Buyer's Take Control as Inventories Surge
How best to sum up the Costa Rica real estate market in the first half of 2025?
Too much supply and way too little demand.
Now, admittedly, that's not the way I thought this year would shake out...
But it hasn't altogether "shaken out" yet. We've got a good six months to go.
Nevertheless, the slow-down that really started in late 2023 and continued throughout 2024 has not subsided.
Growth in listing inventories has continued unabated in virtually all markets, save the Central Valley.
Time on the market is back to the year-plus that we've historically experienced down here.
Bottom line is that buyer's are back in charge!
Sellers are beginning to see the handwriting on the wall and many are lowering prices, or withdrawing from the market altogether. And that's a good thing for overall market health, because right now there is simply too damn much for sale!
This over abundance of product tends to diminish any sense of urgency that buyer's feel to actually make a decision. And when you couple that with the uncertainty that exists across the world, politically and economically, what you've got is a proverbial real estate agent's hell!
Granted, there is a trickle of "political refugee" buying demand out there that's keeping us agents somewhat busy...
But it's nowhere near the "firehose" of expat influx that I confidently predicted would occur.
What do I think is in store for the rest of 2025? Probably more of the same.
The political situation in the U.S. seems only to be growing more dire, while the overall economic reality is, really, not that bad. Trump's tariffs haven't had much of an impact, yet.
His “big beautiful budget bill”, if it ever passes into law, could be a short-term market stimulant, even if it risks long-term economic health due to utter fiscal irresponsibility.
Of course, as I write this there's a potential Middle East conflagration in the works between Israel and Iran, that could ignite a regional war, or worse.
In short, it's a bit of a mess out there. Lots of uncertainty and we all know that real estate markets loathe uncertainty.
Therefore, I am far less confident today, June 15 (Father's Day), 2025 for this to end up being a "good" year than I was in December 2024, when I sincerely predicted that demand would surge.
In fact, there's a good shot at this year completely sucking!
But we real estate agents have to maintain our positivity (in order to maintain our sanity). So, I'll leave on a high note with this message to would-be buyers...
You've got the wheel guys!
Great deals are out there!!
So, if you're tired of what's going on and considering a move, NOW (rather than later) just might be the time for action...
wink, wink.
