News in The Zone

Cash Is King

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The inspiration for this post came from a recent article fed from LinkedIn. The title was “38% of Homes Purchased in 2011 Bought with Cash.” I thought to myself, 38%?! That number seemed high, so I did I little more research. According to another article in USA Today, that number was as low as 12% … Read more

All About Golf In The Zone

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Instead of going belly-up and hurting all those who put their belief in the words of dealers (such as yours truly), and who bought untitled land there, the GITZL shareholders got together and prioritized… (now prepare yourself. We are talking here about behind the scenes corporate maneuverings, in an effort to make vast sums of money) – the wellbeing of those who had bought land in the project. The shareholders, at personal expense, allowed the project to go to the primary shareholder without a struggle. This primary shareholder, of his own volition, felt that it was important to protect the land owners there, that their ownership would be recognized and guaranteed.

I know, you’re thinking that you have stumbled upon a science fiction account of life on another planet. But you haven’t, and this is not. What you are reading is a firsthand account of my observations over the past 4 or so years. I am also one of those shareholders who lost in excess of $100k in the process (but who knows? The fat lady has not yet sung.)

Is The International Airport A Reality?

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A week ago, I was reading the Tico Times and the headline “Liberia Airport Renovation Nearly Finished” jumped out at me. It’s only been nine years since that airport opened, and now it’s getting $41 million dollars worth of renovations?? I had to figure out why, if only because it might offer a flash forward … Read more

Talk Show, Episode 13

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This is our mid-year review of real estate in the Southern Pacific Zone of Costa Rica. With tourism numbers up 11% in Central America, Ben and Rod discuss how this trend points to a brighter future for The Zone. Costa Rica Real Estate – Talk Show 13 by GuysInTheZone

Uvita Office Rent & Man/Woman Issues

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So, the Guys have moved, once again.  We are now located in the commercial center across from

La Corona and Banco de Costa Rica. We’re right next to Sonia’s Uvita Information Center. If you are checking out at La Corona, and you look to your right across the street, you’ll see this image –>

So, why’d we move? Well I’ll tell you, and in the process you’ll not only get an idea of what rents are going for in Uvita Costa Rica, you’ll gain some insight into the basic differences between men & women, so read on!

Uvita Costa Rica real estate - new office
Guys In The Zone New Real Estate Office in Uvita Costa Rica

We moved from the second floor spot we had because we found that prospective clients simply didn’t want to go upstairs.

The capper was when I noticed that my gal Natalie would come to the parking area and call me on my cell phone.  I asked her why she did this.  Why didn’t she just come on in and talk vis a vis?  She said because she had a sun dress on and so

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Mental Meanderings in The Zone

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Property Values In The New World

It would seem that life has settled into a routine now in our “new world” setting here in Uvita Costa Rica.  What’s it been, 2 years since the global economy went into the stink house?  My how time flies.  Our real estate company is cooking right along actually doing some business.  The business that happened so rarely during the recession was mostly for under $100k  lot sales and $300k was the upper edge of house sales.  The prices in our market have dropped 40% – 50% across the board.  And there are still some highly motivated  sellers out there.  I’ve started a list of these sellers.  Originally I was going to call it the “Desperate Sellers” list, but I have re-thunk it and come up with the “Motivated Sellers” list.  Right now I’ve got 5 properties on the list.  The top deal there at this writing is the 57 acres farm in Uvita for $250,000. (Updated: property sold or unavailable.)

The point is that the market has definitely re-defined itself and numerous sellers are adapting.  We went through a time here in The Zone when it was pure death, nothing sold and there was no one looking.  Some real estate offices closed down and others (like GITZ) tightened their belts and survived.  Now we are watching and learning what the new world looks like.  Here’s some of what we’re finding out.

Money is tight (duh!).  But, there are buyers here, and they aren’t just the $100k lot or $300k house buyer variety.  There is a recent sale of a Lagunas house for $750k and an Ojochal house at $850k, so we seem to be breaking out of the old restraints.  This isn’t to say that things are hopping again here in the zone, but they are a sight better than they’ve been for a couple of years.  The Guys In The Zone are enjoying doing some business, but again, it’s all been for steeply reduced pricing.  We had a client come down looking for a $100k ocean view property, of which we have some to show, but these clients morphed their criteria while here, and were enamored with some very fine properties at great prices.  End of the story? 2 lots at just a little over $500k.  If you’d like to see what the properties were, click here for one, and here for the other. (Links no longer available).

Conversations about current values abound.  Methods for establishing the values

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