Ecuador’s Finest Beach Resort—With Developer Financing

Wednesday, June 09, 2010

Dear Reader,

Manta, a busy city on Ecuador’s south Pacific coast, is increasingly popular with overseas property buyers. Manta has the big-city conveniences: good medical facilities, modern shopping malls, and large supermarkets. The airport has many direct flights to Quito and Guayaquil airports, and the city is encouraging international airlines to start using Manta as Ecuador’s third international airport. There’s a small, active community of expats here, who host get-togethers, help newcomers get oriented, and pitch in when someone needs their help.

The tropical weather is warm year-round. With low property prices, it’s easy to see why Manta stacks up well as a second home destination. The only thing lacking is a stylish, modern beach resort. But the city’s finally getting one. That’s not just good news for the locals. You should pay attention, too. This is one of the lowest-priced resort properties I’ve seen…and it comes with developer financing. 

Manta’s roots are in the fishing industry. It’s a port city, and in fact it’s the closest port in South America to Japan, China and Southeast Asia. Manta is an important center for the tuna industry, too (tuna is one of Ecuador’s main exports), with 80 vessels using Manta as a homeport, traveling as far afield as Samoa in the South Pacific.

Since the 1950s, Ecuadorians living inland have visited Manta for two to four weeks a year, to rent a place near the beach. Over the years, this local tourism industry grew. Today, eighty hotels and guesthouses in the city offer a range of accommodations. Cruise liners dock regularly, too. Since 1994, more than 100 cruise ships have arrived in the city, bringing 60,000 passengers. Many of the passengers travel the short distance inland to the town of Montecristi, home of the original “Panama”  hat, and a bustling weekend market selling everything from handcrafts to kitchenware to clothing.

Manta is determined to attract increasing numbers of visitors. As part of their efforts to promote tourism, the city hosts many festivals, including a Theater Festival. The Chamber of Commerce even organizes a street party in October, with fairground attractions, and dancing in the downtown streets, with up to 10 orchestras playing simultaneously on different stages.

The boardwalk restaurants overlook the beach, and specialize in seafood and fresh tropical juice drinks. The boardwalk bars pick up the pace in the evenings and on weekends,  with live music and a party atmosphere.

The two main city beaches are Playa Tarqui and Playa Murcielago (Bat Beach). Playa Tarqui is home to the fishing fleet. The early-morning market here is a bustle of fishermen,  seafood buyers for restaurants and stores, and housewives. You can watch the ancient art of boat building, too. Marine carpenters still create wooden boats from scratch on this beach, and carry out repairs.

Playa Murcielago in the early morning is a tranquil contrast: joggers and walkers starting their day with exercise and fresh ocean air, and the odd late-night partygoer heading home.

The locals enjoy sports like sailing, surfing, diving and deep-sea fishing—and tennis, too. An ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) tournament plays here annually, since 2004.

Property prices in Manta are among the highest on the coast. That’s partly due to the city’s popularity with middle-class professionals from Quito, who demand a higher level of finish than average.

One development I saw incorporated a strong sail-shaped design element into the exterior of the building. The luxurious lobby had Italian marble flooring, art sculptures, and water features. It all felt modern, and cutting-edge. The condos high-end kitchen and bathroom fittings were gorgeous. The building is centrally located, a short stroll from the boardwalk’s restaurants and cafes, and next to the beach. The original pre-construction price for these condos was $750 a square meter in 2006. By late 2008, re-sale pricing reached $1200 a square meter, a record even for Manta. Buyers wanted the luxurious, stylish touches that epitomized the building.

While Manta isn’t postcard-pretty—there’s no denying that at heart it’s an industrial port city—the in-town beaches aren’t bad. Moreover, the beach areas north and south of here are very scenic, and easily accessed on good roads. Manta makes sense if you want a city coastal property in Ecuador. You’ll pay a little more for having that comfort zone of hospitals, an airport, shopping malls, gyms, supermarkets, and an expat community. The upside?  The city’s popularity with both locals and expats means it’s likely the easiest market along this section of coast for finding a buyer at resale time.

Just a short five-minute drive from the city, a new beach development sits on a beautiful light-sand beach, washed by the deep-blue Pacific. Covering 100 acres, the master plan includes a medical center, tennis courts, gym, spa, swimming pools,  and a choice of restaurants.This was by far the best beach development I saw on Ecuador’s southern Pacific coast: the best amenities, and the best location, combined with an experienced developer…and developer financing. There’s simply no other resort development offering so much around here.

The developer has just released a new phase of condos. Two bed, two and a half bath condos with 950 square feet of indoor space plus a 250 square foot outdoor terrace, start at $121,000.  All the units have ocean views. Developer financing sweetens the deal, too.  You’ll make a down payment of 10%, followed by 24 monthly payments. The down payment and monthly payments combined cover 40% of the purchase price, and then you’ll pay the 60% balance on completion. The scheduled completion date is July 2012.

For the $121,000 unit, that means $12,100 down, 24 payments of $1512.50 per month, and a final payment of $72,600.

This impressive project is the first true beach resort development in this area. It appeals to locals with families (who’ve snapped up most of the lots for building a beach home), and expats seeking a place in the sun (they’re more interested in the condos). Once completed, with all the amenities in, the resort should easily attract renters, too. Add in a price per square meter that’s less than half what you’d pay for a similar beach condo in Panama or Costa Rica, and it’s easy to understand the appeal of these units. Contact Mike Sager here to lock down your unit today.

Margaret Summerfield

---

Posted Under:

ecuador, beachfront, developer financing

---