Among these nations, Costa Rica has proved to be the first preference for real estate investments among foreigners. A long history of political stability and conscious promotional efforts by the government are main reasons for such a development.

Nicaragua is trying to follow the Costa Rican model for real estate development. The political stability achieved in the past two decades along with the government support will make this a lucrative place for foreign investments.

Many foreign investors turn towards Nicaragua as real estate prices are much cheaper there than in Costa Rica. For some, it is prudent to invest in Nicaragua now as cheap lands at prime locations are still available in this county at reasonably low prices. The Costa Rican phenomenon, where real estate investment growth by over fifteen times in a period of five years is expected to be repeated in Nicaragua, if the political climate remains as it is now.

The real estate prices in Panama are comparable to CR. Panama has good infrastructural facilities. American presence in the country for a long time has created infrastructure which is much closer to American style of living, thus making foreigners feel at home in this country.

All the three countries, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama offer beautiful bio-friendly environments at affordable prices as compared to their home lands for the foreign nationals.

Those who look for settlement in a foreign land close to their home land and those who want to invest in real estate for financial gains should give serious considerations to all the three countries. Individual properties available in all these three countries are to be evaluated on a case by case basis. This will help the investor select the property best suited for the intended purpose.

However, because of the consistent economic climate, a stable government and incredibly reliable real estate value increases, Costa Rica is your best bet for investment considerations - especially when it comes to doing development, buying pre-construction properties and purchasing/reselling lots.

Costa Rica also has the most straight-forward (and favorable) policies in terms of land/title ownership, beachfront title ownership (yes, you can obtain 100% ownership to beachfront properties in some areas of Costa Rica), property taxes and the legal process of acquiring property.

Best of all - if you're looking to purchase and then resell property at a profit (flipping), you'll love the fact that CR has no capital gains tax whatsoever. Combine this powerful advantage with the fact that some investors are making as much as 150% to even 300% or more on resales - that's a pretty sweet deal to say the least!

And if that's not enough - Costa Rica is paradise, literally. But like all opportunities - the conditions won't be "perfect" forever. Eventually, enough people will catch on, riding the real-estate bandwagon (making small fortunes), and then real estate in CR will reach comparable prices to places like Hawaii and Tahiti.

So if you're serious about making some major returns on a real estate property - or even just purchasing a vacation/rental home in paradise - then sooner is definitely better than later...