Costa Rica is one of the world’s most beautiful countries—the originator of eco-tourism.
Over 40 years ago the authorities recognized and invested in the incredible biodiversity and natural splendor of the country, setting aside vast swathes of land as national parks and protecting more with various laws and restrictions on development.
It’s one of the most biodiverse countries on Earth and generates almost 100% of its electricity from renewable resources (including hydroelectric, wind, and geothermal).
It’s just a model country in many ways, respecting personal freedoms, and attracting multinationals like Amazon, Pfizer, Hewlett Packard and Microsoft.
This is the original eco-paradise. Millions come every year to experience it. Last year, Costa Rica generated a record $5 billion from tourism revenues and attracted an estimated 2.6 million visitors, up a massive 10% from 2023.
And there’s one region in Costa Rica that has everything that the millions of vacationers who come to Costa Rica seek.
It’s a place of glistening rivers and waterfalls…sweeping golden-sand beaches…and towering, jungle-clad hills alive with birdsong and the chatter of monkeys. This region is a true, untamed natural paradise, while also offering all modern conveniences, like high-speed internet, gourmet restaurants, charming boutique hotels, golf courses…
It’s also a place where members of my Real Estate Trend Alert (RETA) group have had access to incredible real estate deals.
This is the Southern Zone, on Costa Rica’s southern Pacific Coast.
Much of this region is protected land—national parks, marine reserves, and wildlife refuges. That means it will always remain low-key, making it a haven for nature lovers.
It’s also one of the most breathtakingly beautiful places on earth. That natural beauty is now drawing a new wave of visitors: remote workers who can pack a laptop and work from anywhere, and snowbirds looking to trade cold winters for warm, tropical days.
Once remote and difficult to access, the Southern Zone is now remarkably easy to reach—just a three-hour drive from the main international airport in San José. And the world has taken notice.
Every other week, there’s news of a new Path of Progress milestone: a newly paved road, a gourmet restaurant launch, a Belgian craft beer bar opening its doors…even the arrival of high-speed internet.
Because so much of Costa Rica’s Southern Zone is protected—forested national parks, marine reserves, and wildlife refuges—it will always remain a boutique, low-key region. You won’t find mass-market resorts here. Instead, think intimate eco-lodges and charming boutique hotels tucked into the jungle.
This limited supply of available land has helped shape the real estate opportunities that RETA members have been tapping into for years.
Check out this short video my team put together of the Southern Zone. This is a place of astonishing natural beauty. Click to view…
Many of those opportunities have centered around the little jungle village of Ojochal, right in the heart of the Southern Zone.
Once a remote outpost, Ojochal became more accessible after that new highway cut travel time from San José. That opened the door for more people to discover its charm.
Today, you’ll drive along a smooth, tarmacked road lined with modern buildings and a couple of lively commercial plazas. You’ll find a farmers’ market, pharmacy, bakery, cafés, stores, and bars—all just a short stroll away.
Ojochal feels like a European countryside village dropped into one of the most pristine rainforests in Central America. And that’s not just thanks to the authentic French bakeries in town…
There’s a strong sense of community here. You’ll walk past small shops, open-air restaurants, and produce markets with tables piled high with fresh mango, papaya, and pineapple. Roadside stands and local fish markets sell red snapper and dorado for a fraction of U.S. prices.
Like I said earlier, a lot of this region is protected, so there’s lots of empty, beautiful land there. But development is tightly restricted and primary forest is sacrosanct. In recent years the hurdles to doing any development (such as water licenses and access) have become so onerous that it’s almost impossible to do anything here.
Unless you’re on the inside track with one of the country’s most forward-thinking developers.
Sylvaine Pilault is a pioneering expat who first visited the Southern Zone in 1989. She fell in love with the raw natural beauty of the place and she bought land. She got into the game early—long before anyone else. That puts her far ahead of the competition in this region. And it means she’s been able to build homes where others simply can’t.
And over the years, RETA members have had exclusive access to deals in Sylvaine’s projects in the Southern Zone.
In August 2019, I brought RETA members an opportunity to own two-bed villas she developed in Ojochal with RETA-only pricing starting at $208,000. There were also premium three-bedroom homes with a RETA members-only price of $233,000.
My team recently found one of the two-beds listing for $315,000. That’s an uplift of $107,000.
In February 2021, I brought RETA members another, similar villas project—Villas Vista de la Montaña in Ojochal. The RETA pricing for villas here was from $218,000. There were also premium three-beds homes for $250,000.
My contacts tell me these villas have been reselling in the $330,000 to $350,000 price range. That’s over $100,000 more than the RETA price.
And recently one of the premium three-beds was listed for $399,000. That’s an uplift of $149,000.
All these deals were RETA members-only deals. And any future deals that Sylvaine or any of my other contacts in the Southern Zone bring to the table will also be members-only deals.
So the best way to keep up to date on opportunities in Costa Rica is to be a member of my Real Estate Trend Alert group. All the details you need to join are here.
Of course, access to deals is just one of the many benefits of a RETA membership. You’ll also get access to every piece of research my team and I uncover…every from-the-ground alert…every resource in the RETA library…access to my personal real estate Rolodex, and much more.
Go here to become a RETA member today.
Wishing you good real estate investing,
