According to a mid-year report by commercial real estate firm NAI Costa Rica, Costa Rica’s real estate markets for housing, offices, retail space and land have all shown signs of improvement through the first half of 2010. The business director of NAI Costa Rica, Carlos Robles, said this recovery is due in large part to the national banks reopening credit lines that were closed in 2009. By unlocking credit, new developments were able to get the necessary financing and stalled developments were completed.
However Robles notes that on average, the prices are still too high and need to be lowered in order to meet the expectations of national and international buyers. “There is a lack of buyers looking for a second home, particularly in the U.S. market, which is one of Costa Rica’s largest markets,” Robles said. “Their wallets are much thinner than they were a few years ago. To entice new buyers, prices need to be adjusted to more affordable levels.” The good news is that at the end of last year and the beginning of this year we started seeing a slow recovery that is expected to continue in the remaining months of this year. Most of the markets are starting to look more and more positive.
