Expat Community > Ecuador

HGQ2112
Joined 2009
Posts: 1640

Real Estate Report - Esmeraldas

12 years ago

I generally release extremely condensed excerpts from real estate country analysis reports on July 1, 2012, for public consumption. This year, business matters and various personal matters have kept me from being punctual. Utilizing the better late than never theory, I offer them as segmented summaries, with each city having its own thread. I wanted to present them in one Ecuador thread, but it would be huge. Frankly, many people won’t even read them and those that do will likely want to focus on one or two cities. I would say that this format will cause folks to have to “hunt and peck” for data, but I still deemed it the lesser of two evils.

This data is presented only for those who have an interest in their real estate purchase, also being an investment asset. For those just looking to buy a pretty house, no point in reading further. The perspectives shared are not for every buyer. Some have different motivations for their purchase, besides sound investing, and those perspectives should be equally respected.

We have a simple system for rating a locale:

Sell - We recommend selling your asset or portfolio as quickly as possible.
Hold - If you have bought already, hang onto the asset and wait for further market developments. If you have not bought already, then do not buy now, but perhaps begin to look around for future opportunities.
Buy - Means that it is a good time to acquire an initial or additional real estate asset in that sub-market, due to favorable long-term market trends.
Strong Buy - Means that an exceptional market opportunity exists and that the time is right for the immediate consideration of an initial or additional real estate asset acquisition in this sub-market. For those looking at portfolio diversity, spreading assets across “strong buy” markets is advised, prior to focusing on “buy” markets, if investment opportunities is your sole or primary reason for purchasing real estate.

We also employ two trending systems. The first is an upward mobility and downward mobility system intended to dictate if this property market is in an upswing or downswing from the last time we reported on it. Upswing markets will be denoted by an ? and downswing markets by a ?.

Also, we place certain markets “on watch”. This is neither a necessarily good or bad thing, but a caution that a pending review to upgrade or downgrade the market is imminent. We try our best to project whether that review is likely to be positive or negative, but some market dynamics are so complex that this projection is not always 100% accurate. it should be used for guidance and not as statements of certainty.

Without further delay...here is data for the market you selected to view:

Esmeraldas Sell
Unfortunately, while its southern neighbors of Atacames/Tonsupa receive an upgrade from “sell” to “buy” this year, the same cannot be said for the provincial capitol of Esmeraldas proper. First, the crime per capita statistics that so mar this region are mostly centered in Esmeraldas city. While they taint areas like Atacames/Tonsupa, the epicenter can be found right here in Esmeraldas. In addition, the positive tourism spin that can account for the resurgence of Atacames/Tonsupa, simply does not apply to Esmeraldas. Folks land in the local airport, so they can drive somewhere else, or they come into town to shop and leave as quickly as possible for...somewhere else. In Esmeraldas’ favor, it is the central destination shopping point for places like Atacames, Tonsupa, Same and Sua. Esmeraldas also holds the region’s airport. Still, even with these advantages and a quaint town square, with much potential, the city has done little to define itself or enhance its visual appearance, or tarnished reputation. Some still visit for the more “edgy” entertainment spots, but as a whole, the place has become a quick “hit and run” outpost by those in the know. If you are holding property here, sell into any strength offered by the positive developments in Atacames/Tonsupa. For us to upgrade Esmeraldas, we would have to see a tangible, well-defined direction for its future evolution and a concentrated police force effort to suppress the criminal element.

Hector G. Quintana
[email protected]
“In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” -- George Orwell, “1984”

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Real Estate Report - Esmeraldas

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