Introduction
Richard Bexon: Good afternoon, guys, and welcome to episode 292 of Costa Rica Real Estate and Investments with me, your host, Richard Bexon. Today we’re joined by Andrey Quesada. He’s the founder and broker for Synergy Real Estate in the area of Grecia and San Ramón.
This is an area of the country that’s seeing some of the most explosive growth, due to the free trade zones out there — the Revolución Free Trade Zone — and also just stunning rolling hills and an amazing climate as well. Very, very similar to Atenas, which, as you guys know, has one of the best climates in the world, so they say.
But anyway, today we’re going to be talking to him about what’s going on in this part of Costa Rica, because I know quite a few of you have asked me to cover this area — and we’re even getting some inquiries about putting short-term rentals out there, which I think would be a great idea if you can find the right piece of land, which, of course, we always help you do.
On that note, guys, we are also adding new team members over here — essentially buyer’s reps — really taking care of you and making sure that you truly understand what it takes to invest in Costa Rica: buying real estate, holding it here, and what your returns can be. There are no rainbows and unicorns, as I like to say. We’ll just give it to you straight.
So if you have any interest in that, guys, email us at info@investingcostarica.com. That’s info@investingcostarica.com. Or in the description down below, you’ll find all of our details — the emails and the links — and you can contact us from there.
But let’s get straight into the podcast. Good afternoon, Andrey. How are you doing?
Andrey Quesada: I’m fine, thank you, Richard. How are you?
Richard Bexon: Very, very good. Thank you. I appreciate you coming on the podcast.
Andrey Quesada: Oh, for sure. I am very happy to have this opportunity with you. Let’s do it.
Grecia and San Ramón Market Activity in Early 2026
Richard Bexon: Awesome. Well, look — 2026 has had a lot of ups and downs, I would say, politically and economically around the world. What has been happening in Costa Rica, and how busy have you been at the start of 2026?
Andrey Quesada: Well, the whole situation around the world — the world is crazy at this moment. Everything: the world situation, the climate situation, all these things happening around the world. Sometimes it’s unbelievable. But for people like us here in Costa Rica, it’s like we’re in another world. We are in a very peaceful place and we are enjoying the moment.
Richard Bexon: What about your work, Andrey? How would you describe 2026? Have you had a lot of demand? Has it been a quiet start and it’s now getting busier?
Andrey Quesada: Well, 2026 has been a really, really different year. I have been working for the last almost 14 to 15 years in real estate. But my main clients were Ticos. We were used to selling properties for Ticos — properties between $40,000 to $80,000 per lot, and houses between $150,000 to $250,000 at most.
But this year, 2026, has been completely different. Eighty percent of the people I have been working with this year are expats — people from Canada, from the States, from Europe. So it’s the first time in those 15 years that I am working with 80% expats.
Shift from Tico to Expat Buyers: What’s Changing
Richard Bexon: And what are they buying, Andrey? What are they buying and why are they buying?
Andrey Quesada: Well, what are they buying? They’re buying houses. The difference between Ticos and expats right now — for me — is that expats are not willing to build something, because sometimes they are afraid of the construction process, and also because the market opportunity gives them the chance to buy a good property at a lower price.
Richard Bexon: Yeah. Look, I think at the moment with the exchange rate, I can completely understand why you’d probably want to buy rather than build, because it’s very expensive to build.
Building vs. Buying: Cost Savings and Construction Strategy
Andrey Quesada: Well, it depends. I am in the construction business too, and I know that if you build something, you can reduce at least 25 to 40% of the cost of the investment. Because obviously, when you buy something that is already built, the owner needs to have their profit. So if it were my recommendation, I always recommend people to build — buy a property, buy the land, and then develop the construction. But most expats prefer to buy something already built.
The Plan Regulador Advantage and $500M in Free Trade Zone Investment
Richard Bexon: Andrey, I mean, look — 10 years ago, Grecia wasn’t really that busy. It wasn’t on the map. But how busy is it now, and why is there so much demand for Grecia?
Andrey Quesada: Okay, this is very important — because what happened here was related to the laws in Costa Rica regarding free trade zones. There is a new law that gives companies investing in the area surrounding the GAM — the Gran Área Metropolitana — tax benefits. So when they developed the law, they tried to place different zones — for example, Grecia, Sarchí, San Ramón, Atenas, and all the places surrounding San José — but they had no regulations.
They had no regulation — no Plan Regulador.
Richard Bexon: Yeah, no zoning. Yep.
Andrey Quesada: Yeah. So when they found that Grecia was the only one with these regulations in place, we received all the investment at the same time. At this moment, we have received more than $500 million in investments from different companies.
Richard Bexon: Wow, that’s insane. Yeah. I mean, I know the Revolución Free Trade Zone is pretty busy. We’re doing Pequeño Mundo’s distribution center out there, so we’re very, very aware. And just the amount of condominiums — like El Cañal is absolutely huge. That’s a huge development.
Gated Community Inventory: Montezuma, El Cañal, and Beyond
Andrey Quesada: Yeah, well, El Cañal is not the biggest. There is another condominium called Condominio Montezuma. It has more than 1,000 properties in the same gated community. El Cañal also has more than 400 units, and there are still many more condominiums coming. In Grecia — only in Grecia — we have more than 50 gated communities.
Grecia Land Price Appreciation: 2021 to 2026
Richard Bexon: Wow. Let’s put this in perspective, Andrey. If we were to go back to 2021 for a piece of land — just a regular piece of land in Grecia — how much was it per square meter? I know this is difficult. And how much would it be today, just to get an idea of how much Grecia has expanded?
Andrey Quesada: Well, I have the actual price data from 2021. For example, a small property of 300 square meters — it depends on the dollar exchange rate, but imagine in 2021, you could buy that kind of property for less than $40,000. Let’s say $40,000 for a 300-square-meter lot. And now you can find it for less than $65,000.
Richard Bexon: Wow. Okay. So nearly a 50% increase in five years.
Andrey Quesada: Actually, what I track in Condominio Montezuma — when I compare the prices over eight years — it’s more than 100%.
Richard Bexon: Wow. Every eight years. Do you think Grecia is a buyer’s or a seller’s market right now, Andrey?
Buyer’s Market Conditions and Current Inventory Levels
Andrey Quesada: Well, right now, for me, it’s a buyer’s market. Because all the developers are trying to place properties for the people who are coming to Grecia to work. So at this moment, there are more than 3,000 properties available in town. 3,000 properties. If you search in San José or Heredia, there is no more inventory than what we have here. We have a lot of land.
Fastest-Moving Properties: $60K–$100K Lots and New Builds
Richard Bexon: What types of properties sell really quickly, Andrey? Like, when you get them, you’re excited because you know it’s going to sell fast?
Andrey Quesada: Well, those are the lots priced between $60,000 to $100,000. It depends on two things. If you are an investor, I recommend investing in — let’s say — a $60,000 property, which could be a 200 to 250-square-meter lot. You then need to build at least 100 square meters — because that’s the minimum construction requirement in these gated communities — and that will cost you less than $80,000. So the total investment will be less than $130,000, and you can resell it for at least 30 to 40% more.
For example, two weeks ago, we sold nine properties in just one week. And the properties were all within that price range.
Long-Term Rental Returns: 8–10% Yields vs. Airbnb in Grecia
Richard Bexon: Andrey, are investors doing long-term rentals or short-term rentals?
Andrey Quesada: Well, there’s the Airbnb boom right now. Some people are trying to do Airbnb investments, but for me, it’s not the best deal. I think that when you look at the occupancy percentage, it doesn’t give you the profit you really want to receive, at least on a yearly basis. Obviously, there will be some seasons where you can have 70 to 80% occupancy, but that’s not the case most months of the year.
So what I really recommend right now: you can get more than 8 to 10% income from a long-term rental. I prefer to have a steady 10% annual income from a client who wants to stay long-term — someone who really wants to live here — than to be constantly finding a new customer every week or every day, dealing with cleaning the property, checking if everything is okay, all those things.
Richard Bexon: Okay. I mean, 10% return is pretty good on a long-term rental. Typically you get like six or seven in the GAM. So 10% is pretty good.
Andrey Quesada: Yeah. And it’s a fact. I can show you — with the listings we have available — clients who are getting more than 10%, even.
Supply Gap: No New Homes Under $200K and a 60-Person Waitlist
Richard Bexon: Wow. Okay. What do you think is missing in the market, in your opinion, Andrey? What do you think would do really, really well?
Andrey Quesada: Well, right now, we have no houses available. For example, if you look at Condominio Montezuma — which is my best point of comparison — right now there is not a single brand-new house available for less than $200,000.
Richard Bexon: And that’s insane. I mean, a house in Grecia is basically the same price as one in the GAM now.
Andrey Quesada: Yeah. But the quality of life is better here. We have a better climate.
Richard Bexon: Yeah. Wow. I mean, what sells quickly, Andrey? What do you know that on Monday you get a listing, and you know within a week or two it’s going to sell?
Andrey Quesada: Well, I don’t like to sell smoke — as we say in Spanish, no me gusta vender humo. We don’t like to bluff with this kind of information. But the products I think you can sell really quickly are houses — brand-new houses, three bedrooms, two bathrooms, two parking spaces. You will sell those in less than three months.
Richard Bexon: Wow.
Andrey Quesada: Actually, we have no brand-new houses available right now. We have about 60 people on the waiting list for those houses.
Richard Bexon: And I mean, is it just around Grecia, or are you also seeing it in San Ramón — or is it just Grecia?
Andrey Quesada: No, it’s only in Grecia — and it’s because San Ramón has very few gated communities. In Grecia, you have more than 50 gated communities. In San Ramón, we only have about six. That’s almost 10% of the gated communities available here.
Richard Bexon: Do you think if San Ramón had more gated communities, they would sell?
Andrey Quesada: The location also helps Grecia. We are only 40 minutes from the airport, and one hour to one hour and ten minutes from downtown San José. So location gives us an advantage.
Richard Bexon: Andrey, where would you be — I get asked this every so often — if you weren’t buying in Grecia?
Andrey Quesada: Sorry for this, but if you ask me — for living — I am from Grecia, but I actually prefer the climate of San Ramón because it’s a little bit cooler. But people prefer Grecia because they are running away from the cold weather back home in Canada, for example. So when they are here, they really love the place.
Alternative Investment Market: Puerto Jiménez and the Osa Peninsula
Richard Bexon: I can understand that. But if you were buying land as an investment for five years, and you couldn’t invest in Grecia — where would you invest, Andrey?
Andrey Quesada: I would definitely invest in small properties, small lots.
Richard Bexon: But if you couldn’t invest in Grecia — where else? Anywhere in Costa Rica.
Andrey Quesada: I would definitely invest in Puerto Jiménez. Yeah, Puerto Jiménez is an amazing place. You know where Puerto Jiménez is? In the Península de Osa. It’s the best place to invest right now because it has no easy access — you have to drive about five hours from San José. But when you go there, the property prices… I saw a property two months ago, 400 square meters, for $16,000.
Richard Bexon: Wow. $16,000 — one, six.
Andrey Quesada: $16,000. It’s like a joke — and you are 500 meters from the beach.
Richard Bexon: Wow, that’s incredible. Andrey, what do you think is going to happen in 2026 in Grecia? If we were sitting here in January 2027, what do you think would have happened?
Andrey Quesada: It’s happening right now. Everybody is crazy about buying in Grecia. Everybody is looking for properties here. Everybody wants to live here. Even because of remote work — they don’t have to go to San José to work. Eighty percent of the people can work from home. So they really prefer to invest here.
The other thing about Grecia — it’s not only the location, it’s also about the price. In Heredia, for example, you can buy a 200-square-meter property for no less than $150,000 — just the land. And the landowner doesn’t even want to sell you just the lot — they want to develop it themselves. But in Grecia, you can find the property and develop it yourself.
The $500K Strategy: Building Workforce Housing for Resale
Richard Bexon: Awesome. Well, my last question for you, Andrey — I’ve kept you long enough. If you inherited $500,000 and you had to invest it into a business or real estate in Costa Rica, what would you invest it in, and why?
Andrey Quesada: Definitely in the construction of houses. 100-square-meter houses — three bedrooms, two bathrooms, two parking spaces. Let’s say each house will cost you less than $150,000. So with $500,000, you can build three houses and resell them. It’s the best strategy.
I would not invest in luxury houses, because not all expats coming here are millionaires. A lot of people think that — “Oh, you’re an expat, you’re a millionaire” — so they charge more. But that’s not what’s happening. What I recommend is three small houses for less than $150,000 each.
Richard Bexon: Awesome. Well, Andrey, it’s been an absolute pleasure having you here on the podcast. I will put all of your contact details in the description down below. Thank you very much for joining us.
Andrey Quesada: Thank you for having me. I really love this. I really appreciate it.
Richard Bexon: Thanks very much, Andrey.
Guys, I hope you enjoyed that podcast with Andrey. He was actually telling me that he’s only been learning English for the last two years — and he said he listens to my podcast to learn English. It made me giggle, because I was like, I think there are much better ways to learn English than listening to this podcast. But anyway, I think he was very honored to be on it after all these years. And it’s great, because Grecia is an area that is just booming, and I think it will continue to be.
We’re doing a lot of development in that area for many of our clients. So I think it’s going to continue to be like that. If it’s anything like El Coyol — which is near the city — I think it’s a very, very good place to invest. And I know a lot of you have reached out about investing there, and we’ve been helping you.
So again, guys — if you need help investing in Costa Rica, buying real estate, or just want to have a conversation with us, we’re more than happy to help. Email us at info@investingcostarica.com. That’s info@investingcostarica.com. Don’t be scared, guys. There’s no obligation. We’re not going to give you the whole hard sales technique at all — it’s quite the opposite. Sometimes I tell a lot of people not to do it. But again, info@investingcostarica.com. Until the next podcast — we’ll catch you soon. Bye.
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