Belize condos: A market snapshot
July 24th, 2010
Belize condos are the mainstay of the international real estate market in Belize. We analyzed over 50 real estate developments catering primarily to foreign buyers, and found over half had condos for sale. Far fewer are selling serviced lots or single-family houses. As land is relatively expensive compared to construction costs (particularly at the ocean), it makes sense for developers to design multi-story buildings.
Ambergris Caye, the most popular tourism spot in the country is home to 44% of all condo projects in the country. Placencia on the mainland has 31%. Combined, the two purchasing destinations make up 75% of the country’s condo market.
How much for a Belize condo?
Ambergris Caye is the most expensive location for condos with a median asking price of US $273 per square foot for ocean view and beachfront locations. Placencia comes in second at US $249. The median asking price for Belize condos for sale across all other parts of the country (including inland areas) is significantly lower at $186.
What amenities are Belize condo developers offering?
A characteristic of the market for Belize real estate, when compared to other countries in Central America, is smaller master plans and a more boutique style of development. There are fewer large-scale destination resorts for example.
We looked at condo projects with completed amenities and found the most common community master plan includes a multi-story condo building (2-5 floors), swimming pool (the most common amenity), restaurant and pier or dock. For condo projects still undergoing construction, this same pattern continues with yoga/spa centers being the most frequent additional amenity planned.
Completion ratios for condos in Belize
We looked at the balance of amenities offered by condo developers and found for every 2 completed amenities, 3 were still planned or in the process of being built. This ‘completion ratio’ of 2 to 3 is higher than in Nicaragua for example where we found the ratio to be 1:4 (i.e. for every project with a completed amenity, 4 were still planned).
While this is only one data point, it does underscore the view of most market watchers that Belize is less emerging, (and probably less ’speculative’ even), as a real estate destination than Nicaragua. We’ll be reviewing completion ratios for Costa Rica and Panama in later posts. So stay tuned.
After the crisis
After a soft market in 2009 and early 2010 for Belize property, inventories are still high and vendors motivated. Buyers are treating asking prices as starting prices and are negotiating hard. Many are comparing developer-direct prices with the re-sale market (where end-user sells to end-user) to see if they can find motivated sellers with lower prices. Developers are slowly adjusting to the fact that it’s a new market for condos in Belize and the post-crisis real estate investor is here to stay.
Tags: Ambergris Caye, Belize, Belize condos, Placencia real estate
Posted in Market statistics and data | 3 Comments »
[Video] Introducing the “Choose Belize” property developers
February 5th, 2010
You don’t need to be a genius to master real estate investing in Belize, you just need to know where to look.
Over the past few months a select group of developers have come together to showcase a broad palette of real estate options under a unified banner - “Choose Belize”. The group has been convened by Coldwell Banker Belize and represent the top properties and investment opportunities across the country as a whole at a time when it’s more important than ever to focus on value.
Coldwell Banker Belize has done the homework on the ground, leveraged their first hand experience and networks, triangulated their offerings against “four pillars of international real estate success” and enlisted the help of our database to track down the really great deals in this buyer’s market. Then, they designed a three day property tour to showcase what they had found.
They’ve just put out a video describing why the tour is a smart way to research the property market. I counted 5 reasons as I watched the video. Have a look:
Look out for the Recommended Real Estate Tour Member badge
We’ve added a “badge” to the listing page of developments in our database being showcased on the Choose Belize Tour. Here is a selection of what you’ll see on tour:
- Brahma Blue
- Caye Winds
- Cocoplum
- Grand Baymen
- Orchid Bay
- Los Porticos
- The Villas at Cocoplum
- and more…
No question, a real estate tour, where you get to see a choice of property options, selected by in-country experts, is a prudent way to make the decision if Belize is right for you.
From Reveal Real Estate - charting overseas property trends in Central America.
Tags: Ambergris Caye, Belize, Corozal, Placencia real estate
Posted in Comparison shopping, Property news | No Comments »
Scouting international real estate in Central America requires a fair bit of bumping along unpaved roads
November 9th, 2009
I seem to spend a lot of my time bumping along unpaved roads in Central America on my way to see how overseas property developments are progressing.
Sometimes this can give you the feeling that you’ve arrived at a secret paradise, miles from anywhere, when the bumpy road suddenly opens out to sweeping vistas, lush gardens and well appointed homes. Ahh, you think, no one except other discriminating investors like myself will take the time to reach and assess this opportunity so I’m guaranteed exclusivity, privacy and maybe somewhat of a discount due to the access. But, more often, the bumpy trip can leave you tired and grumpy and heaven help a developer who doesn’t then have a cool drink on hand and something worthwhile to show you as an investment opportunity.
It’s important to be prepared before you set out - to know exactly where the project is located, how long it will take to get there and on what sort of road. So on Reveal Real Estate we include a location map for each real estate development and answer these 3 questions:
- Is the road paved from the nearest international airport? (if it’s not paved, we’ve estimated the amount of driving time on unpaved sections)
- What is the total driving time from the international airport?
- How long does it take to drive to the closest town with a decent sized grocery store?
This data is useful on a project-by-project basis when planning a trip, doing a price comparison, or for tossing up real estate options; but there’s also something to learn from aggregating the data and analyzing by country. So here’s the picture for Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua.
Is the road paved from the nearest international airport?
In broad terms the data reflects the level of investment each county has made on its infrastructure and the remoteness of the main property purchasing destinations. Panama leads the field when it comes to paving. You can drive in comfort, on paved roads, to most of the real estate developments featured on Reveal Real Estate, including of course all the condo projects in Panama City.
Costa Rica real estate follows close behind with over 70% of the developments having paved access. We haven’t yet seen the new section of road between Quepos and Dominical, but this should improve driving comfort further.
If you’re interested in scouting for Nicaragua real estate, be prepared for a bumpier ride. Only 20% of the projects on Reveal Real Estate have paved access. But if the planned coastal road from the border with Costa Rica heading northwards following the ribbon of development ever gets off the drawing board, this would change the picture quite dramatically.
How long does it take to drive to the airport and the nearest grocery store?
The pattern between the countries is similar when it comes to driving times. Real estate developments in Panama and Costa Rica have a shorter driving time on average to the airport and to a decent sized grocery store than those located in Nicaragua.
If you need to pop out to a grocery store with a decent range of items you’re looking at a 9 minute drive, on average, in Costa Rica. In Nicaragua, your grocery run is 23 minutes on average. Of course this varies considerably for each real estate development. Check each development page for individual driving times.
What about Belize real estate?
We’ve included the Belize real estate data separately as it’s not directly comparable to the other countries. The terrain is quite different, particularly on the coast, and visitors mostly get about by taking short internal flights and then getting in a golf cart for the final stretch. Many of the projects on Ambergris Caye for example do not have paved access but in practice all this means is a short golf cart ride on a sand road.
Infrastructure is steadily improving in Belize. The paving of the 16 mile road along the Placencia Peninsula is underway with the section from Maya Beach to Placencia Village already completed. So the only bumping we’ll do on our next trip to Placencia will be over speed-bumps.
So what does all of this mean for pricing? Does paved access lessen a development’s exclusivity? Does a long driving time from the airport or grocery store mean that prices will be lower for comparable real estate? We’ll be looking at this in our second post on accessibility. Stay tuned.
Tags: Ambergris Caye, Belize, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, Panama City Real Estate, Placencia real estate
Posted in Market statistics and data | 1 Comment »
Revealed: The state of the international real estate market in Belize
September 22nd, 2009
One of the frustrating things about investing in real estate in Belize (or elsewhere in Central America for that matter) is the difficulty of getting hold of objective market data. There are no easily accessible central databases or comprehensive Multiple Listing Systems to research. Buyers are often left with information they receive from real estate vendors and promoters and not much else.
Our goal is to try and fill this data gap for Belize real estate and provide an additional layer of information to buyers to help them with their decision making. Our focus is the overseas property sector - essentially the ‘luxury’ sector of the market - comprising master planned communities, resort real estate and condo projects in Belize.
We’ve identified the major real estate developments active in Belize and aggregated listing prices across the main real estate categories (e.g. serviced lots, condos and single family homes). Then, with our baseline collected in 2008, we’re able to determine a year-on-year price trend.
So what’s the international real estate market in Belize looking like in 2009?
- As you would expect, any type of water view property commands a premium. Beachfront single family homes are the most expensive property type followed by beachfront condos (this holds for both median price and median price per square foot).
- In order to purchase prime real estate in prime areas, you’ll need to spend over $200 a square foot.
- But there is also a market-share in ‘affordable international real estate’ that’s evident as soon as you leave the prime zones such as Placencia, Ambergris Caye (and to a lesser extent Hopkins). Here the per square foot price for property falls considerably.
Belize real estate at the high end
- Six of the top 10 most expensive master planned communities in Belize by median price/sqft are located in Ambergris Caye. The Caye is also the most visited tourism destination in the country - a fact that points to the close link between tourism and real estate activity in Belize.
Looking at the year-on-year trend
- Belize has seen some price falls across the main real estate categories. The market for Belize condos is the most active in the international real estate scene, has the most data-points, and is the one to look at most closely if you’re trying to read the market.
- Although there are no double digit falls (like we have grown accustomed to seeing in many areas of the US for example), there is also a sense that few people are buying.
- Developers are holding their ‘official’ prices relatively firm but may be offering other forms of incentives and ‘discounts’ without showing price falls.
- Re-sales (i.e. sales from end-user to end-user) are not included in our figures but do in some instances undercut developer direct prices where sellers are highly motivated.
In later posts, we’ll compare the Belize property market against Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua to see how it stands up. But, no question, it’s still a buyers market out there, with great deals to be had if you’re willing to spend the time seeking out the opportunities.
From Reveal Real Estate - charting overseas property trends in Central America.
