- What is going on in Santa Teresa and Costa Rica in general?
It’s been over two and a half months since the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Costa Rica on March 6th. Costa Rica has taken the pandemic very seriously from the very beginning and has had some fantastic results as far as containing the spread and keeping the mortality rate among the lowest in the world. So far there have been just over 1,000 confirmed cases, about 650 recoveries, a total of 10 deaths, and close to 340 active cases.
Costa Rica prides itself on its strong, public health care system and they have truly done a fantastic job. The strength of the healthcare system can be traced back to the abolition of the army in 1948, since which date the government has been able to focus its investment in the health and education of its citizens.
This small country has also been blessed with a fantastic team of experts and professionals to help guide the president during these trying times. Communication has been open and constant, with daily press briefings and announcements to guide the country as the crisis has been developing.
Initially the restrictions were more severe, only allowing for essential businesses to remain open and they have been slowly easing up on a national level, although the borders will remain closed to tourists at least through June 15th. Currently the government is launching a campaign to promote national tourism in the following months as tourism is such a huge factor in the economy here. It makes up almost 9% of the country’s GDP.
Santa Teresa, and the southern Nicoya Peninsula have had no confirmed cases yet. People continue to be cautious and respect social distancing but restaurants and other businesses are slowly opening up. The beach is now open form 5-8am for individual sport and leisure and life begins to feel a bit more normal.
- Are you still working and showing properties?
Yes! The team of 2 Costa Rica Real Estate in Santa Teresa and all offices throughout the country are all still working hard. We have been mostly working from home as our offices have been closed except by appointment. We have been staying busy, focusing on improving our services and technologies in order to better serve our clients, both Buyers and Sellers. We have weekly team Zoom meetings and have incorporated a healthy showings protocol which you can see by clicking here.
As memebers of the Luxury Real Estate Board of Regents we also have access to weekly meetings, workshops and panels with the best real estate agents and brokers form around the world. It has been very helpful to understand what other markets are doing across the globe and what other top quality agencies are doing to adjust, keep up, and continue to offer the best and safest services to their clientele as well.
We have also taken this time to get organized, improve the backend and administrative side of how our office and team runs, this time has been very productive and we are taking advantage of the extra time to fine tune in house. We are also constantly brainstorming with our SEO and marketing team so that we can continue to offer the most professional services possible, and state of the art technology. We are very excited to announce that we have been incorporating Matterport technology to do 3D images and layouts of our listings. We have also been doing video and conference calls with our clients as we walk them through homes and properties.
With the borders closed to tourists, we have found that many of our current clients are people who got stuck here to ride out the pandemic and have reevaluated where they want live. Many of these people are seriously considering Santa Teresa as their home. As many people and companies continue working form home around the world, we are realizing that with high quality internet, we can work pretty much from anywhere in the world. Why wait to retire and live the dream? We can live anywhere and begin to live the dream now, as we continue our professional lives in the places we really want to be.
We also have many old clients and friends reaching out who are waiting for the travel restrictions to be lifted to finally relocate or visit. After months of sitting indoors and at home, people are dreaming of a life they want to live, in a place that they love. These are Buyers who have had an eye on the market for a while but feel like now is the time to take that leap and hopefully find a good deal. Real estate sales in Costa Rica are many times lifestyle choices and we believe that many people are seriously considering the possibility of change.
- Are you closing deals?
Yes, we are still closing and negotiating deals. Some of our pre-COVID deals have been renegotiated, either into price reductions, or a financing structure but we have had several closings in the last few months. And a few have continued under the same initial terms. We have realized it is quite easy to coordinate digital closings while keeping all parties healthy and safe.
We also have a few deals under contract and are currently negotiating a couple more. Interestingly we have found an increase in beachfront and luxury home sales in the last couple months. We consider this to be directly tied in to the fact that people are being forced to reevaluate the meaning of home and where they want to be.
- Should I lower my asking price if I want to sell?
Some of our Sellers have reached out asking if they should be lowering their prices to help sell their properties more quickly. With the global economic uncertainty, we do believe that there will be an adjustment in prices in the global real estate market. We believe that there may be a drop in prices here, but it is impossible to foresee how far and for how long this dip will endure. Each seller will need to decide if they would prefer to hold tight and ride it out, or to adjust their price now in order to attract the attention of the smaller pool of buyers that remain in the market at this time. If sellers are keen to sell in the short- to medium-term, it would be sensible to consider lowering your price now. Whilst we do have buyers in town, with cash ready to purchase – the pool of buyers is much smaller than that which existed only three months ago. Depending on the global economy, it could be the case that prices continue to drop for a number of years before a recovery is seen.
The Costa Rican real estate market tends to be 6-12 months behind the US and European markets and real estate trends in general during times of economic uncertainty. It is important that we keep a close eye on global trends in the following months.
- Do you see many fire sales coming?
We are already hearing from many Buyers that are waiting for opportunity and deals to arise. The market is transitioning into a Buyers market with the economic impact of the pandemic. Cash Buyers will be able to move quick and get some great values. We also believe creative deal structures and Seller financing options will become more common and acceptable to Sellers. Cash offers are always worth considering, especially during the beginning of a worldwide economic recession.
- When do you think travel restrictions will end and things get back to normal?
It is very hard to predict what international travel will look like in the next 12-24 months. How the pandemic progresses internationally will dictate restrictions and regulations country to country. Also the economic impact on the airline industry will also weigh heavily or reopening routes. There is no way to predict at present when the borders will be opening.
In Costa Rica the government has said multiple times that they are in no rush to open up the borders and they have tentatively set a June 30th date but this date will likely be extended further.
Experts of the travel industry don’t expect travel to reach 2019 levels for a few years.
If you have any questions for our team, or would like to further discuss the current market, please don't hesitate to reach out. We are happy to help.
I hope you are all staying safe.
Best wishes,
Jen Harter
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