Expat Community > Ecuador

HGQ2112
Joined 2009
Posts: 1640

Real Estate Report - Curia & San Jose

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:

Curia/San Jose Buy
Fusing two markets together is not something we do often, because there is always something unique about a specific area, which offers its own charms and the occasional reason for caution. However, in the case of Curia and San Jose, they are situated in the market in such a way that most of their strengths and weaknesses are identical. For example, lying just North of Olon, both offer a viable option for the same scenic, serene beachfront lifestyle that beckons one to Olon, but at somewhat more bargain prices. I have to emphasize somewhat, because the acquisition activity in this entire region has been so notable for the last 3 years that even in Curia and San Jose, prices are creeping up fast. This is especially so, again, for the large estate properties that can also be found dotting the beaches of both of these towns. Each, likewise, suffers from being a bit further removed than Olon, making Olon somewhat more attractive - closer to Montañita....closer to “civilization”. However, what if an escape from so-called “civilization” is exactly what you seek? What if a visit to Montañita is something you might do once a month and not more frequently? Curia and San Jose offer scenic beaches and tranquility at average prices which represent better value than Olon. This might be the perfect spot for you and the two towns remain solid buy recommendations.

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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