The Guys are doing quite well, thank you very much.  We are currently made up of 4 official Guys, as well as a smattering of several honorary “Guys”.

Ben - Living the Life

My name is Ben Vaughn and I am no longer the oldest Guy, since Chan has made his business acumen available to the Guys on a consultant basis, and he is older than I am.  Rod & I are the originators of Guys In The Zone and we have now also been joined by Richard, a very welcome presence in the Guy’s office as he brings his enthusiasm, energy, and of course, solid business practices into the fold.

Our office is located in what is now known as the BM Supermercado (Supermarket) building. We are where the Rainforest Internet Café was located. If you go to the south end of Uvita, and look to the left (inland) side of the highway, you’ll see our blue spiral staircase in between two rather garish yellow background Farmacia signs.

We stand a good chance of moving to a ground floor location over next to the Marino Ballena restaurant. Stay tuned on this, but if we do, we’ll be just that much easier to find.

Richard - Guy In The Zone

We, like the other agencies in The Zone, are gearing up for what promises to be a rather busy “busy” season.  Our business barometers are the vacation rentals and hotels, who are all saying that their bookings are strong for the coming season.  We are setting up property viewing appointments and understand from our competitors that they are doing the same.

The general feeling is that we have endured the worst of the global economic downturn.  It is felt that our world has definitely changed here in Costa Rica, just as it has in

other parts of the globe, but that there is a newly defined and emerging system taking shape.

Basis for Optimism

At the very core of any successful market is the element of human

Rod - Happy Living

desire.  You can analyze a market every which way, but if the product or service lacks a strong appeal, it is likely going to do nothing more than flash (as a result of a marketing effort) and then burn out.

Properties in Costa Rica have always had, and continue to have, a strong desirability.  Couple this with a return to much more affordable prices, and you get what we feel we’ve now got, a genuine, non-boom real estate market place.

We aren’t looking for the white-hot action of the early to mid 2000’s.  We are looking for buyers and investors who peruse our online listings, e-mail us, come into our offices and shop what is available to initiate what for many, is the achievement of a life-long goal – moving to, and owning a property in, Costa Rica.

It is interesting that we seem to be returning to some of the demographics of years past.  We have been working with people that have 3 – 7 years as their projected timeframe for moving to Costa Rica.  It may be that retirement is on the horizon or kids will be getting out of school, or there might be an aged parent that needs care, and so on.  These folks come down now while the prices are low, and secure their property.

At the risk of repeating what I’ve written before: there are 5 basic reasons why people buy property in Costa Rica:

1. Relocation to be a full time resident
2. Migration lifestyle.  Live part of the year in Costa Rica and part elsewhere.
3. Income generating property. Use it as a vacation getaway that rents out when you’re not here.
4. Land bank.  Buy land at a good price, wait 5 years and sell it at a reasonable rate of return.
5. Build a community, retreat or family compound.

This last point (#5) has been enjoying a surge of activity as of late with what I like to refer to as the Escapists.  These ones generally are looking for larger parcels of land that can accommodate numerous structures.  These folks predict a crashed economy or currency back home.  Or an un-payable national deficit promising increasing tax hikes. Or simple uncertainty of what the future holds as society’s former standards and immortal icons topple and go by the wayside.  Going off-the-grid is frequently in the mix for #5. Oh, and the year 2012 prophesies helps a bit with this group as well.

What’s Selling

Our message to sellers is always the same.  If you want to sell, you have to lead the market in lowering your pricing.  There are basically 2 groups of sellers: those that know they have to lower their price in order to get listed with the real estate agencies, and those that REALLY have to lower their price in order to convert their land holdings here in Costa Rica into cash.  These are motivated by the need to protect something “back home”.  It is this second of the 2 groups who is mostly selling here now.

We are enjoying the re-appearance of under $100,000 ocean view single family lots.  These were gone for a number of years as the ocean view category’s bottom pushed up to somewhere around $150,000. Good quality houses in the $300,000 to $400,000 range are selling briskly.

There are some gorgeous luxury homes on the market but activity is soft in this category.  One could say it is a great time to buy a luxury home in Costa Rica’s southern pacific zone.

This is an interesting category since there are definitely capable buyers around, but the availability of credit is low. If a buyer is liquid to the tune of $1,000,000 or more, they may be reluctant to spend it in a single acquisition.  Consequently, we feel that seller financing is going to play a larger role in the coming season than ever before.

The Guys are enjoying life, and are here to serve.  Please let us know if we can help you achieve your goal of making Costa Rica your home.

In Northern California’s Bay Area, million dollar homes are very common.  They typically combine elements like— a desirable location, a large floorplan, upscale finishes, and/or estate-sized acreage.  My first position in real estate was in a beach area near Santa Cruz, and the power agent I worked for had no less than five million dollar listings when I joined her.  I just checked that broker’s website, and they currently have 307 houses listed between $1 million to $10 million.  Conversely, the Southern Pacific Zone of Costa Rica has a young real estate market and million dollar houses are less common.

Luxury Estate in Escaleras, Costa Rica.

As recent as 2006, this area was considered the new frontier in Costa Rica.  Access was difficult and more exhaustive than it is now.  Developments were few and far between.  Then, the real estate boom hit.  This boom affected all aspects of real estate—raw land, developing, construction, rentals and associated services.  All of the key elements for million dollar homes—desirable location, sweeping ocean views, large building sites, and affordable construction—were easily realized for a relatively affordable price.

Let’s start with the land… Continue Reading

Is the price commiserate with the worth?

“I need to sell my property.  What should I price it at?” is the common question heard in our real estate office in Uvita, Costa Rica.

“Whatever someone is willing to pay” is the universal response that drives the free market evaluation system the world over. However, is a price that is determined by this method a clear indicator of a property’s worth in Costa Rica?

The obvious answer is “of course”. However, in this uncertain world we live in, even this un-arguable standard of evaluation is sometimes brought into question and results in what can be described as quirky or illogical scenarios. Continue Reading

Have we hit bottom?

In the movie “Back to the Future” we saw an example of how beneficial it would be if we could tell the future. The character Biff Tannen gets his hands on printed results from some race track and other sporting events, before they happened, and went on to achieve phenomenal wealth.

In real world economics, the trick seems to be the ability to identify trends and accurately guess what is going to happen prior to it happening.  Here in Costa Rica, the real estate market is no different.  Discussion and speculation about the future run rampant.  Hints & clues are analyzed in a constant effort to make wise buying (and selling) decisions.

It caught my attention this morning when I received the following in an e-mail from an agent in one of the local real estate agencies. He was writing to update us on a client of ours that we had asked him to help with. Without trying, our associate provides a clue as to what the current state of the market is, and perhaps, where it is going.

*Hello [Guys],

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to assist you with the property interests of the Schmegerworgs (names changed to protect the innocent).

I feel it is of the utmost importance to give your potential buyers the Tico Times of today, Friday, Sept. 10 newspaper that explains in detail the past and current real estate market place that will back up exactly what I mentioned to them about the market picking up right now and that 2009 was a slower year (click here to read the article online). I feel it is important that the wife understands if we show them a property at a price point that makes sense and feels good in their heart, they need to move forward with a purchase as good deals are selling and we cannot always replace a fire sale or “perfect property” that one lets go by.

I truly feel our BOTTOM market has passed us and current activity with all us of can only prove that.

Whether we sell them something together or if you sell direct, that is all fine with me as I feel there is much business for all of us survivors right now.

Please take care and have a great weekend.

(Its noteworthy that this e-mail is from a “competitor”.  One of the really promising aspects of the real estate industry here in Costa Rica’s southern zone is the amount of cooperation between all the agencies.)

The ability to identify “bottom” is the hallmark of a successful investor.  It is extremely difficult to do, which explains why so many of us speak in terms of “would’a, should’a ,could’a” when talking about our investment history.

So how can we identify the bottom in the market now?

Indicators:

One of the more prominent factors are that there are less Fire Sale properties on the market now than there were before.  All the reports that we are getting from the other real estate agencies in the area are that they are busy.  This is not just under $100,000 ocean view lots.  It seems that the $300,000 home is a hot item now that won’t last long on the market.  There are also a number of larger, more removed parcels, selling.   Some of these have topped the $1,000,000 (USD) mark.  There is a growing interest in “off the grid” and “community-style” living.

We had one of our favorite developers approach us some months ago and indicate that the recession was finally affecting him, and that he really needed to sell some property.  Long story short, since that time he has sold a house and two lots, making him well.

All of the above activity was stimulated by the market ebb & flow.  The market was and is down.  The inherent quality of the properties that are available in Costa Rica’s southern pacific zone is compelling.  The low prices on these properties has caused enough action here to cause us to wonder what all this talk is about a recession – (well, not really, but almost :0)  Savvy buyers are here snapping up the deals.

No one knows what the future holds.  Things are changing on the global scale, some of which is unprecedented, causing insecurity.  We really have no idea what to expect in the future.  There is the unmanageable deficit in the U. S. There is China.  There is talk about the “double dip” recession.  There is global warming and other environmental concerns.

So have we seen the bottom?

Hard to say.  However, if you were a fly on the wall of the Guys In The Zone office (or any other real estate office in the zone), you’d hear conversations that would make it seem so.  We’ve had a number of folks come through during the down time that have found what they were looking for, but then felt that they had time to decide, to “think about it”. Or perhaps they think that prices will even come down a bit more.  Our feeling is that the time to buy has been here now for some time, and may well be passing.

What we do know is that we haven’t seen prices this low and on such a great selection for some years.  So, whether “bottom” is behind us, or lies yet ahead, we’re pretty confident that now is a decent time to buy a piece of property in Costa Rica.

Shameless Plug: Click here for all Guys In The Zone real estate listings

* Keith Schenkel of Costa Rica Real Estate Services

Talk Show – Episode 7

Talk Show – Episode 7

Pura vida, compadres! With a focus on Costa Rica real estate, Episode 7 features our impressions on topics like–

The Rainy Season
Property Prices
Seller Financing
The NEW Forum

Thanks for watching and following us on Dailymotion, Facebook, Twitter, and our websites– www.GuysInTheZone.com, www.hotcostaricarealestate.com, www.Dominical.biz, and www.Uvita.biz.

Disclaimer: the following is not necessarily what some sellers of Costa Rica real estate want to hear.

It was sometime in 2008 when the world changed.  Our globalized economy demonstrated, for the first time, the extent to which we (all us humans) are interconnected.  When one falls, we all lose our balance.

Some of the bigger economic minds in the US got going with an illusionary slight of hand called “derivatives” and in so doing, yanked the rug out from under the U.S.’s, and then the world’s economies.

Costa Rica land sales stopped.  Here in the southern pacific zone many of the agencies have closed up shop, and the surviving agencies went 9 months with no business.

Why “no” business instead of “low” business?

2 reasons:

1. High prices
2. No credit

The fall of the world economies was rather sudden.  The prices on our real estate here in The Zone were high.  All of a sudden our prospective buyers were standing flat footed with not much money, no real way to get money, and even if they could get money, land was expensive.

The above 2 reasons that explain our 9 month freeze on the real estate business here in The Zone have both seen some activity and change.   Prices have come down by 30% – 50% across the board, and this has stimulated the market. If this isn’t obvious to you, dear reader, it may be that you have been cruising websites and listings by sellers that don’t want to lower their price, but instead wish to wait for the market to come back up.  (or you may have seen one of the numerous and un-maintained sites from now defunct Costa Rica real estate agencies)

About the “Hold Out” or  “Old World” Sellers:

Their listings in the various real estate agency’s web site databases likely pre-date the fall of the world markets.  Sellers who insist on pre-fall pricing are finding it harder and harder to find an agency to list their property.  (One of my peers at a competing agency told me recently that they had rejected 9 listings in 3 days.) Continue Reading

Costa Rica Real Estate Listings

I just received an e-mail from a reader that shamed me into sitting right down and writing.

I have read your face book page and articles on the tax issue there.

I had been planning to take a trip in March in the hopes to travel to Domincal and Uvita nd look at some land that over looks (has view of) the playa. But with all this discussion of election and no tourism and the tricky tax factor it sort of puts a damper on it.  Was this a major blow to the real estate and tourism market, and did it blow you out?

I’m sorry but I’m not aware of the negative effect that the election could have on a land purchase in Costa Rica so I’m not able to address that.

As for tourism – well now that’s an interesting topic.

Tourism has been as hot here over this last holiday season as I have ever seen.  With the new road from Dominical to Quepos, I think that we’re really in for it here.  I understand that the status of tourism is currently anybody’s guess.  Around here it feels like we are in a growth mode. Granted, I haven’t read a lot of media recently and I don’t have a TV, so as a news source I’m limited to what I see and feel.

Over the holidays Uvita was caught by surprise.  The grocery shelves were bare and we spoke with people everyday looking for a place to stay.  I think that everyone found a bed and it felt like one big party around here. I think that it is notable that the beer supply seemed to hold despite what appeared to be a gargantuan demand.

Although the crowds have left, the festive feel continues with a good strong tourist presence.  So, without reading an article to the contrary, I’d say that tourism is alive and well in Uvita and Dominical Costa Rica, and that the prospects for the future are bright, especially with the two new segments of road making the drive from San Jose to Dominical a 2 hour and 40 minute affair now, instead of the former 4+ hours and some of that on teeth loosening dirt roads.

I have not seen an article written from your blog or website in February on your website so I want to know if you are still in business down there?

Well, I thank you for getting me off of my butt to get this article posted.  I sure don’t want to give the impression that we’re out of business.  Our lack of posting is a testament to our being busy.  Rod and I have been doing quite a bit of real estate business.  We’ve done some deals, and more are coming our way.  All of the agencies are reporting the same, some with best ever numbers – (I heard this last part through a third party, but I hope to confirm it shortly.) Continue Reading

Rod & I have decided to write a few words about the year just past. We did so without consulting each other or giving any clues regarding what we’ve written.

First off is Rod

If you subscribe to the idea that life is a series of ups and downs, then last year was a harsh reminder of how challenging the “downs” can be.

• “Unemployment soars to highest level in 16 years.” – New York Times
• “U.S. Foreclosures to Reach Record 3.9 Million in 2009.” – Bloomberg.com
• “New car sales a ‘disaster,’ says Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Chrysler/Fiat.” – NY Daily News

While people were losing their jobs and houses in record numbers, they still had the time and interest to search for Britney Spears and WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment, which is fake wrestling, right?) making them the top two search terms on Yahoo! for 2009.

Although I have no idea what Britney was up to in 2009, I do know that most of us here in Costa Rica felt the impact of this economic downturn.  After a decent start to sales in January and February, most real estate companies saw offers dry up during the following 8 months.

Like many people around the world, the Guys In The Zone shifted gears to “beans & rice mode” (luckily, we both like beans and rice). We tightened up the expenditures and found new streams of income. [Ben deserves some kudos here for his quick mastery of the hard money lending business.  He, (leveraging his experience, contacts, and bilingual-ness) saved more than a few local families from economic disaster.  This lending experience taught us that putting good food on the table is important, but to literally save someone’s table (and house it sits in) from foreclosure is a genuinely rewarding experience.] While we didn’t sell any property during the middle of the year, we did put a lot of time and energy into new listings, our websites, and the Talk Show feature which we will continue to work on in 2010.  Ben also started writing articles for Montana al Mar, a new weekly magazine focused on health, sustainability, and community.

The old adage “When you love what you do, the money will follow” proved true in 2009.  The end of the year found activity picking up noticeably.  Three excellent deals Continue Reading

We’ve had a week full of working with buyer-type clients, but they definitely fit into what the “Man Says There’s No Market here” article says below.  I’ll call them the Schmuggerdoos.  They are intent on buying some land, they came here to buy land, they found land that will suit their needs and budget, but that extra spark of “I think I’ll buy this property now” is lacking. They are going back home so that they can return in a few months, maybe, and buy something then. It’s been a great week though.  Rod & I enjoyed getting to know the Schmuggerdoos quite a bit and hope they realize their dream of moving to Costa Rica.  We also are enjoying the ever expanding cooperation between the real estate agencies here.  It is proving to be a real value-add for both buyers & sellers, and it’s improving the quality of life among us real estate professionals. Prior to the Schmuggerdoo’s arrival I had sent their criteria to the other agencies in the area, who responded by sending links to listings on their websites that fit the criteria.  Here is their criteria: Continue Reading

The effect of the statement on me has been: enlightenment.  Interesting, how a single expression out of an entire conversation can have such an effect.  The rest of the conversation simply served to establish the credibility of the man, and that two people, coming from two very different points of view, can arrive at the same answer to the questions:

1. What’s going on in Costa Rica real estate?
2. Where are we headed?

“The man”, (for the purpose of this article I’ll call him Mr. Steenburf ) has a property listed with me – quite a nice one actually.

Mr. Steenburf appeared during last weeks Farmer’s Market in Uvita. He migrates between the US and Costa Rica.  So when we bumped into each other at a booth selling car safety kits, we started to converse.

Steenburf: “How are things going”? This is perhaps the number one question on all peoples mind when they first start talking with one of us real estate people.

“How are things going”?

Vaughn: “Slow.  We’re not dead, but we’re slow”.

Steenburf: “There is no real estate market” he said.  ZING! He’s talking about my market, and he’s saying that there’s no market. Continue Reading