Real Estate Costa Rica

Costa Rica's Government Wins As Country Votes Yes To CAFTA

2007-12-17T11:24:00.000-06:00

Costa Rica's Government Wins As Country Votes Yes To CAFTA
By Leland Baxter-Neal. Courtesy of The Beach Times

Costa Ricans have voted by a slim margin to approve the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA), handing President Oscar Arias a key victory.

Preliminary results, with 97.9 per cent of the vote counted, showed 51.6 per cent of voters approving of the pact, and 48.3 per cent rejecting it. An automatic manual recount of the votes is now underway and is expected to conclude in the coming week.

From the capital city to mountain coffee towns to coastal villages, Costa Ricans of all ages and walks of life became the first voters in the world to decide the fate of a free-trade agreement, in what was also Costa Rica’s first national referendum.

Nearly 60 per cent of registered voters turned out for the election, flying Yes and No flags from their cars or on their t-shirts, easily surpassing the 40 per cent needed to make the results binding.

The tight outcome mirrored the even-tighter presidential election last year — when pro-CAFTA Arias squeaked by anti-CAFTA candidate Ottón Solís 40.9 to 39.8 percent — and belied a country split nearly down the middle.

The night of the election, as initial results began streaming in, the “Yes” camp claimed victory and President Arias, speaking to a celebratory gathering of supporters at Casa Presidencial, called for national unity.

“The borders that divide us disappear. We are no longer those from Yes and those from No. As of today, we are one Costa Rica, one people that want, need and deserve to reach development,” the President said.

Though narrow, the victory is seen by many as a crucial victory and second mandate for the President, whose policies had become so inextricable from CAFTA that Mr Arias said shortly before the vote he had no “plan B” for if the treaty was rejected.

“With this, the government almost renews and re-legitimizes its mandate, of course with only a modest margin, but more uncontestable than the (presidential) election,” said Eduardo Ulibarri, director of the Insituto de Prensa y Libertad de Expresión (IPLEX), and former editor of the daily newspaper La Nación. “It is a ratification of the administration and also the political and economic orientation they have given their government.”

Regional voting in the referendum, however, was markedly different than the Presidential election. Then, Arias lost in the more affluent, Central Valley provinces, but took outlying areas such as Puntarenas and Guanacaste. In Sunday’s vote, Puntarenas and Guanacaste joined Alajuela as the only provinces to reject CAFTA.

“There is a sector of the population that is marginalized from the development that is so visible — the big hotels, the condominiums, the Liberia airport. There, it is a matter of contrast,” Mr Ulibarri said.

For those in the export industry — which had campaigned heavily in favor of the agreement, and where some businesses said they would be forced to leave the country should the treaty not pass — Sunday’s vote came as a relief.

“We couldn’t be happier,” said Tomás Gilmore, president of Sardimar, Central America’s biggest canned tuna exporter, and the third largest exporter in the central Pacific, where it is based out of the port city of Puntarenas. Had CAFTA not passed, tuna exports to the United States would have gone from a three per cent tariff to a 34 per cent tariff in one year, he said, and the company would have moved some operations to another Central American country.

“Now that the Yes vote came through, we are investing a further $6 million in plant expansion (in Costa Rica), which will double capacity by the middle next year,” Mr Gilmore said. The expansion will include more jobs, though the Mr Gilmore said it was not yet clear how many.

President Announces Five-Point Tourism Plan

2007-03-08T15:44:00.000-06:00

Govt Wants 4% Growth, $66m More Each Year

By Zoraida Diaz. Courtesy of The Beach Times

The Costa Rican government this week laid out an ambitious five-point action plan for the country’s tourism industry, calling for continued annual growth of four per cent, or about 70,000 extra visitors a year.

President Oscar Arias said he also wanted to see the number of hotel rooms in the country grow by 12 per cent, or about 3700 new rooms each year to accommodate the new business.

Under the plan Costa Rica’s tourism industry, already worth about $1.663 billion a year, would increase by more than $66 million a year for, for the next four years.

“Tourism has been key to our growth, but has also been key in the redistribution of that growth,” President Arias told developers, real estate companies, bankers and tourism industry leaders in San José this week.

“Tourism generates 100,000 direct jobs and close to 400,000 indirect ones,” he said. “Well paid jobs, stable, and distributed in areas traditionally marginalized from the economic benefits of the nation.

The president’s comments came in an opening address to the Costa Rican Tourism Investment Summit, the annual two-day event which this year brought together about 400 people for workshops, speeches, exhibits and networking.

The government’s plan calls for a four per cent annual increase in the number of tourists entering the country, a four per cent increase in the number of cruise ship visits, a 12 per cent increase in hotel room numbers and a 40 per cent increase in the number of companies awarded the so-called Sustainable Tourism Certification.

The plan also seeks more money to be spent on marketing Costa Rica as an international tourism destination.

“We are growing in the promotion and marketing of the brand,” the Minister of Tourism, Carlos Ricardo Benavides, told the summit. “We are looking to grow in quantitative terms and will invest twice as much in marketing,” he said.

MIXED COMPONENT
Much of that money is likely to be spent in Europe rather than the traditional US market, from where more than half, or about 895,000 visitors to the country emanated. By contrast, in 2005, about 233,000 tourists came from Europe.

“There’s a mixed component. Some 60% of all visitors come from the US and Canada,” Mr Benavides told The Beach Times during a walk through the stalls and exhibits.

“But there’s a strong European component,” he added. “It’s proof of what Costa Rica means for the European Market…and this year we are aiming for a higher participation from Europe.”
“We shouldn’t be absolutely dependant on the US market.”

Both the president and his minister stressed Costa Rica would look to simplify the process by which construction and other permits are issued for tourist-related developments, something foreign investors have long sought.

“That would help,” said Alfonso Amen, a senior partner KPMG, S.A., which was one of the main sponsors of the summit. “The more agile the better for business, but it’s relative from one country to another.

“For instance there are many protected areas; this is both an advantage and a disadvantage. The advantages are clear; the disadvantages have to do with the strict rules to achieve sustainability.”
President Arias pointed to major hotel brands that have begun big projects, mostly on the northern Guanacaste coast, as an indication their strategies are working.

“These priorities have given fruit,” he told the summit. “In the tourism industry, we’ve attracted investment from the world’s great hotel chains, among them the J.W. Marriott, St Regis, Four Seasons and Hyatt stand out.

“Because of this enormous tourism growth, the government has vowed to work towards five strategic goals which will in the next four years multiply the benefits generated by tourism in Costa Rica.”

According to the Instituto Costarricense de Turismo, Costa Rica has averaged an 8.1 per cent increase in tourism in the past ten years.

Eight Groups Bid To Build Flamingo Marina

2007-03-08T15:10:00.000-06:00

Bids top $45m as groups aim for next phase

By Ralph Nicholson. Courtesy of The Beach Times

Eight national and international consortium s have submitted bids for the right to develop and operate the marina in Playa Flamingo, it was revealed late last week.

The eight bids --- for marinas projects ranging from $12.5 million to $45 million --- were received by the Municipality of Santa Cruz, by the 3pm deadline, on Friday.

All bids were immediately opened, showing a range of developers wanting to build facilities that could house up to 420 boats at a time, from tiny pangas just a few meters long to giant ocean-going sailing cruisers up to 55 meters (120 feet).

“I have always said that 2007 will be the year of the marina,” said a jubilant Adrián Rojas, President of the Santa Cruz municipal council and chairman of its Commission on the Flamingo Marina.

Two municipal officers carried the eight bids --- they came in manila folders, cardboard and plastic boxes, even a blue, plastic shopping bag from the Pórtico Collection --- into the municipal chamber a few minutes before three o’clock.

For the next two and a half hours the bids were unsealed by Olenín Carmona Alvarez, the Municipality’s proveedor, or purveyor, watched by legal advisor Juan Carlos Hernández. Competing bidders were allowed to see each other’s documents.

Bidders should know by the end of February whether they have passed a pre-determined points test, known as pre-qualification, and then can pass to the next phase.

“I don’t believe it will be more than two weeks before we have the names of those that have passed,” said Pedro Abdalla Slon, the Municipality’s legal consultant on the marina concession process.

“It is not complicated,” he added. “It could be that they all pre-qualify.

“There are two vital points we are looking for --- one is experience, and two, economic capability. If they can show they meet those two conditions for me, they pre-qualify.”

The highest bid came from Desarrollo de Marinas Matapalo Demm SA, a consortium of three North Americans, led by long-time Flamingo resident, Donald Brooks.

They want to spend $45 million to build a 234-slip facility in the site, on the southern end of Bahia Potrero.

“It is not a question of how much money you are going to spend, but how it will be spent and upon what,” Mr Brooks said by telephone from San Francisco, California this week.

“Flamingo is one of the finest beaches, probably second only to Carrillo, in the country,” he said. “I want to develop an area comparable to Sausalito (north of San Francisco), where there are a lot of marinas that are environmentally viable and beneficial to the community.

“Ultimately it doesn’t really matter who wins out in this bidding process, the main point is to get it done.”

Two other Flamingo businessmen have entered the race.

Bob Davey, the owner-broker of Century 21 in Playa Flamingo, has partnered with Phoenix property developer Mike Smith in Empresas Marítimas Messe, SA, which wants to spend $24.73 million to build a 420-slip facility.

“We are a group of investors with a qualified team of professionals that expects to fulfill the marina project,” said Rafael E. Cañas Coto, who represents the group.

Hubert Gysemans, who owns a restaurant, casino and nightclub in Flamingo, has joined Roberto Fiatt, José Miguel Alfaro Masis, lawyers Mario Mora and José Miguel Alfaro and engineer Miguel Torres, in a bid known as Desarrollos Naúticos SA.

At $12.5 million the bid is the cheapest. It includes 200 slips and the group expect to complete work within three years.

“We have considerable experience of working in the docks of Caldera, Limón and Golfito,” said Mr Torres, who is a former engineer with the Municipality of Santa Cruz.

Of the six consortiums which first bid on the concession for the marina early in 2004, Empresas Marítimas Messe and Desarrollos Naúticos SA are the only two that remain in the race.

Grupo Canadá-Israel SA --- a group of international and investment developers --- was the first bid to be opened and scrutinized.

“We are very interested in building a marina and developing the area of Playa Flamingo,” said one of the partners, Ziv Lotenberg, by telephone from Tel Aviv.

The group has completed projects in Leipzig, Cleveland, Prague, Tel Aviv, New York and Toronto.
“We are working with a group who has many years experience in building marinas,” said Mr Lotenberg. “We are looking for other land to develop in the area. We are looking to do something big in Costa Rica.”

Another real estate developer, Tamarindo Lifestyle SA, has joined the bidding with a planned 320-slip facility and a budget of $32.6 million.

Tamarindo Lifestyle SA is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Kapeta Group, a privately held, multi-million-dollar, real estate development company, and best known in Guanacaste for a 51-hectare (125-acre) shopping centre, resort, spa and housing project in Tamarindo.

“We are a local group with worldwide experience in marinas,” said Salomón Ary, who represented the group at the meeting.

“We have them (marinas) in Seattle, Maine, Fort Lauderdale, two in Mexico and one in South Africa, famous for its sporting event called The Super Sailboats. We have three in Australia, amongst others.”

In fact, it is understood Tamarindo Heights SA will use Bellingham Marine, one of the world’s leading designers, manufacturers, and builders of mariners. It operates ten manufacturing plants, has 21 offices and eight divisions world-wide, and has built more than 1120 marinas since 1969.

Another bidder --- Inversiones Rigilcom SA --- also indicated it would be using Bellingham Marine for its marina design and construction. Their documentation says they will spend $16 million to complete a marina in two years.

Inversiones Rigilcom is led by Anil C. Kothari, President of Global Financial Group, who is the same New Jersey-based developer behind the $300 million Hyatt Resort and golf course project to be built in Brasilito.

Mr Kothari says the two projects are quite separate.

“This is a private bid of mine, it has nothing to do with the Hyatt Project,” he said. “I am interested in the project because I think it would be a very good thing for the community.

Mr Kothari said he was not concerned that his bid was nearly one third that of competitors like Desarrollo de Marinas Matapalo Demm.

“The key is to get to the next round,” he said.

To do that, bidders must achieve 80 points in a test of resources, experience and financial clout.
They get points for a minimum investment of $12 million and need to show 15 per cent of the investment is their own capital. Further they must be able to demonstrate the construction company or companies they plan to use have built at least two marinas in the past. They have to have operated one or more marinas for at least five years, and that, in the last decade.

It is not important at this stage, what the marina might look like.

“We do have to do an analysis, but it is not exhaustive,” said legal counsel, Abdalla. “For example design is not one of the issues we will consider at this stage.

“We have just asked for a general description, because at this stage whatever they are offering may not be technically viable.”

All technical aspects will be evaluated by the Comisión Interinstitucional de Marinas y Atracaderos Turísticos (CIMAT is the government’s watchdog on marinas) once the Municipality agrees which bids can move forward. Environmental issues will be dealt with by the National Technical Secretariat of the Ministry of Environment (SETENA).

“CIMAT has two months to approve projects, but can use up to four months if necessary,” said Oscar Villalobos, the Commission’s Technical Director.

“An approval of a project by CIMAT does not guarantee the concession to a particular company,” Mr Villalobos was quick to point out.

The Municipality is ultimately responsible for issuing the concession.

Investing in Costa Rica

2006-11-27T16:02:00.000-06:00

Baby boomers are continuing to spend more money than any other generation. When it comes to Costa Rica, this is particularly interesting. The Gold Coast is seeing this money flood into new land opportunities with Americans entering their prime years. Investors are doubling the enjoyment of their investments with year-round vacationing as a way to enjoy eco-travel, land sports, world class fishing and relaxing into the Pura Vida Costa Rican culture.

Blue White Properties Real Estate, offers many varieties of purchase opportunities, but the most common are investment homes for rental income and land tracks for resale or development. For builders interested in building multi use properties, condos have become popular as they're perfect alternative to hotel projects. "Fractional ownership" is the buzzword as opposed to "time shares" now. A developer can build a condominium project and sells the units to investors as a piece of a hotel. This idea offers more intimacy and a sensation of a home away form home. It is the perfect alternative to renting a hotel room and the buyer can enjoy the residual income throughout the year with the security of knowing their investment is managed on site is a way to offer the condo buyer a safe haven offering security and amenities including tropical gardens, pools and concierge assistance for turism services.

Lastly, condos are easier to resale than private homes in foreign countries. So for the developer to invest in a project that builds only single family home sites has a more difficult time preselling their project. Mixing condos into the project with hotel services is the wave of the future. Investors should define their strategy and give the buyers a safe paradise on the Gold Coast.

Costa Rica: $2.1B Investment in Tourism

2006-11-27T15:51:00.000-06:00

Panama, Monday 27 of November 2006

The Costa Rica province of Guanacaste (North Pacific) will receive in next the three years at least 2.1B dollars of investment in tourist projects, informed the economic weekly magazine yesterday the Financiero. The publication indicated that the money comes from 35 tourist projects as hotels and residences of luxury that have entered operation in the last 24 months or do it within next the three years.

The 2.1B dollars of investment that will receive Guanacaste are equivalent to more of the double from which it receives every Costa Rica year in Direct Foreign Investment. According to information compiled by the weekly magazine, in next the 20 years in Guanacaste to at least 28 hotels and 9 thousand 700 residences for people of high spending power will be constructed, in their majority American retired. The investment in these projects comes mainly from the United States but, also are involved Costa Rican investors, Germans, South Africans, Japanese, Mexican and Italian.

At the Guanacaste present time it has 6 thousand 724 rooms in 347 hotels and this year the construction in the zone arrives at 947 thousand 973 square meters, which represents a growth of 66% with respect to the last year. Between the powerful international hotel companies that or work in the zone or will begin to operate in the next months they emphasize Four Seasons, Holiday Inn, JW Marriot and Hyatt. Guanacaste is the province with greater tourist development of Costa Rica thanks to its beautiful beaches, rich culture, national parks and the proximity between attractive like forests, volcanos, beaches and tourism of adventure. The tourism is one of the main sources of income of the country.

Costa Rica Real Estate News

2006-11-03T09:08:00.000-06:00

MOPT Promises Key Road Fix By Year's End
By Ralph Nicholson. Courtesy of The Beach Times

The Ministry of Public Works and Transport has told the Guanacaste Chamber of Tourism it will begin work on the remaining ten-kilometer section of the Belen to Huacas road within three weeks.

Pedro Castro Fernández, Vice Minister of the Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transporte (MOPT) told the chamber late this week heavy machinery would be ready to start work on the section between El Llano and Cartagena 'in 15 days to three weeks.'

The work is understood to include a sealed, asphalt surface.

Ana Saborío, the vice president of the chamber of tourism, was told Thursday that the process by which heavy engineering companies bid upon the contract to fix the Belén to Huacas road had been completed.

'I understand the contract has been adjudicated and a draft document drawn up,' said Ms Saborío. 'They are just waiting for final approval from the Comptroller General's Office.' 'He promised me it would be finished by December,' Ms Saborío added.

Word on works for the remaining section of the road comes after intense lobbying by the chamber of tourism, which has seen the key tourist artery almost destroyed in places. Traffic has been reduced to a crawl for up to ten kilometers (about six miles).

Last week the vice minister told The Beach Times his ministry needed 250 million colones (about $482,000) to complete the road.

'We know the road situation affects tourism and that is why we are making a concerted effort with scant financial resources to do repairs and maintenance on those roads with the most tourism traffic,' Mr Castro said.

Mr Castro said the ministry's priority was the Inter-American Road which would be widened to four lanes between Barranca and Limonal (the intersection to the Tempisque Bridge). He said there was no budget to seal the entire network of unsealed roads.

'There are a total of 4500 kilometers (2800 miles) of sealed roads and some 3500 kilometers (2200 miles) of unpaved roads, which is a huge quantity,' he said. 'We are going to select the more important unpaved roads to seal and if others have to remain unpaved, then they will receive maintenance.

'Additionally, there are projects to be finished like the route from Santa Elena to Monteverde, a contract which was awarded late in the year and with luck will begin in November,' Mr Castro said.

The vice minister had good news for Tamarindo residents, saying the government was looking to seal the 15 kilometer section between 27 de Abril-Villareal and Santa Cruz. 'We are seriously considering the option of sealing the route,' the vicde minister said. 'It is a small distance and it's a very important route for tourism and much used in the region. 'Definitely the budget for that road will be considered next year,' he said.

Samara Gets First Look At Coastal Plan
By Ralph Nicholson. Courtesy of The Beach Times

About 120 residents of Samara and Nosara got a first-hand look last week at the way in which the Costa Rican Institute of Tourism wants their coastline to develop.

A town meeting was shown a draft of what is termed a Plan Regulador Integral, effectively a blue print for what kind of building and development will be allowed, and where.

The Regulatory Plan, which will cover more than 15 kilometers of coastline, will include Playa Samara, Playa Carrillo, Puerto Carrillo and Punta Islita.

Critically, the regulatory plan only takes in the maritime zone, that area 150 meters above the water line.

Guillermo Miranda, an architect with the Instituto Costarricense de Turismo (ICT), told the meeting the plan would represent a new proposal and should re-organise those areas that should remain forested and other areas which could be put to commercial or residential use. The Municipality of Nicoya has been inefficient and there are many things that have led to increasing disorganization,” Mr Miranda told the meeting.

“The Comptroller General’s Office has found anomalies and there are several complaints about the misuse of the maritime zone,” he added.

MAYORAL ELECTION 2007-2011
By By Zoraida Diaz. Courtesy of The Beach Times

Mayors Wanted for Carrillo, Hojancha, Nicoya, La Cruz

On December 3, 81 Mayors will be popularly elected throughout the country for just the second time in history.

But burgeoning foreign communities from Playa Hermosa in the north Pacific to Manuel Antonio in the south and across the country along the Caribbean will have little, if any, say in the matter.

In some instances, the candidates are aware of the strength of their non-voting constituency, and how once elected, achieving the goals set for their municipalities depends greatly on the income generated through the taxation of businesses, hotels and the building boom along coastal towns.

In the past year, for example, Santa Cruz became one of the fastest growing municipalities in the country with a 250 per cent increase in construction.

But in other cases, the synergies are not yet understood and the abysmal divide between the traditional interests of local municipalities and the increasing needs of the coastal communities is at times wrenchingly clear.

Take Lorenzo Rosales Vargas, Nicoya’s mayoral candidate for the ruling Party Liberación Nacional (PLN), for example.

“If the newspaper is in English, I don’t care to speak with you,” he said bluntly. “What do the gringos care what happens here…they just come looking to take away all the riches.”

This, from a candidate who will oversee the collective fates of rapidly-growing beach communities like Nosara and Sámara. Repeated attempts failed to sway him. Other candidates, some bidding for re-election and others with previous administrative experience are more conciliatory, speaking of solving common problems like security, roads and maritime zone issues.

“One of the priorities of the development of the municipality has to do with the maritime zone in Nosara and Sámara,” said Félix Ángel Vásquez Jiménez, the candidate for the Citizens’ Action Party (PAC) in Nicoya and a former mayor himself.

“I believe in the participation of each district represented by different groups.”

Panama Real Estate: Paradise Found in a Booming Market for Retirees, Others

2006-07-18T16:00:00.000-05:00

Press Releases courtesy of pr.com

With the US hurricane season approaching, $100 per barrel oil on the horizon and the nation on the verge of recession, many US and international retirees, second home purchasers and investors seeking a better quality of life are taking a serious look at the country of Panama.

Las Vegas, NV, July 17, 2006 --(PR.COM)-- Once under the stranglehold of political oppression, Panama has emerged as one of the world's best retirement opportunities according to several industry leaders. The Pinkerton Group rates Panama as one of the world's safest countries. And let's not forget the real estate boom that is in the early stages of a potential boom. Panama Real Estate Professionals helps retirees, second home purchasers and investors identity opportunities in Panama. "I have seen the level of interest in Panama greatly increase in the past year and especially in the last couple of months given the current state of the US economy" said Panama Real Estate Professionals principal Gary Gilbert.

With the US Dollar as the official currency, many real estate purchasers are able to buy property for one-third or more less than comparable properties in the United States and abroad. Modern oceanfront high-rise condos dot the skyline of this cosmopolitan, world class city some compare to that of Dubai. Just a few hours away, tropical, mountain settings offer a haven for those seeking a non-city eco experience.

Most residents speak English and other world languages as Panama has become a very diverse society for those around the world seeking a better quality of life. One of the world's largest banking centers, Panama is home to almost one hundred worldwide banks. The Panama Canal is a tremendous asset to the country's bottom line both business and tourism-related. World class infrastructure includes telecommunications, hospitality, and roads offering the ability to swim in two oceans all in the same day.

Under four hours to fly from Miami, Atlanta or Houston, Panama is indeed paradise found.

Gary Gilbert
Real Estate Professionals
Panamarealestateprofessional@yahoo.com
404.784.5759

BlueWhiteProperties.com Real Estate Costa Rica and Panama

2006-07-10T17:38:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Blue White Properties Blog. In this blog, we intend to post important news regarding real estate investing in Costa Rica and Panama and important information to move or migrate in the region.