Costa Rica is a popular country to buy real estate it is easy to see the reason for this is as it is a country that has so much to offer. Year round good weather and is one of the most travelled to vacation destinations for North Americans and Canadians and evermore popular with Europeans.
Costa Rica is a small country roughly half the size of the American state of West Virginia yet within this area of 19730 square miles Costa Rica has some of the most the diverse and dramatic topography one can find with ideal locations to buy real estate. There is a climate for everyone that varies from the cool mountains ranges, mild central valleys to the tropical climates on both the Caribbean and Pacific coastlines with numerous unspoilt beaches.
There are several areas for investment in real estate. Residential, tourism and commercial.
Over the recent years foreigners from many countries have chosen to relocate and buy real estate for varying reasons, which has been made significantly easier with major new advances in communication allowing many professionals to work with international interests from the tranquil shores of Costa Rica and be able to easily keep in touch with family, retirees have also been buying real estate and choosing Costa Rica as either their part time or full time residence.
The impressive biodiversity, exotic beauty, tranquillity, friendly locals, abundance of places to visit and the plethora of activities and tours to enjoy attract tourists. This industry has resulted in adding a significantly large percentage to the Costa Rica economy. Many people have bought real estate to generate income from vacation rentals, small cabin tourist rentals projects, Spa and yoga retreats and all types of guesthouses and hotels.
International companies are aware that during the last two decades Costa Rica has widened economic ties both within it’s region and looking outward. There has been the recently signed CAFTA (Central America Free Trade Agreement), which includes the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Central America countries. The some of the favourable conditions of Costa Rica are the well-educated, bi-lingual and stable work force and the location, which is convenient for working with their Central and South American partners and gains access to one of the fastest growing global markets, South America.
Main ingredients an investor wants in real estate are, safe, secure and stable environment where the property is located. Costa Rica has political stability, good social heath care and no army.
Now is an opportune time to take advantage of a well-known investment adage and philosophy, “Buy Cheap, Sell High”. Costa Rica real estate prices are now at a level that is a favourable time to enter the market. Terms such as of motivated seller, priced to move, hot deal are being used. Presently Costa Rican real estate is a buyers market and some potentially lucrative buys are due to some seller’s economically compromised positions.
Where to put ones money is a difficult choice in these recent times of economic turbulence, which has been mainly focused in North America and Europe. Savvy investors are diversifying their portfolios and some are choosing more obvious tangible areas such as gold another is real estate. They are not only buying real estate in their home countries but abroad and Costa Rica offers a good hedge to diversify an investor portfolio in real estate.
Not to be overlooked is the Costa Rica taxation system, which is very attractive. There are no capital gains unless it is a recurring (habitual) transaction and the first $2,698 earned from a rental is exempt; the remaining income is taxed incrementally at 10% to 25%.
With all this said Costa Rica is still in its infancy in terms of development and economic growth and with the stage set with many important factors in place Costa Rica real estate offers a huge potential for return on your investment.