Caribbean Real Estate Market Trends
Richard: Very, very good. I always like to ask people kind of, especially on the Caribbean side, what the weather’s like, because here on the Pacific, it’s very cloudy today.
Shevonne Newton: It’s kind of the same right now, but here in the Caribbean, it changes drastically. I don’t know what it does over on the west coast, but we had sun for an hour, and then it rained for 30 minutes, and now it’s cloudy.
Richard: Wow. Yeah. I mean, it’s usually they say that, like, when it’s sunny on the Pacific, it’s raining on the Caribbean. When it’s raining on, like, when it’s sunny on the Caribbean, it’s raining on the Pacific day.
Shevonne Newton: They say that, but that’s actually not true. That’s myth I’d like to bust. It’s.
Richard: Oh, I’m sure we’ll get into that during the podcast. But my first question for you is, you know, I always like to get a kind of an update of what you’re seeing happening in the markets. You know, there’s been quite a bit of volatility based in the, you know, in the market and also politically. But, I mean, what are you seeing happening in your area of the country in the Caribbean?
Shevonne Newton: I mean, I’ve been here 10 years now, and I’ve been in real estate for almost seven in total. And I would say in the past seven years, we’ve seen a really steady incline. And it hasn’t been crazy, but it’s been very steady. Obviously, throughout Covid. It was actually a great time for us here, and we had, you know, what we called the gold rush. And so we had, you know, a big burst in sales just because I think, too, the Caribbean was kind of discovered sort of for the first time, even by nationals during COVID So we, you know, I’ve seen a. A little bit of a drop since COVID as far as real estate goes, but it hasn’t dropped. Like, it’s still increasing every year. And I mean, I purchased land last year in an area here, and I’ve already seen almost 100 increase, which is crazy. I don’t like that’s, that’s, you know, not the norm, but it sounds like.
Richard: That, that’s a little different to the Pacific coast because again last year to this year, there’s been some settling of prices. In some areas. Yes, prices have gone up and in some areas, you know, just been, it’s been more, it’s settling, especially in areas that, you know, kind of maybe saw rapid growth. Yeah, yeah.
Shevonne Newton: We have some parts that are settling, like some parts of the coastline that maybe were developed first, like 20, 25 years ago that are starting to settle out in their pricing. But then we have some areas that are still increasing because they’re the last to be developed, sort of.
Richard: Yeah. I mean, I always like to get an idea of like, you know, the, the high water tide mark for, you know, real estate. 2019. See that as like the last real steady year because then we went kind of the steroid era, as I like to use it. So whenever comparing 2024 or even 2025, I always like to go back to 2019. If you were to compare to 2019, are you above that at the same level? A little lower?
Shevonne Newton: No, much higher than that. Much higher.
Richard: I mean, the high water tide markers, we like to say is much higher.
Shevonne Newton: Yes. Yeah. So it is. Yeah. I mean, across the board down here, from maritime zone land outwards to, you know, 20 minutes away from the ocean, it’s all increased significantly.
Caribbean vs. Pacific Coast Differences
Richard: Okay. I mean, a lot of people even forget that Costa Rican has a Caribbean side sometimes just because they’re always talking about the Pacific, you know, the Four Seasons, the walled author, Ritz Carlton, Marriott, everything is all on the, on the Pacific side. So it gets a lot of attention. But what are the main differences, would you say, between the two coastlines?
Shevonne Newton: Those hotels don’t exist here. That’s one of them. But no, I would say this area is definitely more focused on conservation and eco tourism. And there’s a lot of protected areas in this part of the coast and there’s a lot of natural wildlife because of it. And I think that’s a huge draw. But it is different, right? It’s not that all inclusive hotel experience. It’s a little bit more, I mean, it’s getting better, but 10 years ago it was a little bit more rough and tumble. You know, it wasn’t, it wasn’t, you know, the easy going sort of vacation experience. Now it’s definitely changing. And a lot of those conveniences that weren’t there before are here now or they’re starting to be here, but it’s definitely the draw here is, is definitely animals, wildlife conservation and being in an area that still feels, you know, 20, 30 years behind what I call the real world.
Richard: Yep. How would you, you know, I’ve always kind of described the Caribbean as like side of Costa Rica is if you took Costa Rica and the Caribbean in like a, in like a mix and then shook it up, if that makes sense. Because there very much is a strong Caribbean vibe there.
Shevonne Newton: Yes. Now the Afro Caribbean culture here is amazing. The food is probably, in my opinion, some of the best I’ve experienced in all of Costa Rica. It is so good. And not just the local food though, because there’s also 150 more or less restaurants in a 15 kilometer coastline and they’re from all over the world. So what I love about this area is that it’s, you know, a huge conglomerate of community and there’s people from Europe and Canada and the U.S. and South America and all over, and they are all just kind of living here together and with the local community as well, which is really important.
Weather Patterns and Climate Reality
Richard: Yeah. How does the weather compare, would you say? I mean, what are the typical weather patterns on the Caribbean?
Shevonne Newton: So weather is completely unpredictable. We do not. Like the west coast has a distinct dry and rainy season. Right. And we do not have that. So everyone says it always. Sorry, one second. Everyone always says that there’s a distinct dry and wet season on the west coast, but here that’s not the case. There is basically every day it rains a little bit more or less and there’s no rhyme or reason to it. I thought I figured out the rhyme or reason. But then this past year everything changed and even the locals are like, we don’t know. We don’t know the seasons anymore because September and October is usually a really nice dry summer season is what we say here. But we’ve had constant rain all month, so I have no idea.
Richard: Yeah, I mean, it’s, you know, usually September and October people in Costa Rica are going to the Caribbean because usually the weather is a little better. But I had a friend I was talking to the other day that was at a wedding and it was like, it just rained all day. Like it’s not normal.
Shevonne Newton: No, it’s not normal, but there’s no way to predict it either. And that’s what makes it tricky. Like I had a whole open house, well, open house for a development scheduled for last weekend and it all got canceled because the rain was just torrential. And I thought we were booking it for a weekend that just really wouldn’t have rain.
Richard: It’s not. I think the beauty of Costa Rica, though, is that once it rains, you know it’s going to stop. It’s not like, you know, England, where, like, it starts raining and it can last weeks or sometimes like a month, and just dreariness and rainness.
Shevonne Newton: I mean, I’m from Vancouver originally and in the same way. So, yeah, we had four months straight of rain before there. So it does change.
Cultural Adjustment and Visitor Experience
Richard: What do you think would shock people when coming to the Caribbean?
Shevonne Newton: Good question. I think it’s hard because I’ve been here so long now. So now I’m like, what’s the shocking thing? I think it’s probably just in general the lack of convenience or how far it is, actually. So people underestimate that. It’s a very small country, but. And it’s not a lot of kilometers to get here, but to get here with traffic and the roads and everything, it’s actually a bit of a journey. So I think people are always a little surprised by that at the beginning because you do feel like you’re stepping off, like stepping out of a car into another world. And it’s not the convenience and the. The normal sort of brands and looks that you’re. That you’re expecting when you go traveling.
Richard: Yeah, I mean. I mean, very easy to get there. I think Sansa has a flight to Le Mans now, so you can fly to le Mon, like, 20 minutes. And then from there, what are you, like, 45 minutes to Puerto Viejo?
Shevonne Newton: Correct. And that’s. That is a super convenient way. And, you know, in the last five years, I haven’t taken a shuttle or a car. I’ve taken that little hopper. But, you know, it’s a tiny plane. And it’s a little freaky, too.
Richard: I don’t know. I fly them like, four times a week. So for me, it’s like getting on a bus.
Shevonne Newton: Yeah, no, it is. It’s really convenient, and they have a great track record and they’re a good company. So that is what a lot of our clients do. Now. I always say it’s good to drive at least once from San Jose to Puerto Vijo just to get that feeling, because you go through, what, seven different microclimates between one and the other, and. And it’s a cool experience, but I would say it’s a little bit of a culture shock if you’ve never traveled anywhere. Like, just kind of arriving here, you feel like you’re kind of in a different world. For sure.
Richard: Yeah. Yeah. I think different world is probably the Def. It’s very, very different than any other part of Costa Rica. But that’s the beauty of it. I mean, you could go again, a lot of people connect it with either Arenao or they connect it to Turialba because of. It’s like, very. It’s very easy, but they’re very different destinations. Very, very different.
Shevonne Newton: Yeah. And the only way, like I tell people this all the time, you won’t know how it is until you come here, because it’s a feeling. And. And I always say this too, that people come here and they either love it and they want to live here or they hate it. It’s a very interesting dynamic. It’s not. There’s no one here that’s like, oh, I kind of like Puerto Viejo. Love or hate.
Richard: Yeah. I think that there are other parts of Costa Rica where that. That doesn’t probably exist. Like, it’s a little bit more westernized and easier, if that makes sense. I mean, the Caribbean. The Caribbean, yes.
Shevonne Newton: Yeah. Yeah, the Caribbean is definitely the Caribbean. I mean, people mistake it all the time as being an island because it feels like an island. It has that sort of island life feel. But I have to remind everybody it’s not an island.
Personal Perspective on Caribbean Living
Richard: I mean, what do you like most about the Caribbean?
Shevonne Newton: Kind of a lot of what we just said. I mean, I decided to move here before I turned 30, and we moved here sight scene, which was a little crazy, a little. A little adventurous. And. But we had read about it and. And I am very type A, but my husband was like, we’re going. So we went. And I said, if I hate it after one year, we’ll leave. And he’s like, okay. And. And here we are 10 years later. So I think for me, the fact that it is so different from what we’re used to in the real world and the potential here is kind of limitless. We don’t have all the competition of all the other businesses that exist in the world. And it’s just growing, right. It’s just at the beginning of its development. So the potential to kind of think outside the box. I mean, our motto is live outside the box. So is. Is. Is really exciting for. For me, at least it was because I felt like in Canada I didn’t have room to really expand on, you know, some of the original ideas I had or some of the things I wanted to change or affect in the world in a. In a different way. And here I have that potential.
Richard: So, yeah, you know, I mean, I think that’s just the DNA of Costa Rica, just that boutiqueness and kind of freedom, you know, you get it everywhere here. And you know, I think there’s a lot of people that come to Costa Rica wanting to do big projects and big resorts and like there is a place for that, but it’s so difficult. But in like the Caribbean, I think that’s, I wouldn’t say impossible, but probably virtually impossible to do that.
Shevonne Newton: I would say virtually impossible is correct. Yeah. I mean there’s been attempts in the past 20 years for, you know, big name hotels coming down here and, and doing their version of a, of a big hotel. And it was next all the time by the community. Like the community here is very protective over its, over how it develops, which I love a lot too.
Community Values and Development Control
Richard: I like that because Costa Rica has, I said, like a natural rejection and community projects that don’t align with its values. I mean I was in Antonio yesterday and there was an 18, I think 16 or 18 story building that was about to be put up. And you know, the community got behind it and stopped that project. And that’s the beauty of this country, of like communities can get together and stop things that they don’t think agree with the community or like the natural setting of Costa Rica.
Shevonne Newton: Exactly. And I mean that’s part of the big draw for me too in Canada. You know, in order to stop something In Canada, the U.S. or anywhere, I mean it’s, that’s virtually impossible. But here your voice matters. Like you, you can make a difference and especially if you have, you know, an established business. And we actually started a non profit foundation as well here that coincides. And those two things give us a little bit more leverage to be able to affect positive change in the area.
Richard: Yeah, I mean I sued actually the president and the, the health minister during the pandemic because they try to come up with that QR code. Did you really restaurants? Yeah, that was us that got that one stopped. But like that’s the beauty about it. Like you can stop that kind of stuff. That’s anti. Constitutional.
Shevonne Newton: We’re gonna have to talk about that later.
Richard: Okay. I get myself involved in stuff sometimes, Siobhan, where I’m just like, my wife just goes, what are you doing?
Shevonne Newton: My husband the same. Don’t worry.
Investment Opportunities in the Caribbean
Richard: Exactly. I mean, from an investment perspective, where do you think the opportunity is on the Caribbean side? What’s missing or what do you need more of?
Shevonne Newton: Honestly, we have a lot of hotels and vacation rentals. We’re a little saturated in the vacation rental market. Absolutely. Just because to, I mean up until now, it’s been pretty unregulated, but that’s starting to change, as we know. But I would say any other business that draws community involvement in any way, whether that’s recreation or, you know, unique Nishi eco ideas, whatever that is, but some other business plan that we are really suffering for recreation in the area, honestly, like, they’re surfing and that’s cool, but what do you do when it rains and it’s. I’m. I was an athlete my whole life, and I have this little thing in the back of my head that wants to build this massive multiplex recreational center. But something like that would be great.
Richard: I mean, look, I think we’re starting to see that, you know, there are certain evolutions in communities, and they’ve started to see a lot of that stuff up in the Pacific and even down in the Southern Pacific, like Ohachao Vita, you know, that they’ve got kind of like, you know, paddle courts and indoor tennis courts coming out now. And, like, just a lot of, you know, as the community starts to develop, those things kind of come up, but.
Shevonne Newton: Exactly.
Richard: They’re not always huge money makers, if that makes sense.
Shevonne Newton: No, they. They’re not. And I mean, for me, and this is probably. I’m probably the worst salesperson ever by saying this, but usually the best people are the worst. Yeah. I don’t know if money should be the driving factor. If you’re, like, for the Caribbean at least, if. If your driving factor is to make a buttload of money, this might not be the place for you. It’s not meant for that. Right. Like, I mean, people invest down here, they make money. There are boutique hotels that do really well for themselves, but nothing like the numbers that you’re seeing on the West Coast. So if money is your, you know, your focus, that might not be for here, but if you want to live in a place that kind of gives you, as you said, that freedom to sort of disconnect from what the real world kind of brings you, and you want to, you know, involve the community and, you know, help support the locals in the area. I think this is a great place for you. I mean, again, being a terrible salesperson, but gentrification happens everywhere, right? We can’t stop. Yeah, but I mean, the reason why we got into real estate was so that we could try to have some sort of positive effect on what gentrification will do to an area like this. So that’s why we started a foundation and we give 10% of our real estate commissions go back to this foundation that helps to support different community projects. And I think having that as your, you know, some part of that in your model of business will just help you be consistently successful. You’re not going to make millions and millions and millions of dollars. That’s just not going to happen here. But you can have a better quality of life, I think.
Finding Balance and Happiness
Richard: I mean, look, I know a lot of people with a lot of money and the biggest problem is that they have a lot of money, you know, and it frustrates them sometimes of like, you know, what’s enough? You know, I’m constantly being like, you know, what’s enough?
Shevonne Newton: Exactly.
Richard: And I think that that’s a question you need to really ask yourself when you move to Costa Rica. Of like, what’s enough?
Shevonne Newton: Yes. And I had to, I had to learn that lesson very quickly. Like we, like I said, we came here very unplanned, very. With not a lot of money. We were, you know, silly kids basically. And we, you know, I come from a middle class family in Canada and I never struggled in that way. And then coming here with an online job that hadn’t really been established yet, I realized I was really poor. And this is really poor. Like, I was counting the cost of eggs at one point. And so going through that was really enlightening because then you realize what is important and material possessions just aren’t. Especially here. People don’t care. Like, I’m wearing makeup and, you know, a nice dress right now for the podcast, but we don’t. Makeup, doing your hair, like, that’s not a thing that happens here.
Richard: Yeah, I mean, I think that there is a lot more focus on the quality of the human being here than what you actually have. Like, if you drive. I remember once, you know, I saw a guy driving around, he just moved here, went out and got like a Porsche Cayenne. And I was like, dude, you’re an idiot. He was like, why? Like, you’re moving to Costa Rica. You bought a Porsche. Like, who’s that for? That’s for you, man. Like, but the local people are going to look at you and go, okay, this guy’s an idiot. Like, you’re sticking out like a sore thumb, man.
Shevonne Newton: Exactly. So I would recommend not do that definitely. Because too, like, people don’t understand, I don’t think either that the legal minimum wage here is just under $3 an which is not livable. It’s an insane, it’s an insane minimum wage. And so the locals are fighting always to make more money. And so we need to be really careful as Foreigners and immigrants that we come in here and we don’t, we don’t hurt that even more that we help it in every way that we can.
Advice for Considering Costa Rica as Plan B
Richard: Yeah. I mean, we just kind of, you know, I was about to ask the question, what advice you’d give to anyone looking to make Costa Rica plan Plan B? I think it’s like, you know, try and take off that, you know, those keeping up with the Joneses cloak that usually people have here in Costa Rica. It doesn’t really work. But I mean, what other advice would you have for people? Because again, I think due to the instability in the world and volatility, people look at Costa Rica as like a stable kind of place to potentially have a potential Plan B if stuff does get a little crazy.
Shevonne Newton: Yeah. I mean, Costa Rica, I was, I just said this to my husband the other day, like with everything that’s going on in the world, from politics to weather to war to everything, I’m like, you know what, I’m so glad we’re here. I’m so glad we’re here because we might not have all of the luxury conveniences that we would possibly have back home, but we feel safe and we feel happy and we get to be outside all the time. And our friends and our neighbors and our community is not talking about politics and is not caring about that. They truly care about the things that actually matter on a day to day basis. And that’s the thing, they live day to day, which is the difference. Right. The mindset is, is completely different. So I think for people wanting to move here, I totally encourage it, but I want people to be aware that you have to drop the things you’ve learned in the country you came from because it doesn’t work here in the same way. And you have to be willing to let that go because if you don’t, Costa Rica is really good at kicking you out. And I mean that energetically, only not actually. But if you come in with your, you know, preconceived ideas and philosophies about the way things should be. I’ve seen the craziest things happen and, and I’ve never been an energy, spiritual person ever in my life. But it’s hilarious how quickly that change happens when people are not open to different possibilities.
Richard: I always say to people like, look, it’s either surf the wave or just go with the current because it will sweep you away here.
Shevonne Newton: Exactly, exactly.
Richard: Can do. It will not change. You have to adapt to it.
Shevonne Newton: And adaptation is the biggest thing. So come here, come to Costa Rica, you know, invest, but be sure you know how to adapt or that you’re prepared to adapt because otherwise it’ll force you to do it.
Safety and Crime Perceptions
Richard: I mean a big thing that we’re seeing here in Costa Rica and it was always something in the Caribbean is crime, you know, and people bring it up. I mean, you know, I’ve always said that like, look cosmic is kind of a lot more opportunistic crime that like when stuff’s left out or like that kind of stuff, like it’s not often that you hear that like people are busting down doors and that kind of stuff. But maybe you can give us like a little bit of your opinion on that.
Shevonne Newton: I’m pretty biased on this just because I’ve lived here now for 10 years and then I’ve heard everything that’s been said about the Caribbean. I’ve lived here as, you know, a woman for 10 years and I have, knock on wood, never had any issues down here whatsoever. The biggest thing I’ve seen is petty theft, you know, and there are, you still hear of instances where there are things that happen, you know, that are violent crimes, but it’s way less than what it is in any big city, in my opinion. And I think to the Caribbean, if we, you know, even go back to really recent history, there is a racial component to a lot of the news that comes out for sure. And I think Limon as a province is consistently being talked about as if it’s, you know, dangerous and a bad place to go and don’t go there because there’s a lot of black people. And I don’t think that that’s fair, justified. The Limon port area, any port town in Costa Rica, I mean Puntarenas is similar. It’s not just, it’s not just here, but a port town has a different level of danger in Costa Rica, absolutely. But the port is an hour away. It doesn’t even trickle down here that we see, honestly. And so for me, I’m not worried about crime or violent crime. Just don’t be, just don’t be silly, don’t be a silly tourist, right? Like don’t leave your stuff out and you know, don’t walk around at 2 o’clock in the morning drunk with all your stuff like, stuff like that. But you wouldn’t do that in, in any city in the world either, so.
Richard: No, I agree. I mean, look, I’ve said to people that, look, stuff happens here, it’s opportunistic. But any, most of the stuff’s happening in like the port towns, Limon, Puntarenas and like, you know, I mean it’s because it’s where stuff comes in and comes out. Exactly. You know, and stuff does happen. But like I feel a lot safer here than I do anywhere else in the world.
Shevonne Newton: Yeah, I feel much safer here walking around in the evening in town, like not in dark places. Right. But in town than I did in like, you know, this block of Vancouver that I would never go to. Right. Like it’s, it’s different.
Future Growth Areas in the Caribbean
Richard: Definitely. What areas of, you know, the Caribbean do you think are going to see the most growth over the next five to 10 years?
Shevonne Newton: Honestly, I would say Puerto Viejo is just continuously. I mean when I say Puerto Viejo it’s not just the town. Right. It includes all the beach towns in the 15 kilometer radius. So that’s just continuing to develop. And because we’re a little further behind than the west coast, that’s just going to continue I think for the next five, 10 years. The other one that’s we’re seeing steady growth in is Cahuita, which is 20 minutes north of here. And we actually have a satellite office in Cahuita and that one’s starting to pick up and it’s, and it’s doing really well. And Cahuita is becoming more popular because it still has that kind of sleepy fishing village vibe. And the land’s, you know, half the price right now than, than Puerto Viejo. And so, and, and people are, there’s less people in general. There’s a lot more people now than there were 10 years ago in Puerto Viejo. So.
Investment Recommendations
Richard: Yeah. Also my last question for you is, I’ve kept you long enough, Siobhan. 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?
Shevonne Newton: I, yeah, that’s a good question too. I mean, I would do the thing that doesn’t make me a lot of money probably. Yeah. But I would do probably one of those large recreational centers like a rock climbing gym, gymnastics gym, football field, sportsplex, something like that. Or honestly there’s this amazing new ocean view development that we’re selling that I’m trying to convince the, the owner to give me a really reduced price on. But it’s kind of one of a kind right now because ocean view is not super available down here and they are minimum 5000 square meter lots with one 180 degree ocean view and it’s gorgeous. And so I would say one of those because they come in between 4 and 500k.
Richard: Wow. Wow. Yeah, I mean, it’s. Ocean view in the Caribbean is not always easy to get, so. Yeah, completely. Yeah. That’s pretty. Pretty spectacular.
Shevonne Newton: Yeah. Yeah.
Richard: Siobhan, I very much appreciate you your time to come here on the podcast and share kind of some of your knowledge. Anyone that wants to get in contact with you. I’ll put all of your contact details down in the description, but very much appreciate your time.
Shevonne Newton: Thanks. Thanks so much. Have a good day.
Richard: You too. Bye.
