Judith Fox-Hogg : Market Conditions

Real Estate Tourism in Dominican Republic

Judith Fox-Hogg — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 15:12:00 GMT

Property outlook is great and real estate tourism is booming in the Dominican Republic, says the forecast from the Dominican Association of Real Estate Tourism Companies (ADETI).
U.S. $1.5 billion is invested in real estate property developments in Dominican Republic, says the ADETI President, Juan Bancalari. The real estate tourism prospective is even more upbeat considering the fact that it is expected to attract US$3.0 billion per year within three years.

Marinas, beaches and golf courses are the leading factors that make real estate tourism and investment in the Dominican Republic so attractive. However, the country has competitors such as the wonderful beaches of Mexico and Central America. For this reason Bancalari, the president of Dominican Association of Real Estate Tourism Companies, says that the country needs to project an image of security for real estate and other types of investments to develop tourism and properties for European and American holiday vacationers.

It seems that the projection of a secure investment environment is working. As real estate development is experiencing a slump in Florida, a local engineering company is looking not only outside of the box, but also outside of the U.S. borders. “Bonita Springs-based Stafford Engineering will open the doors of a new office in downtown Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic, on Tuesday and begin offering architectural, engineering, real estate, construction management and business relocation services in the Caribbean Island country.” – reports Naplesnews.com in its July 31, 2007 issue.

The newspaper says that “Other Southwest Florida businesses also are moving into Caribbean markets, Garcia added: Cape Coral-based Bellagio Homes and SJR Development are developing a residential community in the Dominican Republic, and The Jack Parker Corp., a Fort Myers-based real estate development company, is building a mixed-use community in Costa Rica.”

There is a change in tourism and holiday vacationers’ trends. According to Frank Rainieri, the vice president of ADETI, tourism is changing toward real estate tourism. "Before hotels were simply pure hotels. All the large chains of the world (...) are already entering the tourism real estate component. I believe that that already creates the new dynamics of investment in the tourism sector." - Dominicantoday.com.

Tourism, and particularly real estate property tourism, has been among the top five currency generating factors for Dominican Republic. It was this type of tourism that created the boom in the coastal areas of Southern Spain in 1970s and 1980s, which used to be Spain’s most economically depressed areas. Today, due to the real estate tourism and boom in properties, these have become some of Spain’s most developed and attractive areas. The Dominican Republic intends to do just the same by attracting more real estate tourism and emphasising that investing in the Dominican Republic’s real estate and property market is safe and secure.

Moves to Increase Foreign Trade

Judith Fox-Hogg — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 15:10:00 GMT

President Leonel Fernandez has opened the new Institute of Foreign Trade and Business Innovation of the Dominican Republic (I-CEi), a training center for the development of foreign trade and investment. The facility was built at a cost of RD$180 million donated by the Japanese Agency for International Cooperation (JICA). Two Japanese firms, Yamashita Sekkei Inc. and Fujita Corporation, were responsible for the construction. The Japanese ambassador to the Dominican Republic, Shinomiya Nobutaka, emphasized the ties between the two nations and cooperation among governments over the years.

The Institute will contribute to the goal of doubling exports in the next four years. Exports are now at US$6.5 billion. The I-CEi will train executives from large Dominican corporations with exports of US$300 million or more to convert these to global companies and at the same time prepare executives of small and medium-sized businesses so their companies can export.

Property Market Still Buoyant on North Coast

Judith Fox-Hogg — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 14:54:00 GMT

According to a recent report in Hoy newspaper, house and apartment sales and new construction have decreased considerably in recent months in the Dominican Republic as a whole, due to rising costs of materials and borrowing. Doubtless, financial factors in North America and Europe have also had an impact. Despite this, Jaime Gonzalez, president of the Constructors and Housing Promoters Association (ACOPROVI), says that real estate sales have maintained a steady pace in tourist areas around the country. West Indies Real Estate has certainly found this to be the case on the booming north coast, where construction of new projects and individual homes continues at an exciting rate. West Indies continues to secure sales for properties across the board, helped by our longstanding reputation and many word of mouth