The real estate business has fallen by 90% since last year, according to representatives of Century 21 real estate.
An article by Reuters reporter John McPhaul described the situation of the construction industry in Tamarindo on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica and reported that most projects are at a standstill.
Among the reasons given is credit restriction, a product of the global crisis and the decline in tourism which, according to figures from the Chamber of Costa Rican Hotels, has dropped one third in the first two months of 2009, compared to the same period in 2008.
The Spanish group, Rentability & Investment International, will build a housing and tourist project, Ibiza Beach Crown/Condo Hotel, directed to the middle-class on the Pacific coast.
Roberto Rollón, president of the group, informed Americaeconomica.com: "The apartments, of one or two bedrooms, will be able to be rented for short periods to maintain them active all year long and, thus, they wil be able to contribute to the payment of the mortgage loan of the owners. "With this, it is intended that all medium-income Panamanians can have an apartment at the beach."
A specialized company is setting up a portfolio of condominiums and luxury homes for auction in April, in response to the drop in the demand for housing.
The slowdown in the sale of properties at the various new housing projects in Panama has investors worried; however the auctions provide an alternative with which they can, at the least, recover a part of their investment.
The project at Villa Los Cabos, a new residential complex with 26 villas, is scheduled to be completed in November.
Elperiodico.gt report: "Situated in the municipality of Taxisco, Santa Rosa, at Kilometer 11.5 on road that connects the port of Iztapa to Monterrico, the Villas Los Cabos is a new residential complex.
"We found the perfect location. It was a matter of gut feeling," said Jorge Castaneda, whose real estate company has already sold 64 of the 72 apartments to a select list of clients, many of them long time acquaintances of the company."
The company will administer the $70 million "Jade Condo Hotel Residences & Beach Club" project.
The 190 residence and 50 villa project is being developed by Space Source Inc. which plans to begin construction in the spring of 2009 and to inaugurate it in 2010.
It is located in Manuel Antonio in the pacific coast of Costa Rica.
The Fitch assessment provides a glimpse into the way the financial community is reevaluating even well performing developments in the wake of the credit crunch.
Fitch Ratings downgraded $220 million of debt on the Trump Ocean Club project in Panama City, warning price declines “could lead to higher than expected default rates for existing buyers.”
To date, prices in the Trump project, where low-end units typically cost around $500,000 (€370,000), have remained “stable,” Fitch notes in its report on Newland International Properties, the developer. However, between August and October of 2008 the project “experienced a significant decrease in project absorption rates.”
The Reunión Antigua Golf Resort will open its doors to the public next January. The investment is coming from Guatemalans.
The Antigua Golf Resort offers an 18 hole golf course, a luxury apartment complex, a 35 suite hotel, and they expect the Hilton chain to build another hotel complex, Waldorf Astoria with 100 rooms, in the short term.
The resort is located in Sacatepéquez, next to Escuintla and five kilometers from the Los Volcanes racetrack.
American real estate company, RKI, presented a tourism development project for the island of Guanaja to the Government of Honduras
RKI (Richard Knorr International) presented the project, called Arrow Green, to the Minister of Tourism for Honduras, Ricardo Martinez, at a meeting of Honduran and American officials and business persons on September 24 in Chicago.
The "Key View Hotel and Condominiums" project, located in La Ceiba, includes a condominium tower and a five star hotel.
The company in charge of the construction is Inmobiliaria Turística del Caribe, which has more than 10 years of experience in this type of work.
The bank that is financing the tourism project is Wachovia of New York and Ficohsa in Honduras.
DayStar Properties, an American company, is planning to build four more condominiums in Jaca, on Central Pacific coast.
These will be in addition to the three that were recently opened in said zone, called the Bahia Azul (Blue Bay), La Paloma Blanca (White Dove) and Bahia Encatada (Enchanted Bay). These complexes stand out for their seaside locations which were obtained when Pat Hundley, founder and president of the group, bought the properties five years ago.
An ambitious beach resort, calculated to be approximately 692 acres, is being developed in the east of the country.
The project which includes a golf course, several hotels, a residential complex, open areas, plazas with arts and crafts shops, a supermarket and convenience stores, and will be based on the architectural layout of Antigua in Guatemala.
Punta Leona will have a new real estate project, a condo-hotel type that is being developed by the Gordienko Family.
The construction of phase one, made up of 60 units, will begin in October at a cost of $5 million.
Limoncito, the name of the development, will have a total of 348 suites with prices start at $200 thousand and penthouses starting at $1 million.
The international hotel chain Marriott is expanding into Panama, and will spend 40 million dollars on a 300-room hotel in Panama City.
Edward Fuller, president and executive director of the region for Mariott International, said the project will be part of their luxury brand Renaissance.
The project will have two towers: the first will be the hotel ana up to 150 apartments, while the second is to be reserved for offices.