Introduction
Richard Bexon Good afternoon, guys and welcome to episode 285 of Costa Rica Real Estate and Investments. With me, your host Richard Bexon. Today we’ve been talking with Dan Williams. He’s a real estate agent for Coldwell Banker in Tamarindo, a sales coach, and also a fellow Brit as well. So, if anybody wants their installment of British accents, I’m sure they’ll get it in this podcast. Even though a lot of people have said that I sound Australian now, which I’ll take—they’re pretty cool.
So, we’re talking to Dan basically about the current situation of real estate in Guanacaste and where he thinks the opportunity kind of will be or is, where things are hot, where things are not, and just kind of getting an idea of what’s going on in Guanacaste. Remember guys, if you’re looking to invest here in Costa Rica, relocate, or looking to build, we have many facets to our business. We build about 15 luxury homes for clients as their owner’s reps. We actually help them find the land, help them find the architect, design, bid it, review everything—basically rep you throughout the whole process, whether that’s a buyer’s rep, the representative during the construction, or even investing here in Costa Rica. So, you can reach out to us at info@investingcostarica.com. That’s info@investingcostarica.com. But let’s get straight into the podcast. Good afternoon, Dan, how are you doing?
Dan Williams Yeah, really well, thank you, buddy. Really well. Yourself?
Richard Bexon Yeah, good. I forewarn everyone that this will be a bit of a Brit attack, this podcast, as both of us are from the UK.
Dan Williams Yeah, let’s go. Conquering, that’s what we do best—or what we used to do best.
Richard Bexon Exactly, exactly. But well, let me get it up. The first question I’d have to ask is: globally, 2025 was politically and economically volatile, and 2026 does not look like it’s slowing down. From your perspective, what do you think is going to happen in 2026 in Costa Rica?
2026 Outlook, Tourism and Macroeconomy
Dan Williams Yeah, interesting. I think Costa Rica is always going to be all right, isn’t it? I feel it’s this little haven; there’s press and we have a grasp on what’s going on in the real world, but it just seems like this impenetrable bubble. You know, if you look back at when COVID happened, while COVID affected the whole world, I was glad to be spending that time in Costa Rica. So, I think Costa Rica is going to be fine. We’ve had a record number of tourists. I know at the back end of quarter three—I think it was on the 27th of December—Liberia had the largest amount of people it’s ever had come in.
So, people are still coming, people are still building, as you know as well as anyone else. The construction is there; the demand is there. I think there’s a lot of noise at the moment, but I don’t see it affecting us too much, maybe in the short term a little bit. I don’t think it’s going to slow the country down at all. I think if anything, it’ll strengthen what we have in Costa Rica in that it is a bit of a bubble in terms of climate and political climate. I feel good about it.
Richard Bexon Yeah, it’s been interesting because again, everyone was like, “Hey, what do you think about the election?” I’m like, “Well, it’s just continuation as normal, guys, nothing’s going to change.” And don’t expect any change for the next four years, which is good. You know, I mean, sometimes continuing with the status quo is good. And I mean, the last government—while I don’t like the exchange rate—the country is having foreign money brought in left, right, and center. Not just from tourists and people in real estate, but in commercial developments into free trade zones. And while Amazon’s like, “Hey, we’re getting rid of 1,000 or 2,000 jobs,” I go, “Yeah, guys, but that’s kind of its lower-end stuff.” Where Costa Rica was 20 years ago was call centers; now they’re moving towards more technical, biotech style stuff where people’s wages increase even more. So, there’s a strong middle class really growing in Costa Rica.
Dan Williams Yeah, I agree. I think with the opening of the door to remote working, that’s given a few people an opportunity, particularly in the sectors you mentioned like tech. San Jose has got a good bustle going on. I think a lot of people don’t fully appreciate that it is a bit of a tech hub and a remote working hub.
Richard Bexon Yeah, definitely. I mean, look, a big part of our business is commercial project management, and that part of our business is growing. It’s outgrowing residential. But, interesting. How would you compare inquiries for 2026 versus the same period in 2025?
Inquiry Volume, “Trust Recession” and Agent Competition
Dan Williams Inquiry-wise, we’re probably a little bit down, I would say. Last year was interesting for us because we had record numbers of people looking at the site, so record traffic and tons of clicks, but not as many inquiries as we would have liked or typically see from those numbers. So, for actual inquiries, I’d say we are down a little bit. I think the quality is still there, but the quantity definitely isn’t. We’re not getting 10 or 15 good inquiries a week, but I feel we’ve definitely got a nice flow of people coming through.
The year started very strong, and then there’s obviously been a lot of noise around. It doesn’t matter where you look at the moment, there’s noise coming from somewhere—political or otherwise. I feel like we’re in a bit of a “trust recession” at the moment with a lot of things. But yeah, I don’t see people slowing down. Real estate is still moving. I was talking to a lawyer recently, and she feels the same volume is being done, but it’s just being spread between more people. Before, it might have been four or five agents closing everything; now you’ve got a more even spread, which I don’t dislike. Anything against a monopoly is going to help everybody in general.
Richard Bexon Yeah, I mean, everyone used to refer to Costa Rica as the Switzerland of the Central Americas. I never used to get that, and now I look at the exchange rate strengthening, where we are with political stability—of course, we’ve got some security issues here and there—but certainly, if this exchange rate keeps going the way it is, the Swiss Franc and the Costa Rican Colon could be leading currencies in the world.
Dan Williams Yeah, it would be interesting to see how that would go from the property aspect as well, wouldn’t it? Because obviously, everything’s done in USD at the moment because of the fluctuation of the Colon. But I think over the last few years, that has maybe worked better for the USD than for the Colon. I agree with you the way that it’s coming back; I know a lot of people now from a construction basis are only quoting in Colones.
Richard Bexon Yeah.
Dan Williams Yeah. Because a 10 or 15 percent swing with the currency can kill a project.
Richard Bexon Tell me about it. Yeah, I mean, it impacts… I mean, I just import a lot more stuff just because I can get it in US dollars.
Dan Williams Yeah. Okay.
Richard Bexon Yeah, that makes sense. But again, I’m building five, six, ten vendors at a time, so it’s a little bit interesting. But Dan, do you think we’re in a buyer’s or a seller’s market at the moment?
Buyer’s vs Seller’s Market in Tamarindo and Guanacaste
Dan Williams I think with the area that we focus on—specifically Tamarindo—because it’s such a small community, if you have three or four people with the same idea and the same budget coming into town, all of a sudden it becomes a seller’s market. You’ve probably got four or five properties and three or four people looking at them. It only takes two people to start looking at one property seriously and we’re in a bit of a bidding war.
This has happened to us twice this year where we’ve had property that’s been on the market for over a year with a couple of offers and a little bit of interest, but not quite the right buyer. Then, boom, within the space of two or three days, we’re in a bidding war. Now we’re asking almost over-ask on certain properties that have been on the market for a year. I don’t understand it. We have a good amount of inventory at the moment, which I think puts it into more of a buyer’s market, but again, it really depends on what you’re looking at. If you had three million dollars and were looking for a hotel in Tamarindo, I don’t think there are that many options.
Richard Bexon No.
Dan Williams If you had three hundred and fifty grand and were looking for a two-bed condo, there are probably twenty-five good, real solutions. Overall, I would always say it’s a buyer’s market, with the exception of the peak of COVID. Ultimately, in a lot of cases, your first offer is your best—and sometimes only—offer for a little while. You have to handle the sellers so they understand they don’t have a “unicorn” or a one-off. Generally, take what you can get; I think that is the best way to go from a seller’s perspective. It’s not what sellers want to hear, but it’s what’s going to get them their ultimate goal, which is the money in their bank account so they can move forward.
Richard Bexon Do you think these now US-style mortgage companies are going to help the market, or you don’t think it’s going to have that much of an impact?
Impact of New Mortgage Products
Dan Williams I think it will help the market, but I don’t think it will help as dramatically as if Wells Fargo turned up and started doing six to seven percent mortgages—that would revolutionize the industry. Where we’re at the moment is a step forward, but it’s only slightly better than what we’ve always had access to, which is certain localized banks and the private funding community. They’re still struggling to get lower than realistically nine or ten percent. Sixty-five percent loan-to-value is considered a good deal, whereas a lot of people coming from the US and Canada—which is 85 or 90 percent of our clients—are thinking of coming in with 15 to 20 percent down on 30-year terms at six or seven percent. We just can’t offer that.
So, while we are doing more business, it’s definitely never going to hurt us to have more of these options, but I don’t think it will change the market dramatically. We’ve got a couple of deals done this year with Second Street, and I put in a pre-approval for a client this morning. It’s definitely going to help us in certain areas, but I don’t think it’s going to be the missing link that means anybody can come and buy a property here.
Richard Bexon Yeah. I mean, you mentioned sellers a while back should take what they can get. What’s the biggest mistake sellers are making right now, in your opinion?
Common Seller Mistakes and Pricing Expectations
Dan Williams I think holding out is a big mistake. It’s very rare—in my experience, the first offer that you get is typically your best offer, or it’s going to give you a good indication of where you’re at. If you’ve got a six hundred-thousand-dollar house and someone offers you 550, you’re probably not over the moon to take it and you think you can hold out for something better. But if six to eight months down the line you’re still on the market, would you have taken that 550? I think a lot of people probably would.
So, not understanding how the Costa Rican market is so dramatically different from many other places in the world is a factor. We don’t have the comps. The MLS is making strides forward, but it’s still so far away from being Zillow; it’s not even close. Having that data to share with people would be helpful. But I think not accepting—and maybe this sounds self-titled—not listening to your realtor is one of the biggest mistakes. I’ll give you a great example: we had a property in Potrero, very sellable. We had an offer at full ask. The sellers were a little bit concerned that they didn’t want to take the property off the market over Christmas and into January. I understand that’s a fairly legitimate concern given the due diligence period, but we decided not to go ahead with the deal. It’s still on the market today. We’ve had a couple of offers recently, but they’re not asking price; they’re probably 40 grand shy. Had that seller gone ahead with it, maybe we could have closed the deal. I’d say the biggest mistake is feeling they can get a little bit more than they can.
Richard Bexon Yeah. I mean, especially coming off the last couple of years when everything was crazy, where you could put a price out there and get asking price in two seconds. Stuff was closing really quickly, sight unseen, there were bidding wars. I mean, the reality of the situation, as you mentioned, is it’s a buyer’s market. So, if someone offers you asking price, take it and run.
Dan Williams Yeah, that’s the frustrating part for us. We’ve had that happen a couple of times. And of course, once the buyer’s gone, they’re gone. Getting them back is virtually impossible.
Richard Bexon Impossible, man. Yeah, a lot of people are looking to have a vacation property as well as rent it out. When they ask you what returns they can expect, what do you typically tell them?
Rental Returns by Area and Product Type
Dan Williams It depends where it is. I think the Costa Rican market is so interesting because it doesn’t matter whether you’re talking Manuel Antonio, Nosara, or Tamarindo—a five-mile or ten-minute drive changes everything. It’s chalk and cheese. You can go from five or six hundred dollars a square meter for a piece of land to thirty dollars within a ten-minute drive, and people can’t get their heads around that.
For a rental hotspot like Tamarindo, within 10 to 15 minutes walking distance to the beach—and depending on the property—two-bed condos are seeing a bit of a flood in the market right now. People aren’t making as much money as they were hoping. I still think there’s a good 5 percent to be made net cash-on-cash depending on the property. Certain properties we are seeing a little bit higher, but it needs to be more of a specialist property, maybe run in an unorthodox way. But the 5 percent mark is definitely feasible.
If you went to somewhere like Potrero, Flamingo, Playa Negra, Playa Avellanas, or Playa Grande, I think you could probably half that rental rate right now. It comes down to the property, the property manager, and the owner. What does it look like online? How motivated is your PM? As you mentioned, some people just want enough money in the bank to pay the HOA, property taxes, replace an AC unit, and buy a couple of steak dinners. They’re pumped on that. Other people are pushing to get as close to a 10 percent return as they can. But I feel in Tamarindo specifically, a 5 to 10-minute walk makes 5 percent definitely doable.
Richard Bexon I agree. I mean, it comes down to what you said—your property management company. You need to make sure you’ve got a decent one, and they’re not always easy to find.
Dan Williams No, very difficult to find. Then the dynamic pricing and looking after the property is also important. But if you look after it too much, you’re never going to rent it because it’s being maintained all the time. It’s an interesting balance.
Richard Bexon Which beach towns do you think are cooling down and which ones are still strong? From what you said, Tamarindo appears to be strong, while Potrero, Flamingo, and Grande might be calming down.
Cooling and Hotter Beach Towns
Dan Williams Yeah, everything you just said, honestly. Grande is an interesting one because we had a massive blow-up there. From the early 2010s to 2021, there was no water available for 150 lots. Suddenly, everybody had a water letter, so everybody was building and grinding. Since then, that has stopped. There’s no more availability for water or buildings. So Grande has slowed down from a construction perspective and has reached a bit of a saturation point in terms of sales and pricing. Flamingo and Potrero are in similar situations. The noise from the Marina is quieting down and things are settling.
Richard Bexon Well, the interesting thing about Flamingo is the Accarello homes—the guys over at Grupo Zen. They’re about to release hundreds of rental units on the market there.
Dan Williams Yeah, and that will affect the people buying to try and make money. Suddenly, it’s going to be significantly more difficult to make that money, which makes it less of an exciting investment. There’s that weird COVID period where you kind of have to throw that data away because it’s not realistic. If you go back to 2017, 2018, or 2019, we’re back on par with those growth numbers and sales volume. It’s just that there are probably twice as many realtors now and twice as many eyes looking at this. We start crunching the data more and getting excited about development, whereas six or seven years ago, people were happy with a three to five percent year-on-year equity increase. Everyone’s expectations have changed.
Richard Bexon Yeah. I did a podcast a while back where a buddy asked what a book for 2026 would be called. I said, “Separating the Wheat from the Chaff.” There’s a lot of chaff out there. If you’re not a great operator or an efficient real estate agent, those leads are going to dry up.
Dan Williams Definitely. And the people who had a really slow 2025 are going to really put themselves in that position because you’re only as good as your last year’s sales; that’s your referral path and your reviews. Considering a lot of people had a slow quarter three and quarter four of 2025, I think there’s going to be a lot of people struggling. But for the market, that could be a good thing—get rid of the chaff and get the good guys in to increase the levels of performance across the board.
Richard Bexon Yeah, usually the professionals stick around.
Dan Williams Yeah, everybody makes money in a crazy market. All you need is a mouth, two eyes, and a phone, and you can make money.
Richard Bexon Exactly. What infrastructure improvements do you think could really unlock new investment in Guanacaste?
Infrastructure, Roads, and Emerging Areas
Dan Williams I think the roads. You look at somewhere like Playa Avellanas, Negra, or the Junquillal area as a great example. Also, Los Jobos in the back of Tamarindo. All of that area used to be dirt cheap to pick up land. Then picking up land without water was dirt cheap. Now some of those places have water, there are gated communities, and now there’s a little commercial center and a food court. Avellanas is a great example. In 2015, there was Lola’s and the beach burrito place, and that was it until you got to Villarreal. Now you could buy a coffee every 500 meters if you wanted. There are so many more people out there, and this is without the road even being developed yet—just on the basis that it will be paved.
As you see it grow, there are two new gas stations and about four new strip malls up there. It’s developing. It’s not just stuff for the locals; it’s more housing for tourists and vacationers. People aren’t necessarily coming to Costa Rica for the infrastructure; they’re coming for the Pura Vida, the wildlife, the climate, and the beaches. So, the more of a softer landing we make it, the easier it’s going to be.
That is why, in my opinion, Tamarindo will never be replaced. It will always be the best pound-for-pound area on the Gold Coast because it’s the only place you can walk to the beach, the bank, a bar, a restaurant, and a pharmacy and be back to your hotel in 10 minutes flat. It’s such a soft landing, an hour from the airport, and everyone speaks English. Nowhere else has that kind of turnkey package.
Richard Bexon I agree. Last question: if you inherited $500,000 and had to invest it in business or real estate in Costa Rica, what would you invest it in and why?
$500k Investment Strategy and Closing
Dan Williams Do I have to run the business?
Richard Bexon Say no—a lot of people listening don’t want to run the business.
Dan Williams Yeah, I’d buy a business in Tamarindo, without a doubt. You make more money. On a home, you’re going to do 5% to 10% if you’re really lucky. There are restaurants out there doing three or four hundred grand a year comfortably from a net perspective. If you run a business very well—particularly a food business—that’s what I would look for. Get a good place, but don’t do another pizza bar like everyone else. Find a niche. Look at the places that do really well: the Falafel Bar, Green Papaya, or Little Lucha. They’re different, they’ve marketed it well, and they have a nice, clean restaurant with a good menu. I don’t know how you can’t make money doing that.
Richard Bexon I agree. Well, Dan, it’s been an absolute pleasure having you here. If anyone would like to reach out to Dan about real estate in Guanacaste, his details will be in the description. Appreciate you taking the time, sir.
Dan Williams Yeah, absolutely. Always good to chat. Let me know what other questions you’ve got and when we can do this again. I enjoyed it.
Richard Bexon Awesome, man. Have a good one.
Dan Williams Cheers, buddy. All the best.
Richard Bexon Hey guys, I hope you enjoyed that podcast with Dan Williams giving an update on Guanacaste. I completely agree with him that we’re seeing a bit of a buyer’s market out there, especially in non-key areas. I think there is still a lot of demand for the multi-million-dollar villas, but less of a demand now for condos—especially two-bedrooms in that Tamarindo/Flamingo area.
It’s a great market with lots of opportunity. For anyone interested in chatting with us and getting our viewpoint, just send us a quick email at info@investingcostarica.com. Remember, we do everything from buyer’s reps to helping you invest in the right stuff. As I like to say, the realtors’ Jedi mind tricks don’t work on us. We give you the real download of what’s happening. We have our own property management, construction, and development companies. Until the next podcast, we’ll catch you later. Bye.
