A L O O K AT
CENTRAL
+ SOUTH
AMERICA CENTRAL AMERICA GAINS GROUND AS NICHE LUXURY MARKET The countries of Central America have long had a powerful lure for expatriates of the United States and Canada, as well as a strong tug on adventurous types from Europe attracted to spectacular beaches, lush rain forests, and home prices traditionally lower than those back home. Island living has an English accent in luxury destinations like Belize,¹ located just south of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula on the Caribbean Sea, also on the island of Roatán,² one of the Bay Islands 40 miles off the coast of Honduras. In 2020, a group of U.S. investors established on Roatán a 58-acre semi-autonomous charter city called Prospera, with aims to become the “Hong Kong of the Caribbean.”³ Emerging luxury hotspots are popping up elsewhere in Honduras, as well as in Guatemala and Nicaragua, although those countries at present have only niche appeal in Central America’s luxury market. One of the most popular destinations for ex-pat luxury buyers over the past decade has been Panama,4 particularly Panama City where dozens of luxury high-rise condos have sprung up in recent years to meet growing demand. Newer luxury developments in Panama are happening 300 miles to the west of the capital city near the Costa Rican border in highland villages and towns like Boquete at 3,900 feet above sea level. Homes that sold before the pandemic between $200,000 to $400,000 were changing hands between $600,000 and $900,000 in 2020, sometimes sight unseen. Panama was closed to international travelers from March through October, but once travel was allowed, foreign buyers began to return. WORK-FROM-ANY WHERE BUYERS DRIVE MORE INTEREST IN COSTA RICA Similar to the growth of the luxury market in Panama, neighboring Costa Rica over the past two decades has developed a mature luxury market with a wide range of high-end properties in a variety of settings to attract foreign buyers. The country has become a haven for yachting and sailing communities, as well as for surfers and sport fishing enthusiasts.
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See pages 130-131 for a full list of resources.