The Scarcest Type of Real Estate in the World

A long, warm beach…

Palms sway in the trade wind. The only sound is the slow rhythm of the ocean. Here, the sand is the color of honey.

You walk down to the water in bare feet. The warmth on your skin feels like an embrace.

The sun has just come up. The light on the Pacific is alive.

And alive is how you feel when you’re here…

Before people measured wealth on screens, they measured it in land…and the most desirable land was always near the water.

Beachfront is the original hard asset. That’s why a chance to own it is something truly special…

And that chance is nearly here. Very soon, I’m bringing my Real Estate Trend Alert (RETA) group a deal on Costa Rica’s central Pacific coast. This will be RETA members’ first-ever chance to own true beachfront in the country. I have never had access to anything like it.

More on this opportunity in a moment. But today, let’s see just how scarce and desirable this kind real estate really is…

Costa Rica has the kind of warm-water coastline people have always gravitated toward…and paid a premium to own.

The Original Hard Asset

People desire certain things. Warm water. Sun. The endless rhythm of waves.

A place to gather your family and your friends. A place where your children want to visit you for Christmas.

Where mornings stretch out longer and dinners go later and life somehow slows to the pace it was always supposed to move at.

Look at where the world’s wealthy have always owned. The French and Italian Rivieras. The Greek islands. Mallorca. Ibiza. Bali. Phuket. Maui and Oahu. Malibu and Carmel. Los Cabos. The British Virgin Islands. St. Barths. Mustique. Sea Island, Hilton Head, Palm Beach. The Hamptons.

The land at the front of all these places has been a store of wealth for a hundred years or longer.

It hasn’t gotten cheaper.

Waterfront real estate on the French Riviera has been attracting wealth for more than a century, and pricing reflects that.

Why Beachfront Commands a Premium

Today, a beachfront condo in Malibu can easily cost $5 million to $20 million.

On the French Riviera, direct-waterfront apartments routinely trade for several million dollars.

In Cap Cana in the Dominican Republic—where I’ve personally scouted—true beachfront condos in the better buildings can run from $1.5 million to $3 million.

Those numbers reflect something simple. There are more wealthy people in the world every year, but the supply of warm-water beachfront is fixed.

Manhattan’s waterfront didn’t get cheaper over the last two hundred years. Neither did the French Riviera. Neither did Malibu. Neither did Hawaii. The first row of land along great warm-water coastlines moves in one direction over long timeframes.

Short-term turbulence comes and goes, but scarcity endures. Which is what makes Costa Rica so interesting. Because here, scarcity goes one layer deeper.

Condos right on the beach in Honolulu list for millions of dollars for a reason. Zillow’s national waterfront study found that Honolulu waterfront homes trade at over 300% above comparable non-waterfront homes in the same city. 

Why Costa Rica Is Different

Costa Rica’s Maritime Zone Law, passed in 1977, makes the first 200 meters inland from the high-tide line either public domain or government concession land. The first 50 meters belong to everyone—you cannot build on it.

The next 150 meters is leasehold from the local municipality on renewable 20-year terms, with foreign-owners capped at 49% unless you’ve been a resident for five years.

That’s 95% of every beachfront parcel in Costa Rica.

The other 5%—the small number of plots that were already privately titled before the 1977 law took effect—is fee-simple beachfront. Freehold. Foreigner-ownable. Mortgageable. Yours forever, the same way your house at home is yours.

You cannot create new titled beachfront in Costa Rica. The supply can never grow. That’s the scarcity story underpinning the deal I’m about to bring to members of my RETA group—on top of the scarcity of true beachfront is anywhere in the world…

Sunsets are a big deal on Costa Rica’s central Pacific coast. Folks flock to the beach to watch the sun drift below the horizon.

The Closest Major Beach Town to the Capital’s Airport

The upcoming RETA deal is in Jacó, the closest major beach town to the capital, San José’s, international airport.

When you land in San José, you’re just 65 miles from Jacó. This is the most established beach destination on Costa Rica’s central Pacific coast.

For decades, surfers, beachgoers, adventure travelers, families, expats, and weekenders from San José have come here for its 2.5-mile sweep of beach…warm Pacific water…restaurants and nightlife…and the lush green hills behind town filled with scarlet macaws, toucans, monkeys, and sloths.

This coast also attracts highly affluent vacationers…

Fifteen minutes north of Jacó is Los Sueños, a gated community with championship golf, a 200-slip marina, Marriott-branded hospitality, and luxury villas. It attracts the likes of Michael Jordan and Tom Brady.

Prices at Los Sueños show where the high-end market already is on this coast. Ocean-view condos there start in the $700,000s, while villas regularly list from $3 million to $6.5 million.

Now Jacó is moving upmarket too.

Championship golf, a world-class marina, and multimillion-dollar villas…Los Sueños is the high-end market already established near Jacó…

The Beachfront Market in Jacó

Jacó already has the infrastructure of a true year-round community—from schools and stores, to around 100 restaurants and bars.

Now it’s attracting wealthy buyers because it offers something so rare in Costa Rica: true beachfront living.

Pricing reflects this.

Here are examples of the resale market right on the beach in Jacó today:

• Pacific Point (newest tower, just back from sand, with a road in front): two-bed asking $519,500.
• Diamante del Sol (older, on the beach): two-bed asking $499,000.
• The Palms (small, on the beach, north end): two-bed asking $595,000.
• Vistas Las Palmas (beachfront, older): three-bed asking $850,000.

But RETA members will be able to own for far less…

I’ve negotiated an off-market deal on true beachfront condos with incredible amenities and ocean views. A Pacific vista every morning, noon and night.

Members can get in from $297,000 for a two-bed. I expect gains of $223,000 five years after delivery. And a gross rental yield of 17% once the community is established.

Members pay just $427,000 for a three-bed. A three-bed penthouse is available for $535,000.

I expect those $427,000 three-beds will be worth $748,000, and the penthouses close to a million dollars five years after delivery.

Jacó began attracting surfers from overseas in the 1970s. They still arrive in big numbers today…now joined by a growing number of affluent visitors and buyers coming for Jacó’s true beachfront lifestyle.

Buying titled beachfront in Costa Rica is almost unprecedented. Doing it at the RETA price is uniquely historic.

And as I say, the upcoming RETA deal sits on the closest serious Pacific beach to San José’s international airport.

Ninety minutes door to door.

I’m sending RETA members my full deal briefing this Friday at 1 p.m. ET. Stay tuned. There’s already tremendous excitement about this deal.

Because ultimately, people don’t spend fortunes to be near warm water because spreadsheets tell them to.

They do it because it changes how life feels.

Developer’s renders shouldn’t be considered final but this one gives you a great idea of how truly beachfront and ocean-view the upcoming RETA deal in Costa Rica is.

Wishing you good real estate investing,

P.S. Each condo in the upcoming RETA deal is looking straight out over the Pacific on 100 meters of titled beach frontage.

Yet, the RETA-only price is from $297,000.

More on this opportunity soon.