If you’ve been sitting on your Costa Rica investment, waiting for the perfect time to list it – wait no longer.  The low inventory in the housing market in south pacific Costa Rica is making sales more competitive now.  Match that with the coming of the high season and we have ourselves a tide of hungry buyers, each ready to stake their Costa Rica claim.

The high-season in southern Costa Rica stretches from December to April, coinciding with the driest months of the year.  It’s called the high season because it is the most popular time for tourists and snowbirds to make their way to the land of pura vida.  And before this perfect storm hits is the best time to get in touch with an agent to position your listing at the top of the heap for incoming buyers. 

Dry season means optimal weather to get on top of those renovations or new additions that your agent will suggest based on their knowledge of the market, and it’s the usual time that we stage our outdoor areas for the most comfortable enjoyment of the surrounding nature and incredible views. And with the influx of tourists and potential buyers that come in these high-season months, agents are hot to show them the places ready for immediate enjoyment by our excited Costa Rica hopefuls. 

Because the high-season is so competitive for sellers and brokers alike, when we list your home before the high-season, we give it an extra marketing push for the purpose of reaching potential buyers overseas; to capture their imaginations before they even arrive, especially if they are still deciding on which locations in Costa Rica they want to visit. And if they’ve been here before, they have likely already fallen in love with our Costa Ballena communities and we want to remind them of what they are missing as the season heats up.

Around the world, it is true that most people shop for homes when the weather is nice.  And although the weather is wonderful year round in the Costa Ballena, the majority of buyers still tend to classify as snowbirds, who will be arriving in the coming months.  They are not overly concerned with what the weather is like in the greener, wetter months, but they do want to get in early before the holiday season begins and the influx of tourists begin to arrive, thus increasing their chances of entering into a competitive buyers’ market.

For the buyers who live here full-time, renting or owning; who are ready to make a change, this is the time of year that they are often pushed to make a decision after weeks or even months of frustrated searching throughout the wetter months, when there tends to be less available on the market.

 When we list your home early in the high-season, or right before it begins, your listing is fresh in time to impress the majority of buyers.  Early listing gives us, your agents, time to find the right buyers before the new 2017/18 homes are finished construction and put on the market.  Because the driest months of the year are on the horizon, so are the majority of new housing contracts that cannot proceed when most days are even partially wet.  Local statistics show that new homes sell faster in this region, and in larger quantity, mainly due to the fact that many come to Costa Rica as tourists and fall in love with this land and culture, wanting to take home more than mere souvenirs, and the easiest purchase is one that is straight-out-of-the-box new.

When it comes to the dedicated investor who has come to Costa Rica with the desire to buy, we know that they are serious when they’ve contacted an agent or broker in this region and are ready with cash in hand.  That time is fast approaching, with increasing evidence that is has already begun, and we want to show your home to these buyers before they spend their money on holiday travel and tourism, thus prolonging the buyer’s enjoyment of Costa Rica, and also satisfying our sellers’ need to make a change.

 By Alex Swift