http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/03/g...estate-in-the-dominican-republic.html?_r=1&hp
May 2, 2012
[h=1]<nyt_headline type=" " version="1.0">House Hunting in ... the Dominican Republic</nyt_headline>[/h]<nyt_byline>[h=6]By ALISON GREGOR[/h]</nyt_byline><nyt_text><nyt_correction_top></nyt_correction_top>A BEACHFRONT VILLA IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
$1.4 MILLION
This three-bedroom villa, built in 2002 in Las Terrenas, in the northeastern part of the country, has almost 4,000 square feet of space; the deep veranda and scalloped fascia evoke a traditional Caribbean-style home. With its louvered doors and windows, some adorned with lathed shapes, the house sits on two-fifths of an acre in a gated subdivision on the popular Saman? Peninsula.
The front door opens into a large living room with a rattan sofa and loveseats. (The asking price covers all furnishings, including antiques and Chinese and Indian furniture.) Broad louvered doors of treated American pine lead to the 1,300-square-foot veranda, which faces the ocean. To the left of the living room are two bedrooms with en-suite baths. To the right, adjacent to a guest bath, a staircase leads up to the master suite. Beyond the staircase is the kitchen, which is outfitted with appliances by the German company Teka. There are two bars for dining: one with seating off the living room, the other with seating on the veranda. Hanging shuttered panels can be used to shut off the kitchen. The veranda is fully furnished, with dining table, rattan sofas, lounge chairs and a hammock.
On the second floor, the airy master bedroom also has louvered doors of American pine; they open to a 325-square-foot sea view terrace. An ornate ironwood canopy bed from India is the centerpiece of the bedroom, which has a dressing room as well as an en-suite bath. The Jacuzzi tub faces large windows of frosted glass and shutters. The bedrooms are air-conditioned; the rest of the house, including the veranda, is cooled with ceiling fans.
Since the major Caribbean islands are in an earthquake zone, the concrete-block foundation is built to withstand tremors. The water, although treated, is not potable. The house has backup power during outages, which may occur one or two hours a week, said Alexandre Houisse of Coldwell Banker Coast to Coast Real Estate, the listing agent. Las Terrenas, in the province of Saman?, is not typically struck by hurricanes, he said. Flooding, too, is uncommon, because the beach, Playa las Ballenas, is protected by a large coral reef.
The villa has landscaped gardens, an adjacent garage, and a thatched-roof shelter with a barbecue pit. Its gated subdivision, PLB Playa las Ballenas, has about 15 homes and provides security. Las Terrenas, a community of about 13,900, has supermarkets, restaurants and shops; it is about two hours? drive from Santo Domingo, the capital. The international airport in El Catey is about 20 minutes? drive. Los Haitises National Park is also nearby, although it can be reached only by boat. It is famous for its limestone formations, caves and grottoes with petroglyphs by the Taino Indians.
MARKET OVERVIEW
More foreign tourists fly in to the Dominican Republic than any other island in the Caribbean, though the Bahamas receive just about as many tourists on cruise ships. Over the past decade, the country had a building boom, much of it fueled by foreign buyers. Because most of them still pay in cash, the economic crisis has not generated a significant number of foreclosures. Even so, it did push prices down by about 20 to 25 percent, Mr. Houisse said.
The amount of new development, too, has fallen, by 70 to 80 percent, as a result of skittishness about global financial troubles, said Sandy Parekh, broker-owner of Remax Coral Bay Realty. ?A lot of people that were going to develop projects have all put them on hold,? he said, ?and there?s still very few projects that are starting at the moment.?
Prices, however, have now stabilized, and the market for the few available new homes is strong, said Philip Weiser, managing director of the real estate agency Carlton International. ?The market for resale properties still has to recover,? he said. ?There are many middle-range products remaining on the market, but quality properties sell very well.?
According to Mr. Parekh, a 6,000-square-foot home on the ocean might cost about $1,350 a square meter, while a beachfront condo would run about $1,850. Mr. Houisse said the villa featured here ? listed at $3,784 a square meter ? costs much more than average. ?The beach spot is wonderful, and the house is very nice,? he said, ?so I think the price is right. You can find other beachfront villas that are cheaper, but not this kind of villa, and they?ll have less land.?
WHO BUYS IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Foreign buyers tend to come from North America and Europe, primarily, although there are some Russians, brokers said.
?Over the past 10 years,? Mr. Weiser said, ?the Dominican Republic has undergone unprecedented development, attracting investors from France, Switzerland, the United States, Germany, Italy ? and, more recently, Dominicans themselves, together with investors from South America.?
Different parts of the island appeal to different types of buyer. The south, which has many all-inclusive resorts and condominiums, is popular with American and local buyers, Mr. Houisse said. The southeast, which includes the huge tourist destination Punta Cana, attracts more Dominican and Latin American buyers along with Europeans, he said. The northern coast, home of the easily accessible Saman? Peninsula, attracts Europeans, North Americans and Dominicans.
BUYING BASICS
There are no restrictions on foreign buyers. A lawyer should handle the sale and act as notary, brokers said. Typically, according to Mr. Parekh, a lawyer charges about 1 percent of the sale price.
The Dominican Republic does not license its agents, and novice buyers may sometimes be pressed to pay unwarranted ?commissions,? so buyers are strongly advised to educate themselves about the market, Mr. Parekh said. If clients do hire an agent, it?s best to work with one from an international franchise. ?That way,? he added, ?there?s actually a proper escalation process if you have issues with an agent, whereas if you use an independent agent, you have absolutely nowhere to go if you have problems.?
Typically, sellers pay the agent?s commission on a home sale, which may range from 3 to 10 percent, according to Mr. Parekh. Besides the lawyer?s commission, fees paid by the buyer include a 3 percent transfer tax and a 1.3 percent document stamp tax, Mr. Weiser said.
Until recently, almost all foreign buyers paid in cash, as local banks offered mortgages in Dominican pesos only, Mr. Parekh said. Recently, some banks have started offering mortgages in American dollars with interest rates starting at 8 percent.
WEB SITES
Official tourism site: Godominicanrepublic.com
Dominican Embassy in the United States: Domrep.org
LANGUAGES AND CURRENCY
Spanish; Dominican peso (1 Dominican peso = $0.025)
TAXES AND FEES
Property taxes are 1 percent on the fiscal value of the property above 5 million Dominican pesos. Property tax information was not available for this villa.
CONTACT
Alexandre Houisse, Coldwell Banker Coast to Coast Real Estate, 011-809-240-5656 or 011-809-240-6411; Cblasterrenas.com
</nyt_text>
May 2, 2012
[h=1]<nyt_headline type=" " version="1.0">House Hunting in ... the Dominican Republic</nyt_headline>[/h]<nyt_byline>[h=6]By ALISON GREGOR[/h]</nyt_byline><nyt_text><nyt_correction_top></nyt_correction_top>A BEACHFRONT VILLA IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
$1.4 MILLION
This three-bedroom villa, built in 2002 in Las Terrenas, in the northeastern part of the country, has almost 4,000 square feet of space; the deep veranda and scalloped fascia evoke a traditional Caribbean-style home. With its louvered doors and windows, some adorned with lathed shapes, the house sits on two-fifths of an acre in a gated subdivision on the popular Saman? Peninsula.
The front door opens into a large living room with a rattan sofa and loveseats. (The asking price covers all furnishings, including antiques and Chinese and Indian furniture.) Broad louvered doors of treated American pine lead to the 1,300-square-foot veranda, which faces the ocean. To the left of the living room are two bedrooms with en-suite baths. To the right, adjacent to a guest bath, a staircase leads up to the master suite. Beyond the staircase is the kitchen, which is outfitted with appliances by the German company Teka. There are two bars for dining: one with seating off the living room, the other with seating on the veranda. Hanging shuttered panels can be used to shut off the kitchen. The veranda is fully furnished, with dining table, rattan sofas, lounge chairs and a hammock.
On the second floor, the airy master bedroom also has louvered doors of American pine; they open to a 325-square-foot sea view terrace. An ornate ironwood canopy bed from India is the centerpiece of the bedroom, which has a dressing room as well as an en-suite bath. The Jacuzzi tub faces large windows of frosted glass and shutters. The bedrooms are air-conditioned; the rest of the house, including the veranda, is cooled with ceiling fans.
Since the major Caribbean islands are in an earthquake zone, the concrete-block foundation is built to withstand tremors. The water, although treated, is not potable. The house has backup power during outages, which may occur one or two hours a week, said Alexandre Houisse of Coldwell Banker Coast to Coast Real Estate, the listing agent. Las Terrenas, in the province of Saman?, is not typically struck by hurricanes, he said. Flooding, too, is uncommon, because the beach, Playa las Ballenas, is protected by a large coral reef.
The villa has landscaped gardens, an adjacent garage, and a thatched-roof shelter with a barbecue pit. Its gated subdivision, PLB Playa las Ballenas, has about 15 homes and provides security. Las Terrenas, a community of about 13,900, has supermarkets, restaurants and shops; it is about two hours? drive from Santo Domingo, the capital. The international airport in El Catey is about 20 minutes? drive. Los Haitises National Park is also nearby, although it can be reached only by boat. It is famous for its limestone formations, caves and grottoes with petroglyphs by the Taino Indians.
MARKET OVERVIEW
More foreign tourists fly in to the Dominican Republic than any other island in the Caribbean, though the Bahamas receive just about as many tourists on cruise ships. Over the past decade, the country had a building boom, much of it fueled by foreign buyers. Because most of them still pay in cash, the economic crisis has not generated a significant number of foreclosures. Even so, it did push prices down by about 20 to 25 percent, Mr. Houisse said.
The amount of new development, too, has fallen, by 70 to 80 percent, as a result of skittishness about global financial troubles, said Sandy Parekh, broker-owner of Remax Coral Bay Realty. ?A lot of people that were going to develop projects have all put them on hold,? he said, ?and there?s still very few projects that are starting at the moment.?
Prices, however, have now stabilized, and the market for the few available new homes is strong, said Philip Weiser, managing director of the real estate agency Carlton International. ?The market for resale properties still has to recover,? he said. ?There are many middle-range products remaining on the market, but quality properties sell very well.?
According to Mr. Parekh, a 6,000-square-foot home on the ocean might cost about $1,350 a square meter, while a beachfront condo would run about $1,850. Mr. Houisse said the villa featured here ? listed at $3,784 a square meter ? costs much more than average. ?The beach spot is wonderful, and the house is very nice,? he said, ?so I think the price is right. You can find other beachfront villas that are cheaper, but not this kind of villa, and they?ll have less land.?
WHO BUYS IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Foreign buyers tend to come from North America and Europe, primarily, although there are some Russians, brokers said.
?Over the past 10 years,? Mr. Weiser said, ?the Dominican Republic has undergone unprecedented development, attracting investors from France, Switzerland, the United States, Germany, Italy ? and, more recently, Dominicans themselves, together with investors from South America.?
Different parts of the island appeal to different types of buyer. The south, which has many all-inclusive resorts and condominiums, is popular with American and local buyers, Mr. Houisse said. The southeast, which includes the huge tourist destination Punta Cana, attracts more Dominican and Latin American buyers along with Europeans, he said. The northern coast, home of the easily accessible Saman? Peninsula, attracts Europeans, North Americans and Dominicans.
BUYING BASICS
There are no restrictions on foreign buyers. A lawyer should handle the sale and act as notary, brokers said. Typically, according to Mr. Parekh, a lawyer charges about 1 percent of the sale price.
The Dominican Republic does not license its agents, and novice buyers may sometimes be pressed to pay unwarranted ?commissions,? so buyers are strongly advised to educate themselves about the market, Mr. Parekh said. If clients do hire an agent, it?s best to work with one from an international franchise. ?That way,? he added, ?there?s actually a proper escalation process if you have issues with an agent, whereas if you use an independent agent, you have absolutely nowhere to go if you have problems.?
Typically, sellers pay the agent?s commission on a home sale, which may range from 3 to 10 percent, according to Mr. Parekh. Besides the lawyer?s commission, fees paid by the buyer include a 3 percent transfer tax and a 1.3 percent document stamp tax, Mr. Weiser said.
Until recently, almost all foreign buyers paid in cash, as local banks offered mortgages in Dominican pesos only, Mr. Parekh said. Recently, some banks have started offering mortgages in American dollars with interest rates starting at 8 percent.
WEB SITES
Official tourism site: Godominicanrepublic.com
Dominican Embassy in the United States: Domrep.org
LANGUAGES AND CURRENCY
Spanish; Dominican peso (1 Dominican peso = $0.025)
TAXES AND FEES
Property taxes are 1 percent on the fiscal value of the property above 5 million Dominican pesos. Property tax information was not available for this villa.
CONTACT
Alexandre Houisse, Coldwell Banker Coast to Coast Real Estate, 011-809-240-5656 or 011-809-240-6411; Cblasterrenas.com
</nyt_text>