The Costa Rica real estate market continues to experience steadily increasing property values throughout the country. There are a number of reasons for this, including:

Political stability. Costa Rica is the oldest peaceful democracy in Central America, having declared its independence from Spain in 1824 and establishing a democracy in 1889. Costa Rica abolished the military in 1949 and brags that the country has more teachers than policemen.

Costa Rica’s property ownership rights.  The Costa Rican constitution guarantees full property ownership rights for foreign buyers equal to those of Costa Rican citizens.  Other Latin American countries, such as Mexico, do not provide these right s to non-citizens.

Safety.   Violent crime is rare Costa Rica.  Costa Rica is widely regarded as the safest country in Central America.

Improving infrastructure.  Improving the Costa Rican infrastructure is one of the top priorities of Nobel Peace Prize winning President Oscar Arias.  Evidence of Costa Rica’s commitment to this effort are the improvement of the roads leading to the Southern Pacific Zone and the construction of a new 80,000 ft² hospital minutes from San Buenas Golf Resort.  A new international airport is also planned for the area.

People

The people are friendly, courteous, and try to make visitors comfortable. Compared with the rest of Latin America living standards Costa Rica is near double that of the region. Additionally, Costa Rica's 95%  literacy rate is among the worlds best and their life expectancy is greater than all of their neighbors and greater than that in the United States. 

FACT: Computer chips (not coffee)  are now the country’s number one export.  

Government

Costa Rica is a democratically elected Republic. The current President is Dr. Oscar Arias. He is the only current world leader who has already won a Nobel Peace Prize. He was instrumental in Costa Rica ratifying a free trade agreement with the United States. 

Costa Rica has not had a military for over 60 years.  

Population

4,200,000 of which over 75% live in the San Jose metro area, which comprises only 4% of the entire country. 

Language

Spanish is the native language, but 10% of the population and all tourist towns have many English speaking Costa Ricans. Additionally, all elementary schools are mandated to teach English to students. 

Climate

Almost ideal year-round, the climate is a moderate 72 degrees in the highlands, while the lowlands and coastal areas range from the low 70's to the high 90's. Rainy season occurs from the end of May to November, with the heaviest rainfall in October.  The Pacific side and central parts of the country are driest from December through April with average highs between 80-85 degrees Fahrenheit and average lows between 72-75 degrees. 

Because of the climate, and the ease of flying into Costa Rica, at any given time there are approximately 50,000 Americans in Costa Rica, and increasingly a large amount of Europeans.  

Topography

Costa Rica has an incredibly diverse topography - from sea-level beaches on both the Caribbean and Pacific coasts to mountain peaks over 13,000 feet in altitude.  The Caribbean coast is 132 miles long while the Pacific coast is 635 miles long.