Private villa ownership has had more demand in the past decade than years before, and now in the age of Corona Virus, having a second home is driving demand up in the Caribbean, specially in the Dominican Republic. The island of DR offers various locations with the East and North taking up the most flights and tourists. What are the top benefits of private villa ownership?
- Privacy
- Security
- Rental income
- Stable asset value
Needless to say, privacy is the number one reason people buy a villa as opposed of having to always stay in a resort. Security is the second reason, because it is clear that only those you know and trust will have access to your private villa. Rental income is a benefit if you prefer to have the house pay itself when using financing or for offsetting yearly maintenance costs. As a stable asset, real estate in Dominican Republic does not fluctuate in price as much as in the States, because the market is far smaller and less prone to dramatic changes.
The largest number of expats or snowbirds that own villas in the DR reside in the North Coast, and Puerto Plata has lately become a very attractive destination to buy houses with ocean view and good residential locations. Beach towns such as Sosua, Cabarete and Cofresi gather a large number of vacation villas, mostly used by the owners a few weeks or months per year, to rent the unused weeks.
It is possible to own a house in Puerto Plata for as low as $125k ( even less ), in some cases with stunning ocean views as the city has residential communities in elevated grounds around the Ysabel de Torres Mountain. A very nice house that looks and feels like a luxury villa is the one offered by Golden Treasures Real Estate (photo above), priced at USD$260k; it has a rooftop gym, lap swimming pool, Jacuzzi, gazebo, deluxe staircase and very high end finish for its price.
Beach properties are the dream everyone has when traveling to the Caribbean. In some cases there are deals for second row beach properties, but for quality villas you need to think about $300k or more. The closer to the heart of town, the more expensive land becomes, so be ready to hunt for a few minutes away from center if you want to find a good deal with plenty of space.
Those within the $500-800k range might want to look at the beach house in the photo above, just minutes from the gorgeous Cabarete Beach. It boasts over 40,000 Sq Ft of land, nice beach frontage, a natural mangrove forest and guest house. This Dominican beach villa is one of the rare deals buyers will want to consider when searching for a Caribbean beach villa under the $1mm range with nice beach front.
STUNNING VIEWS OF PUERTO PLATA:
A newer listing in the market is this Ocean view house in Puerto Plata, seen in the video below. It offers 180-degree views that go beyond Cofresi and the new Taino Bay Cruise ship port.
The Covid19 has proven that investing in private villas and homes is becoming more important, as researchers believe this will not be the only such disease we might face in our lifetime. Islands will see more people leaving super crowded cities and trying to find a place to relax or retire where they feel their money is worth investing.
