With increased tourism, improved infrastructure, a bustling capital city and some of the most beautiful coastline along the south Pacific, Nicaragua is a hidden developing gem. With land prices starting as low as $25,000 for a one-third acre lot, now could be the best time to invest in Nicaragua. See the following article from International Living for more on this.
Nicaragua gets a bad rap wherever you go. But when I crossed the border from Costa Rica to Nicaragua recently, I was quickly reminded why Nicaragua should be on your radar.
The south Pacific Coast is one of the most dramatic, stunning and awesome stretches on earth. The natural beauty may not be news to you, but what might surprise you is the progress I saw on this visit.
The Pan American highway is now smooth, pothole-free, and filled with big, new, expensive SUVs. In the capital Managua, the roads are full of new mid-size saloons. I visited a new shopping mall here…full of high-end stores. The mall’s restaurants offered more choice than I found in the whole of Managua when I first came here seven years ago.
We circled for about 10 minutes before finding a parking spot. Roads have been repaired following one of the wettest rainy seasons on record. Everywhere looked cleaner and everywhere I went were infrastructure improvements.
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Tourism is doing well. In 2009, tourist numbers grew by 8.9%. Visitors spent more, too–22.5% more than the previous year. In 2009, 60 cruise ships docked in Nicaragua, and 28 in the first four months of 2010 alone.
We don’t have official stats yet, but I hear 2010 was a bumper year. This year is expected to be even better as the “Survivor Effect” kicks in. For 14 weeks through the hit tv show Survivor, Nicaragua was beamed into the homes of an estimated 14 million Americans.
Plus, folks in the know are making major investments. Carlos Pellas is the head of one of Central America’s most successful and oldest conglomerates. They have been in business for over a century…market leaders in banking, energy, sugar, booze (they own, make and distribute Flor de Cana rum) and automotive distribution. He is investing many tens of millions in his project on the south Pacific Coast.
This project has been on-again-off-again for some time. I have watched plans come together only to be put to the back burner as the U.S. real estate market imploded and Nicaragua elected Sandinista Daniel Ortega to the office of President.
It’s interesting that this family and conglomerate are now pumping their cash into this project. They have businesses right across Central America…and another real estate project in Costa Rica. There are other places they could put their money. This is a huge display of confidence in Nicaragua and this stretch of coast.
Having spent time there last month, I share this confidence. Infrastructure is improving. The malls and stores in Managua are bustling. It’s like they aren’t following the script the main stream media have played out for them. Don’t get me wrong. Nicaragua still has huge challenges. But, being here my overriding sense is one of progress.
Everywhere I went, foreigners and locals of all political persuasions told me how the country has come too far forward to go back. I’m sure there will be bumps along the road. And, in particular in the lead up to the Presidential elections later this year.
Maybe that makes this year the best time ever to look at buying quality along the one of the finest stretches of coast in the Americas. With some of the deals I saw…like $25,000 for a 1/3 acre lot in an established beach and golf community…or $130,000 for a 1,400-square-foot town home…I think now is the time.
This article has been republished from International Living.
