My New Blog

Well it's been awhile since the last update, my husband and I took a trip to Costa Rica to check things out.  I will give some info on that later.  Now for those of you that wonder how things are going here in Paradise.....

At Present, there are 92 single family homes for sale on Venice Island, priced from $239,000 to 3.9 million.  9 homes are under contract and 2 homes sold in the month of June.

The condo market is still heavy with inventory, with 244 for sale, priced from $99,900 to 2.1 million.  9 are under contract and 7 sold in June. 

In the entire Venice area there are 1508 single family homes for sale and 891 condos.  123 homes are under contract at this time and 34 condos.  83 single family homes sold in the month of June and 30 condos.

Pelican Pointe has been the hot neighborhood for sales lately.

A note for those of you considering auctioning your home,  A home on the island was recently given a fair market value of $400,000.  It sold at absolute auction for only $275,000.  That is a lot of money left on the table!  Weigh all of your options carefully.  Buyers this can be a pretty good way for you to pick up a property at a good price but you need to do your homework.  You can work with a real estate agent, let them register you with the auction company and guide you through the process.  You won't pay a penny for the knowledge and skill of your agent, but you will go into the auction with the facts.  Most auctioneers add a 10% buyers premium to the bid price, your agent will be paid by the auction company and the fee to you is the same whether you are represented or not.

Now on to Costa Rica...What a beautiful place!  They say it is about the size of West Virginia, seems a lot bigger to me.  You have the beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains with the Pacific and the Caribbean thrown into the mix.  The Flora and Fauna are exquisite!  The people are so friendly and helpful.  There are so many things to do there, you won't be bored for one minute.  On our trip we stayed at the Central Pacific Coast in Puntarenas.  It was great, our resort, the Fiesta, was very nice with beautiful grounds.  We ventured to the TURU Ba Ri tropical park where you can zip line through the mountains or ride the tram and hike.  We also made it down, way down, to the Manuel Antonio park.  What a ride that was, we had to cross 3 one lane bridges that looked as if they were falling apart!  Then a winding road up the mountain and back down to the park area.  It was worth the trip.  We saw monkeys and a sloth in their natural habitat.  Funny thing was, we hiked for miles to the back of the park to see the monkeys and after we found them and headed back to the park entrance, they were everywhere, peeping into peoples beach bags and watching from the trees.  Costa Rica is a big surfing locale, we arrived at the airport with many americans and their surf boards.

As for the Costa Rica Real Estate, in the tourist towns, expect to pay 5 times the price of a comparable property out of town.  We noticed Ocean front condos in a town called Jaco from $595,000 US.  About an hour south we saw single family homes in an Ocean front community from $129,000 and Lots from $75,000.  Of course, no shopping or conveniences with those cheap prices.  I think before the real estate market really gets going there they will need to implement some drastic road improvements.  They are the WORST roads I have ever seen anywhere in my travels.  Check out my picture below, this is a major highway!!!  Well thats about it for now, any questions please call or email.

Janet