Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Dear Reader,
The most underdeveloped stretch of coast in Ecuador lies between Canoa and Pedernales. Here, you won’t find all-inclusives, chain hotels, mega-resorts, or high-rises lining the beach. What you will find are sleepy beach towns, tranquil fishing villages, and property prices that are low even by Ecuadorian standards.
This is my favorite stretch of coast, without question. Both for its future potential, as well as its natural beauty.
The landscape is a fuzzy green relief map of dense foliage, trees packed tight together, crowning the hills. Vistas flit by…curved sandy inlets…ribbons of pristine beach, washed by clear blue water…tiny coves…and bays with little fishing boats bobbing on the ocean.
Early morning rush hour here is a touch more leisurely than back home. The sun rises, clearing the early-morning mist, over the thickly forested emerald hills. Small roadside restaurants open up, wafting the aroma of coffee and fresh-cooked breakfast on the morning air. Vendors travel from village to village, their vans piled high with eggs, vegetables and bananas. Fishermen head out to sea in their small wooden boats, hoping for a good catch.
It’s a simpler way of life here, free of big-city stress and worries. It’s relatively unexplored, mainly because it’s tricky getting here. That’s why property prices stayed low. However, all of that’s changing…
Construction on a new highway from Quito to Pedernales is well advanced, with much of the work completed. This highway links up with the main highway connecting Atacames and Manta (see map here). Work on The Atacames-Manta highway is 90% complete.
Work is also progressing ahead of schedule on the bridge from Bahía de Caráquez to San Vicente. Completion is due in October. The highways and bridge form part of an infrastructure plan, connecting Manta with Quito (via the new Bahía bridge) with a four-lane highway.
The highway upgrades are good news for the piece of coast from Canoa to Pedernales. Driving here from Quito will be faster, smoother and more comfortable. Currently, you can fly into Manta and drive here via Bahía…but you can wait up to 4 hours for the car ferry in Bahía. The bridge will cut out the ferry, shaving valuable hours off the drive time.
Plus, the local airport in San Vicente is open for business, waiting for a domestic carrier to start flights from Quito. San Vicente is only 12 miles south of Canoa. Once the flights from Quito start, this coast won’t be off the beaten track; instead, it’ll have a trail of tourists seeking the best spot for a second home on the sand.
This stretch of coast is definitely becoming more accessible…but right now, property prices are some of the lowest you’ll come across, especially for large land parcels with beachfront. Those large tracts cost as little as $800 an acre. You’ll pay more for smaller pieces, but the value is still amazing.
Developers are waking up to the potential of this area, and are carving up those larger parcels. Some plan on holding the land, others on developing it in the future. Right now, if you’re looking for a second home in this location, it’s not easy. There are few private communities or subdivisions. The only one we’ve seen that’s worth looking at is Coco Beach.
Four miles from Jama, and on the edge of the fishing village of El Matal, you’ll find Coco Beach Village. The developers, brothers Gary and Larry Swenson, didn’t like the way the local planning authority encouraged unsightly, ecologically unsound building practices. So they spent three years getting the local municipality to change the rules.
Instead of a large number of small lots, Coco Beach has just 66 lots in 21 acres, with two quiet streets. Instead of a boardwalk separating the homes from the beach, you can walk a few steps from your front door and wiggle your toes in the sand. All the utilities are underground, preserving the views over the virgin beach.
A thousand coconut palms spread throughout the development. The protected hills at the back of the property provide a fresh green backdrop to the ocean waves washing gently on the shore.
The Swensons’ determination to do things the right way at Coco Beach extends to construction, too. The on-site workshop makes hardwood doors, cupboards and window frames. The homes feature arched window openings, terracotta floor tiles, and spacious roof terraces. We watched workers taking apart a low wall; they hadn’t followed Gary’s instructions, and too much concrete was visible (he wanted a dry stone effect).
Surprisingly, construction costs running around $45 per square foot gets you a good standard of construction, and builds you a 1,300-square-foot house in this gated community for $58,500. And with quarter-acre sites starting from $52,375, your new home in this tranquil beach community will cost just over $110,000…50-60% less than you’d pay for a similar beach property in Nicaragua, Panama, or Costa Rica.
This place isn’t mainstream yet…and if you wait until it is, prices won’t be at the current low level—you’ll pay significantly more. If you want a second home in a tranquil beach setting without the hustlers and annoyances (and higher prices) of more developed locations, you should start looking here now.
Margaret Summerfield
You might also be interested in:
An Undeveloped, Pristine Coast That’s Now On The Move
Posted Under:
Want More?
Sign up here for your free Pathfinder Alert e-letter, and we’ll send you our $50,000 Report...showcasing seven real estate opportunities for $50,000.
