Higüey Middle Class Residential Boom?

NALs

Economist by Profession
Jan 20, 2003
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There seem to be a sort of boom in construction for middle/upper-middle class families in Higüey.

Do the DR1 residents in Higüey (or those that don't live in town but frequent the place) perceive this boom or are these projects less numerous than they appear?

Is this a sign of growth of the middle class in Higüey or is it more of a shift of the middle class that already exist there moving to the outskirts of town?

Monte Verde is the newest and possibly the largest of such projects in the works for Higüey. This project even includes a couple of residential high-rise buildings.

Where in Higüey will this new project be?

Screen shots

MV1.jpg


MV2.jpg


MV3.jpg


MV4.jpg


MV5.jpg


Concise virtual tour (one minute long)

[video=youtube;m993Wmanmd4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m993Wmanmd4[/video]
 

NALs

Economist by Profession
Jan 20, 2003
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Extended virtual tour (about five minutes long)

[video=youtube;2jxrDxJcz-0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jxrDxJcz-0[/video]
 

NALs

Economist by Profession
Jan 20, 2003
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Here is another one, but this one appears to be older.

Where in Higüey is this project?

If it is older, does anyone know how well it has done? Did most of the houses/apartments sell? Is the place mostly occupied?

Screen shots

RA1.jpg


RA2.jpg


RA3.jpg


RA4.jpg


RA5.jpg


Virtual tour

[video=youtube;CbP6jtDDupI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbP6jtDDupI[/video]

These projects seem to be geared towards Dominicans since all their virtual tours are in Spanish.
 

cavok

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Jun 16, 2014
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Middle class? From the fotos and video I don't think any middle class Dominicans could afford to live there(?). It looks like it's on the high end of an upper middle class projects to me.

If it's even under construction, it looks like it would probably be in Punta Cana.
 

southern

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Well, to me it looks like one step above barrio squalor. Love the plastic chairs on the patio in the display photo and the raw power lines going into the concreate boxes.
 

cavok

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Well, to me it looks like one step above barrio squalor. Love the plastic chairs on the patio in the display photo and the raw power lines going into the concreate boxes.

Are you sure you were looking at the video of Ciudad Monteverde? The video on Residencial Arboleda does have a somewhat tacky middle class project look like you said(?).
 

southern

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Was looking at the photos, the one with the plastic chairs on the patio and the visible raw power lines running to a concrete block that looks like it was designed by the same company that makes pre fabricated prison cells
 
May 29, 2006
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There's construction all over for the full spectrum of incomes and it seems to have been going on for some time. Six new apt projects started within three blocks of us and too many upgrades to mention. The city is growing and good(and bad) apts are in short supply. They're upgrading barrio streets first with gutters and sidewalks, but still no paving. Lots here in our Villa Cerro barrio are going for a buck a square foot and up. One right next to a Haitian shanty a few doors down from us.

Another build across the street from us looks very much like the ARBOLEDA photos above. Not my taste, but it's their money.
 
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May 29, 2006
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The build across the street. Even the kids are saying it looks like a carcel. The steps are uneven with different rises the garage ramp has a slump in it. Slop work for three times the price of the nicer house next to it. The work on the apt builds makes me cringe. Code? Engineers? Ridiculous how bad it is.

xblmd.jpg
 
May 29, 2006
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House next door for sale. I believe two million vs six million for the new build. About the same footprint.

t9i1xd.jpg
 

southern

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House next door for sale. I believe two million vs six million for the new build. About the same footprint.

t9i1xd.jpg

42 thousand (U.S) for a concrete tool shed that will only catch an ocean breeze during a CAT 5 storm, sounds like a great deal !!
 

dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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Well, to me it looks like one step above barrio squalor.

agreed. both projects have the same feel to me, a step above from a barrio. it looks like la nueva barquita with a pool and few palms thrown in. this is lower end of middle class. the clue is in a lack of service room in the apartment shown. even smallish apartments for middle class in santiago (that i have seen) have separate tiny room and bathroom for the maid/nanny. and regular middle class folks often need it, with both parents working.
 

cavok

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Was looking at the photos, the one with the plastic chairs on the patio and the visible raw power lines running to a concrete block that looks like it was designed by the same company that makes pre fabricated prison cells

I think those were fotos of La Arboleda(?). Maybe the architectural style of Monteverde apto.buildings won't win any awards, but the site plan and landscaping looks very nice and the interiors of the units look a lot nicer than those in the famous 5 star Anhvee Resort!
 
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Chirimoya

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Dec 9, 2002
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agreed. both projects have the same feel to me, a step above from a barrio. it looks like la nueva barquita with a pool and few palms thrown in. this is lower end of middle class. the clue is in a lack of service room in the apartment shown. even smallish apartments for middle class in santiago (that i have seen) have separate tiny room and bathroom for the maid/nanny. and regular middle class folks often need it, with both parents working.

Similar to the new residential developments in Verón aimed at the lower middle class: Ciudad Caracolí, Las Cayenas and the one near Cruce de Verón.
 
Feb 7, 2007
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agreed. both projects have the same feel to me, a step above from a barrio. it looks like la nueva barquita with a pool and few palms thrown in. this is lower end of middle class. the clue is in a lack of service room in the apartment shown. even smallish apartments for middle class in santiago (that i have seen) have separate tiny room and bathroom for the maid/nanny. and regular middle class folks often need it, with both parents working.

But they are quite expensive. I know one guy who bought in Arboleda and I visited him. My apartment is 2x bigger than his 3-bedroom house. And he will be paying this for this the next 15 or so years. And every house is a carbon copy of another. You cannot even put metal bars from the outside, they have to be inside!!! Now talk about the jail feel. It's still better to buy a parcel of land and build yourself with a good engineer/architect. I am sure for DR1ers Chip could offer good rate.
 

Expat13

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Jun 7, 2008
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If new construction starts equals a real estate boom, I would say most of the Country has been booming over the last 5-7 years.

Over a 4 year period on my street alone there has been constant new building. Usually most units sit empty for the following years as these new builds were based on ZERO logic. "If I build someone will buy". By the time your building is complete with the poor "lego" construction, you could have 4 new building starts surrounding you which are 1-2 stories taller and you can shake hands with a neighbor from one of the other buildings, from your balcony. This along with the lack of availability of true sold prices makes the RE Market here dangerous and impossible to predict.