Nicaragua, the new beachfront frontier – Los Angeles Times
What second-home buyers yearn for in Central America is Costa Rica before the building boom. They want ocean views and unspoiled land, without the steep prices, crime and American fast-food chains. They want Panama before Donald Trump.
Adventurous Americans, Canadians and Europeans willing to dodge livestock and potholes for the two-hour car ride south from Managua to this sleepy fishing village on the west coast of Nicaragua are finding just that. Three-bedroom homes with unfettered views of shimmering bays and turquoise water start at $155,000; condos, from $129,000. Undeveloped land with ocean views — sites of a quarter-acre — start at $35,000. Construction costs generally range from $55 to $75 per square foot. To investors, it simply screams “ground floor.”
Sure, Costa Rica is still a destination for many U.S. retirees and near-retirees — condos at Marisol at Punta Dominical in the southwestern coastal region of Costa Rica, for example, start at the mid-$200,000s, and come with three community pools and nearby hiking trails. Then there’s also the province of Guanacaste in the northwest region, where luxury condos start at $500,000. Seems the word is out.