Offering more amenities in residential complexes and maintaining the discounts offered in housing fairs for longer are some of the strategies applied by real estate developers in Costa Rica to increase sales of new homes.
According to the most recent figures from the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INEC), between the first half of 2018 and the same period in 2019 the number of houses built in Costa Rica fell by 11% from 10,753 to 9,620.
Construction material imports have reported significant decreases in Nicaragua since April, mainly between May and July.
According to data from the Central Bank of Nicaragua (BCN), purchases abroad of construction materials fell 13% between January and July this year with respect to the same period in 2017, declining from $229 million to $198 million.
Stagnation in private investment has been attributed to a 26.7% reduction in the number of homes completed up to March 2014 compared to the same month last year.
The decrease in investment in the sector seems to be the main reason behind the stagnation showing in construction activities in the country, one of the main drivers of the economy.
"...Official data indicates that the growth of the overall investment was 1.6% in the first quarter of 2014. However the private sector barely grew 0.5%. A total "stagnation" is recognized by the Nicaraguan Chamber of Construction (CNC) and the Nicaraguan Foundation for Economic and Social Development (Funides). "
For 2013, the Chamber of Builders of Nicaragua projects an increase in housing construction of between 10% and 12%, the lowest percentage in the past three years.
"In the last three years, not including the current one, between 12,000 and 14,000 homes were built, that's a ratio of about 4000 houses per year, for this reason we believe that this year growth will not have the same level bringing acceleration," said Alberto Atha, vice president of the Chamber of Urban Builders (Cadur).
The lack of public investment, credit restrictions and political instability are some of the reasons.
This was pointed out by representatives of the Regional Organization of Construction Chambers of Central America and the Caribbean, participants in the conference "Financing and Sustainable Development."
The countries which have lost the most jobs in the sector are El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras.
In the first three months of the year, the construction industry registered 31% less activity than in the same period of 2009.
The best performing subsectors were residential and industrial construction, with a combined drop of -20.3% in the first quarter of the year, and -5.3% when compared to the last quarter of 2009.
Commercial construction was the worst performer, falling 52.8% when compared to the same quarter of 2009.
This year, the construction industry will contribute $60 million less to the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
On average, this industry contributed some $400 million to the nation's GDP each year. However, estimates for 2009 put it at $340 million.
"This somber scenario is further worsened by the loss of 7.000 jobs so far this year, which may not be recovered, said Mario Zelaya, President of the Nicaraguan Construction Chamber, to newspaper La Prensa".
During the last year and half, there has been a 40% loss in employment in the formal sector, and of that figure, 20% was from this year.
Estimates from the Nicaraguan Chamber of Construction (CNC, acronym in Spanish), composed of 45 active companies, indicate that at least 15,000 people, mainly laborers and job supervisors, lost their jobs since the beginning of last year.
EXPORTA El Salvador estimated the value of the regional construction sector, excluding El Salvador, at $7.12 billion.
The figure comes from a study by EXPORTA, the Salvadoran Export Promotion Agency, focused on market opportunities presented by the construction sector in Central America for Salvadoran firms.
The findings, published in an article in La Prensa Gráfica, emphasized that "services in the construction industry are more developed in Panama, Guatemala and Costa Rica, mainly because of foreign or public investment in tourism and large infrastructure;" and in Panama, despite the slowdown, "the majority of the projects are still in progress."