A Little Piece of Island Paradise

The clear, turquoise water laps gently against bright, powdery white sand. To my right the beach cones to a point jutting into the picture-perfect waters and to my left it takes a wide sweep to the next point. Surf breaks on the reef offshore. On shore, palm trees rustle in the soft breeze.

Those are my memories of my last visit to the postcard-perfect beach town of Las Terrenas in the Dominican Republic. Although this is technically the Atlantic coast, it looks every bit the Caribbean.

As I write, the plan is to return in early March after a gap of seven years. ( I’m really looking forward to my return to this is a little piece of paradise.

Around Las Terrenas stretches almost 19 miles of beach, interrupted only by a couple of rocky points. It’s all walkable and public. The beaches don’t run in a straight line. They weave their way almost serpent-like along the coast. It’s difficult not to walk for hours. Each twist and turn opens up a more stunning vista.

In March the weather is perfect. Mornings start fresh with temperatures in the mid 70s. Perfect for long walks on the beach. Afternoons warm up to the 80s. Evenings are comfortable for al fresco dining. During the summer it gets hot and humid in other spots. Here, because it’s a peninsula, breezes can keep things fresh.

French and Italians started arriving in Las Terrenas decades ago, when it was a simple fishing village—you can still buy fresh catch right on the beach. You’ll find Italian restaurants and cafés and French bakeries with the best croissants this side of Paris. By the beach, the petanque court is always buzzing. You’ll also find other Europeans…Swiss and some Brits. But this area has largely been overlooked by Americans. Canadians had started to come in numbers when they could fly direct to the international airport in El Catey, just 25 minutes away. On my last visit, there were an estimated 8,000 expats living in Las Terrenas.

Development has been tightly restricted—no high-rises. Outside of town there were a couple of larger all-inclusive hotels. But that was it. Everything else was boutique.

I can’t think of a nicer place to have a beach home. I found opportunities to own profitable rentals when I was last here. For example, one home for sale that I visited was netting the owner $25,000 a year in rent when he wasn’t using it. It listed for $285,000—that would be 8.8% net.

I’m going back to check out how things have developed, and to see if there are any opportunities now in this Era of Scarcity and with the rise of remote work.

While in-country, I’ll also take a scouting trip along the coast to Punta Cana to check out possible opportunities. In particular, I’m intrigued to take a close look at the vast master-planned luxury community of Cap Cana, which has miles of beach, a 150-slip, marina, a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course, and high-end condos and homes, as well as top resorts like Eden Roc.

I’ll keep you posted on what I find and if there are any potential deals for my Real Estate Trend Alert members, I’ll be telling them all about it.