Interesting
RESPONDING TO JALOPEZ- There are strategic, important advantages to the Juan Dolio area that will attract savy investors who seek long term property appreciation, and who are interested in a more urbanized tropical vacation- blending benefits of beach, golf, sun and fun, with more sophisticated cultural aspects unavailable at destination locations- locked in resorts.
Juan Dolio, to be truly successful, requires secondary infrastructure that includes family activities, entertainment, better international schools and medical facilities (being improved as this is written), and a variety of commercial alternatives for shopping and spending - engine of a permanent local economy.
Whereas San Pedro is available, it is quite behind in terms of hygenic quality, and it lacks the better end restaurants in exhange for beer joints and a poorly maintained malecon. You can forget Boca Chica, where the restaurants play host to all inclusive strays and a good number of locals of questionable repute. Its not the best area to wander in after nightfall.
Santo Domingo, 40 minutes away, provides a cultural basket of alternatives- form the colonial zone, to excelent restaurants, movie theatres, sports events and art exhibitions and much, much more. This is an invaluable asset unavailable at the coastal communities now being built and sold internationally.
For Juan Dolio to expand and populate with a consistent number of permanent inhabitants, and for the real estate market to emerge from a speculative, first buyer grab to a market with adequate well priced liquidity, the current infrastructure is a far cry from what is needed.
I encourage the developers to lay off on the beaches and the mega-projects for a while, allow for the market to develop, and instead focus on economic infrastructure before white elephants roam the beaches, carrying thousands of upset investors.