There was a lot a whispering earlier this decade about where the prime real estate investment opportunities were going to be for the next 10-15 years. At the turn of the century, some investment forecasters said, ?Places like Florida, Vegas, and California have been the hotspots for years and they'll continue to be hot markets.? I don't know where you stand on the issue but I think the forecasters who simply left their forecasts to ?what has always been? dropped the ball.

It's not that I completely disagree with the forecasters. Investors did flock to Florida, Las Vegas, and California earlier this decade. Those who did in the early years made some decent buys, but investors who bought more recently are finding themselves in a bind. For the last couple years the markets in those regions have been, at best, lukewarm. So clearly, Florida, Las Vegas, and California are not truly ?prime? locations for investment properties for the long haul as predicted.

In my opinion, those popular U.S real estate investment havens have cooled off because of the state of the U.S. economy. It's been shaky since the late 1990s and has only gotten shakier. As a result, people aren't sure which way things are going to go with the current economy'up or down'so they're holding on to their money instead of buying and selling real estate. They just don't feel like they can afford to take the risk on purchasing a property that they may not be able to sell when they need to. It's the exact opposite in Costa Rica.

Down in Costa Rica, the economy is strong so there's no fear about investing in real estate. Because of the steady interest from corporations in building offices in Costa Rica, the ever-increasing flow of tourism, and the spike in retiree relocation, there's very little perceived risk in buying land in Costa Rica. In fact, ?profit? is the number one word being tossed around when anyone speaks about the real estate market there. Currently, most investors are experiencing a 100% return on their investment in less than 24 months; and some are seeing 150% return on investment (ROI) in less than two years! And guess what? Those figures are more so the rule rather than the exception.

It's clear that when industry forecasters were projecting the real estate market for the next 10-15 years, they made one major mistake: They neglected to consider the X factor, which is this case is whether foreign investments would provide better real estate opportunities over domestic ones. It was na've of the forecasters not to consider foreign real estate opportunities since so much of our economy and the way we think are global. But with the real estate boom happening in Costa Rica as it is today, I don't think they'll make that same mistake in the future. Costa Rica is, without a doubt, the hottest real estate market in the western hemisphere. The land prices and ROIs confirm it. So here's my forecast: The Costa Rica real estate market is just starting to heat up and it will be the ?primo? spot for the at least the next 10 years!

by David Lovendahl, Developing Paradise TM