In another step towards Nicaragua’s world wide recognition as a travel destination, Nicaragua was one of the sites used for this year’s Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition. I believe two models had their shoots in San Juan Del Sur Nicaragua, one of main tourism destinations in the country. San Juan Del Sur is known for its great beach, fishing, and surfing. It also happens to be a growing destination for expatriates and real estate investors alike.
I’ve been to Nicaragua a few times and absolutely loved my time there. The people are extremely friendly, and the scenery is absolutely to die for. The people at Sports Illustrated obviously saw the beauty, and the rest of the world is slowly catching on to this as well. Seeing as the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition is by far the largest selling issue for the company every year, millions more people are being introduced to not only beautiful models but a beautiful country.
Just out of curiosity, I looked around on some forums and blogs and it already appears that many people have taken notice and are asking about real estate opportunities in the country. Whether they follow through on that curiosity is another story, but any buzz is good for business in Nicaragua.
Those who are new to Nicaragua should check out the article we wrote about investing in Nicaragua real estate. Nicaragua also came in number 5 on our list of the top Latin American real estate markets. Any potential investors though should be warned that investing in Nicaragua is risky, and should be looked at as a long-term investment.
Those who have visited Nicaragua know that the country is beautiful, but needs a lot of work, especially in terms of infrastructure. There is a lot of development underway, but it is moving slowly. Most investors in Nicaragua are Americans, so investment in the country has slowed recently due to the problems in the U.S. Many investors are either choosing to wait, or were planning to use equity from their homes in the U.S. and have lost that investment capital altogether. The fact Daniel Ortega is now leading the country also isn’t helping things. However, tourism should continue doing well: It is one of the most affordable, beautiful and exotic locations that Americans can reach with relative ease (around 2 hours flying from Houston or Miami). If the U.S. does in fact go into a recession, people will be looking for lower cost places to travel, and that’s great news for Nicaraguan tourism and bad news for European tourism.
Over the long haul, Nicaragua should progress nicely. It offers great investment potential, but investors should use caution. Buying property in Nicaragua is not like buying property here in the states. You must understand the risks you are taking and not invest more capital than you can afford to lose. If you are careful, and invest with a long-term focus, then you will probably be happy with your investment when all is said and done. Beyond that, Nicaragua is an incredible place to visit (at least I’ve found it to be), so even if you find your self stuck with an investment property that you can’t sell, you should have a great time (and excuse for) visiting there.
For the sake of full disclosure, I do personally own property in Nicaragua.
5 comments:
As a Nicaraguan expat living in the US articles like this entice me to invest, but would like to know of others similarly inclined before I do. Where can I find such people?
I'm not sure that I know exactly what you are looking for here, but I'll offer up some places you can start. The following are a couple Nicaragua forums where you might be able to find some like minded individuals:
http://www.nicaragua.com/forums/
http://www.nicaliving.com/forum
You may also want to try www.therealnicaragua.com a very active nicaraguan community forum in English.
Great Post Eric! I will have to check ou SI. The time to invest is now. The scare about Ortega makes it a buyers market, but as you correctly point out it is starting to become discovered. However once something fully reaches mainstream media it is often too late for highest investment returns. My partner and I actually run an offshore investment logistics company focused on Nicaragua. (Company: Coastal Dreams Worldwide). We focus on reducing many of the risks that often sour the excellent returns one can get. Having just been down there again a few weeks ago, I can't agree more about the beauty. (Full disclosure - I also own property down there and proud of it!) January is one of the best time of year to visit the country.
You should also check out http://www.seahorsetropics.com
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