Hello my friends,

I have been totally enthralled lately with the activities going on around the world in the trading markets.  Investors are panicking, stock prices are plummeting, snow is blizzarding, and in the meantime, I’m just sitting back in my office watching the hordes of travelers find their way around the streets of Jaco all the while avoiding sun burn.

The streets, hotels and restaurants in Jaco right now are packed.  And that’s a good sign for all of the rest of us.  For some reason, a colleague of mine was under the impression that Jaco was a deserted town these days.  That colleague works in Guanacaste, so it is not surprising that he had heard negative things about Jaco there.  You see, Tamarindo (which is like the Jaco of Guanacaste) has rivaled Jaco in development for the previous 5 years; and in popularity as a hot tourist beach destination for the past 10 years.  

As with any rival, comes a bit trash talk, and I can’t say that I’m not completely innocent.  I admit, I have told a traveler or two that Tamarindo’s development seems a bit chaotic and thank goodness for the wide paved roads with multiple exit and entrance routes in Jaco.  But I’m calling a truce.

In this economy, we need to stick together and focus on the positive.  Quite frankly, the large groups of spring breakers, sport fisherman and families vacationing in Costa Rica direct from the USA is a very positive sign for me.  At my office, we rent homes, and although January was a little rocky, March and April are proving to make up for our slump.  Is it a good sign that the economy is not that bad?  Well, maybe.

Let’s face it, not everyone is interested in international real estate trading, so we are somewhat of an exclusive group.  But considering that in the previous months we’ve seen around a dozen properties go under contract from this office alone, I’m optimistic.  And honestly, life is good down here in Costa Rica.  The weather is fabulous.  The food is always great, and in the meantime, business, for the most part, is still booming.

Believe it or not, my claim is that our market is still strong. The well priced properties are moving and people are still buying, building and renting.  

Three cheers for pura vida!

Wendy

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009 at 2:06 pm and is filed under Jaco. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.