Dominican Republic Real Estate

While building costs will of course vary on how complicated or luxurious you build, costs will of course be a function of how you want to finish the house (imported tile, marble floors, types of windows and doors, very upscale kitchen, etc., etc.). To offer an illustration, one client told us they obtained an estimate of US$107,000 to build a 1,000 square foot hunting cabin in the southeastern United States. In the Dominican Republic, an identical sized home will cost about US$45,000 more or less to complete (in fact there is a builder offering new 1,200 square foot homes 20 minutes outside the city for US$50,000 - on a 2,000 square foot lot. However, it is important to note that we are talking about a home built with cinderblock, poured concrete and metal bar inside the block. Wood construction is actually more expensive in the Dominican Republic and no one in his or her right mind would build with wood anyway. Concrete or block is stronger, insect and weather proof, and can be finished in such a way in that you would swear your walls are solid poured plaster (the way they used to build houses in the US or Canada 80 years ago). If you finish the outside facing with attractive local stonework you can have a very attractive home that would be almost prohibitive cost-wise elsewhere. Plus, you will have a house that never needs painting and will last more than a lifetime. Not fancy enough? Add a red or orange colored Spanish terra cotta style tiled roof or imported Italian and Spanish ceramic floor tile.
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While some building materials will cost about the same as they might in North America or Europe, the real difference can be found with local labor costs. A seasoned master mason will charge about US 70 cents per block for labor. General construction labor will cost about US$10 per day (no misprint, per day Ц not per hour). Other labor such as plumbing (using the very same PVC pipe used in the US) or electricity at equally reasonable costs, but you must of course shop around and get a few estimates.
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The real key of course to finding real estate bargains involves staying away from the normal traps. That is to say, there are always two markets, one for the locals and one for the tourists. Can you guess which costs more? While it certainly may be more comfortable for you to obtain a nice brochure in English with pretty photos, you can believe you are paying for it in more ways than one. Stated another way, while some very nice residential developments exist, such properties being offered at US$80,000 for a building lot or US$400,000 for a home are not only outrageous in price, but also way off what a local Dominican would pay for the same thing elsewhere. So, learn to look where tourists fear to tread or may not know about, which most certainly involves brushing up on Spanish (the official language of the country). In summary, the true real estate bargains and true local real estate prices are not to be found by reviewing real estate being marketed in English, or by visiting some of the high priced real estate chains either. Bargains will be found by doing some of your own investigation and by talking to the local people directly, and simply by scouring the local market.
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We discussed the city of Santo Domingo, but what about the rest of the country? Certainly, there are a number of very inexpensive or reasonably priced properties both in the mountains and at the beach if you know where to look (and if you poke around in the countryside yourself). In the past, one of our clients reporting buying a roughly one acre lot on a bluff overlooking the ocean (North Coast) for US$22,000. Another client has purchased 8 acres of farmland for US$27,000. Yet another purchased a smaller building lot for US$14,000. One client rented a small but very nice home in the mountains for US$350 per month. In Santo Domingo, a brand-new 4 bedroom 3 bath home (the master bath even has a jacuzzi) in a residential area recently rented for US$475 per month. Granted, these are examples of what some of our clients have paid in the past (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004) but the point is that these situations are possible, if you take the time to scout around. Stay away from ads offering rentals in US Dollars. You will find a few of these kind of advertisements, but no Dominican in his right mind would (and certainly most do not have the capacity, even prefessional people) pay US$1,500 monthly rental for a home or apartment. The highest priced monthly rentals we have seen (in pesos, for a very upscale apartment in Santo Domingo) have not been more than the equivalent of US$800 per month, and even this is high by local standards.
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Where are some of the best places to investigate? Well, mainly in those places, which are undiscovered by tourists or we can say undeveloped. For beachfront, such areas include sections of Barahona, west of Santo Domingo and the areas near Miches and Sabana de La Mar on the inside bay of Samana. The Samana peninsula also is a beautiful spot and is also one place to look as well. However it is starting to become discovered and this in and of itself has driven up some real estate prices accordingly. For property in the mountains or non-beachfront, areas around Salcedo, Monte Plata, and San Juan offer some prospects.

by Dominicanrepublicpage.com