Wednesday, October 13, 2010
White sand, turquoise water, sunshine, and palm trees...what more could you want?
Dear Reader,
It's the stuff of glossy magazine travel supplements: a wide carpet of dazzling white sand, fringed with lofty coconut palms, and washed by glittering-turquoise ocean. With the Dominican Republic's best beaches, this place is also tourist heaven; and home to most of the country's all-inclusive resorts. When friends or family tell you they've visited the Dominican Republic, chances are they spent their time here.
Bávaro, on the Coconut Coast, was the next stop on my scouting trip around the Dominican Republic. (For a map, click here).
The Coconut Coast covers 32km (20 miles) of the country's southeast. With a warm, dry climate and plenty of sunshine, it's the ideal spot for anyone looking for a picture-perfect Caribbean escape. The Dominican government selected the Coconut Coast as the country's tourist hotspot, back when it was an undeveloped, wild coast. It was lacking infrastructure, but had lots of cheap land. And major hotel groups--mostly European--quickly snapped up prime beachfront parcels of this land.
A private company built an international airport in 1984 (at Punta Cana, 5.5 miles from Bávaro), making getting here easy from Europe, the US, and Canada. Tourist traffic through Punta Cana airport more than doubled from 2000-2009. In the past, most of the country's tourists came from Europe. In 2006, north American arrivals at Punta Cana airport outnumbered Europeans for the first time, and that trend continues.
Don't expect a major city on the Coconut Coast though. Despite the high tourist numbers, the only proper town is El Cortecito, close to Bávaro's beaches. El Cortecito started as fishing village, next becoming a town for the workers building the hotels and infrastructure on this coast. The original town lacks any real charm; it's not quaint or colonial. Instead, it's convenient...with ATMs, banks, hardware stores, car rental agencies, and a smattering of bars and restaurants. In the short strip between El Cortecito and the beach, you'll come across new plazas, shopping malls, and American-style cafes and restaurants. A huge shopping mall about to open promises a cinema, and all the luxury designer brands you could possibly want, under one roof.
The upside of having major hotel chains on the Coconut Coast is that the infrastructure in this area is good quality, starting with the airport, which has a planned expansion. Also, a new highway under construction, the Coral Highway, will make getting to Santo Domingo, the country's capital, quicker and easier, cutting the drive time from the current 3.5 hours to 2 hours. That should bring more well-heeled Dominicans to Punta Cana for weekend and vacation trips.
The nightlife is excellent, with each hotel resort offering something different. You won't want for golf courses, either, with 12 along the Coconut Coast. Moreover, the little cafes and plazas dotted around Bávaro give the place an upscale feel. It's all a bit "Miami"--sun, sand and fun.
The downside of the hotel chains starts with the lack of local flavor. It's not entirely their fault; this area was developed from scratch, rather than expanding on little fishing villages and local beach towns already in place. It doesn't feel very Dominican here, although most tourists won't notice--as they don't venture outside the confines of their all-inclusive resort. The hotels make it difficult for anyone other than guests to get to the beach, too, despite the fact that all beaches in the Dominican Republic are public beach. Just try explaining that to the security guys as you try to cross their ropes and barriers...
It's the perfect playground for swimming, tanning, and relaxing in the sun
Another drawback is the cost of beachfront land, brought about by the hotel chains. Larger land parcels suitable for hotel development command premium prices these days. Smaller parcels rarely come onto the market (they just aren't available), and when they do, the pricing reflects the premium paid for the large pieces. A developer showed us a 3000 square meter parcel he had purchased, fronting a beautiful section of beach. He paid $4 million. If he built 20 condos, the land cost alone comes to $200,000 per condo. Then you factor in the cost of permits and approvals, architects, build costs...and it's not surprising that beach properties don't come cheap here.
And if you buy a property here and plan on renting it out short-term...think of the competition from the hotels, and their 24,000 rooms. You'll find some opportunities in rentals for a week or a month at a time. Long-term rentals also make sense, but you need to choose your area carefully. One private community I looked at had sold land parcels to developers. Many built condos, and a glut came on the market at the same time. Prices varied wildly, as did build and finish quality. Developers who couldn't sell started renting units--and cut the rental rates to as little as $600 a month to entice tenants. That slashed the rental rates that other owners could charge.
Getting titled property here can be tricky. Signs for new condos sometimes state "with title". That rang alarm bells...shouldn't they all have title? Not necessarily. It can take 1-2 years to get title here, and developers sometimes start construction before they start the process of titling individual units.
It can relate to the new density regulations here too, which is tied to the number of bedrooms (yes, blame the hotels again).
If this all sounds negative, it's not meant to. There's a reason more tourists come here than anywhere else in the Dominican Republic. It's stunning...the Caribbean beach and ocean we all dream of. And properties in new little communities springing up back from the beach are still very affordable.
You can still find affordable properties off-beach here
Only 500 meters from the beach, 2-bed, 2-bath units in 3-story blocks start at $147,000. With 115 square meters (1237 square feet), the units come with marble floors and granite countertops. The development is close to the beach, and also shopping, restaurants, banks and a hospital. The condos are currently under construction.
Closer to the beach--only 30 meters to walk--is another small development of 18 condos. Only five units remain. A 2-bed 2-bath unit is on the market at $170,000, for 110 square meters (1200 square feet). Amenities include a pool, gazebo, and barbeque area. All five units have partial ocean views, and high-end finishes.
Both these developments lie within a planned community, with different developers building small condo developments of 3 to 4 stories. Most of the current owners are using the condos as second homes, spending the winter months and vacations here, while some rent their properties out long-term.
If you prefer a resort lifestyle, then one development offers condos and villas in a golf and beach community. You'll pay more for this privileged lifestyle, of course. One-bed one-bath units, 95 square meters in size (1022 square feet), start at $190,000. You'll have access to the resort's amenities, and the hotel group will offer property management services. The resort is ultra-luxurious, with ornate furnishings, stylish restaurants, and an incredible spa. The golf course--a P.B. Dye design with 18-holes--is already finished, along with the clubhouse, pro-shop and bar.
If you're looking for somewhere with year-round warmth, and dry sunny weather...perfect beaches, and balmy tropical water...good infrastructure...proximity to the US...and a relaxed, easy second-home destination, then Bávaro could be exactly what you're looking for. You're likely to have frequent visits from friends and family, eager to share your piece in paradise. And off-beach properties are still affordable.
Contact Scott Medina, a broker we work with here, if you'd like to know more about properties in Bávaro.
Margaret Summerfield
Posted Under:
beachfront, dominican republic
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