the coming airport and road improvement, I wrote about “The Third Thing” which will have a strong upward push on land values. You can read up on this by clicking here.)
I think that you get the point. I could go on. It takes a bit of an adventurous investor to buy into a remote section of Latin America. But there are lots of people doing it, and succeeding at it. Costa Rica, by comparison to Panama and Nicaragua is probably the safest bet, if for no other reason, for sheer desirability.
We hear it here repeatedly. After having gone up north to the Guanacaste area, where there are large hotels and golf courses, and having arrived here in Costa Rica’s southern zone, the visitor feels that they have finally “found Costa Rica” or, found what all the fuss was about.
The area south of Uvita offers a great opportunity for anyone looking to invest, or relocate to Costa Rica.
If you are interested in investing in Costa Rica’s southern zone, you are likely looking for signs that indicate what the headroom on your investment will, or can be. You might want to read this article which talks about 3 factors that point towards plenty of upward movement ahead.