Costa Rica real estate increasingly popular with US retirees

More and more American retirees
are eschewing Europe in favour of retiring to property in Costa Rica.  According to Fox Business, ‘a growing
number of baby boomers are choosing to retire beyond American borders.’

The cost of living and the price
of property in Costa Rica is attracting lots of American buyers and it is also
a place that Brits should consider if they are looking to buy abroad.

Property in Costa Rica popular thanks to low cost of living and great
climate

Christopher Howard, an author
specialising in books about retiring in Central America told Fox Business that
increasing numbers of people are retiring to property in Costa Rica and Panama
because of the low cost of living and the good all-year round climate. 

The country has also become
popular since a decline in people retiring to Mexico and Guatemala thanks to
the problems of drug related violence prevalent in both of these nations.

Property taxes are low – around
0.1 per cent per year for a home or apartment – and the cost of living is also
low with fruit and vegetables particularly cheap at local farmers’ markets.  Other living expenses such as gas and
electricity, transportation and public health insurance are also cheap in Costa
Rica when compared with many other retirement destinations.

Prices stabilised since late 2000s boom

Prices of property in Costa Rica
rose significantly in the mid to late 2000s as the country became one of the
five best emerging real estate markets in the world.  Many buyers from Costa Rica and the USA drove prices up
significantly although they have stabilised since 2008.

Mr Howard told Fox Business: “In
the beach areas there are some excellent values for foreigners since prices
have dropped considerably because of world events. There has been an adjustment
in prices.”