Real estate prices, what's the real deal?

[GARY POLLICE]

I just read the short article on real estate prices in Cuenca in the IL real estate section. It describes several properties that begin at $55,000. They mention a 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom, small yard and patio house in a new gated community for $88,500.

I can’t help but wonder where this information is coming from. We spent time this past summer in Cuenca visiting and taking an initial look at the real estate. Friends who are native Cuencanos showed us around and gave us a pretty good idea of the market. We also went on a tour with one of the local real estate agencies. We continually look at listings posted on various Cuenca realtor sites and I find it hard to believe that the prices above are real. There’s no doubt that there is great value in housing in Cuenca, but we saw nothing that great.

So, my question is, did we just miss finding the right realtor or is the IL article misleading? We’re going back this summer to hopefully purchase a house for our retirement. It would be great to know if what we saw last summer was right or if there really are better deals out there.

–Gary

[SUZAN HASKINS]

I’ll see what I can find out, but I think that article is out-dated…

[FRANK AGIATO]

Regarding those real estate price listings in Cuenca, you said the article was out-dated. What does that mean? Are they higher now for the gated communities?

[SUZAN HASKINS]

There are a couple of websites you can check out if you want to get an idea of real estate prices in Cuenca. One is http://www.ecuadorablehomes.com run by Maribel Crespo. She grew up and lives in Cuenca. Another is http://www.cuencarealestate.com. You can also look at Craigslist for Quito. And another good website if you can navigate in Spanish is http://ecuador.vive1.com/

I would use these as a guide. Once you decide where you want to live (and I don’t mean city but the exact neighborhood) you should do much more research. You can’t tell anything by looking at something on the internet. There are still good bargains, but it is my understanding that prices are rising by about 10% per year and that’s been going on for a good number of years now. And it’s not just due to the gringo influx but because a good number of Ecuadorians are now returning to Ecuador from other countries where they have worked. (Spain, the U.S., Canada, where opportunities aren’t as large as they once were.)

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