Value of Real Estate Shot Up in Canton of Santo Domingo
The old adobe houses in Santo Domingo (Heredia, Costa Rica) that have distinguished this canton for years have been turning into luxury residences, where who lives there least a re the Domingueños.Santo Domingo has been turning into a dormitory canton of high status, where the price of its land and real estate has risen considerably, above all in the past five years.
At this moment, the average price per square meter is $150 (around ¢67.000).
According to the chief of valuation of the municipality, Guillermo Ibarra Baez, this price is normal for the new residences that are developed in the canton.
“The amount can vary, but five years ago the value per square meter was much less than ¢50.000, and there are cases in which the value even reaches $160, which is more than ¢70.000; it’s impressive,” commented Ibarra.
The situation of high prices has created problems for neighbors.
Ericka Linares Orozco, local mayor, explained that the canton has become filled with luxury subdivisions and condominiums, inhabited by people from other places.
“The children of Domingueños don’t have the resources to buy lots here. The new generations have had to leave and people from elsewhere has come to populate here, with the inconvenience of not having roots and an identification with the canton,” explained the municipal leader.
The reason that Santo Domingo has been having an urbanistic development similar to Escazu or Santa Ana in San Jose has various explanations.
For some it is the proximity to the capital and the city of Heredia.
Others indicate that people are looking for an agreeable climate and not such a hot one as in the San Jose cantons mentioned earlier.
But also there are those that give a lot of value to the fact that the canton is attractive for people because its cleanliness and its small town image.
“I believe it’s a little of everything. But I think that the climate weighs heavily and the small town image. Escazu already became very cosmopolitan, with a lot of bars, and Santa Ana is very hot,” declared Hugo Fatjo Fernandez, who is an expert in Costa Rica real estate.
Another factor: According to this businessman, one of the elements that made the prices of the lands of Santo Domingo rise was the construction of the Hotel Bouganvillea.
“But, definitely, buyers like this urban-rural environment. They are in a very clean community, where people still say hello, say good morning, and the community is very orderly,” Fatjo added.
At this moment, besides the small adobe houses at the head of the canton, residences that easily surpass $1 million can also be observed, and not only a few.
It’s possible to find condominiums or complete residences where the lowest price of a house is $200,000. Other more “working-class” ones value $105,000.