Puerto Rico Property A New Caribbean Hotspot?
Mar - 27 | 
4 comments. | 
Caribbean Property
Same script, but possibly a different ending this time? Locals in Puerto Rico will be hoping that Donald Trump sees his latest project through to the end as his projects around the world have the potential to bring a much needed tourism boost to little known resort locations.
Trump has announced plans to build a $600 million golf complex in Puerto Rico, where the local authorities are desperate to attract more and more tourists to the area despite it already being a cruising stop off port. This new venture will include accommodation for 500 residents as well as a state of the art golf complex, but even the site of the complex has attracted some undue criticism, situated in between the San Juan coast and a tropical rain forest. It seems that wherever Donald Trump goes, controversy and hope follow in equal measures.
On a positive note, if the venture is completed it has the potential to put the Puerto Rico back on the map and will act as a huge magnet for not only tourists, but property investors. Puerto Rico property prices in the San Juan region are very low and while many resort developers have looked at Puerto Rico in the past, few have actually invested directly. There are plans for designer branded Yoo project in San Juan and with 20% of their Uruguay project already sold this too could also bring some much needed attention to this forgotten corner of the Caribbean.
For those who follow the adventures of Donald trump they will know that he is currently embroiled in an investigation into his golf resort venture in Scotland, where plans to build a complex on the Aberdeenshire coast were initially rejected by the local authorities and then re-instated by the national government. A whole array of politicians have been pulled into the affair with suggestions that influence was used to try to push the venture through.
Trumps Puerto Rico property venture seems to have the firm backing of the local authorities, something which will prove vital when the development finally gets off the ground. Whether we will see any property investors take the plunge before the project is actually finished remains to be seen, but it is a very interesting story.
This is a nice fluff piece, but full of unfounded commentary. Property prices in the San Juan region are high, in spite of the property recession…prices are comparable to the most sought after locations in Florida, US Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands, and other high-end locales.
Developers will do well to stay out of Puerto Rico if they want to complete projects, and/or retain their land purchases. The government is currently expropriating about 1,200 acres from the Katz family (long-time property development family) for a sum of $5MM….a bit disappointing to the Katz family since they have tried to develop the property for 40 years, promising +$200MM investment and the creation of hundreds of jobs. They value the land at +/-$80MM. Naturally, they are in court, which is where most developers end up when they try to work n Puerto Rico. There are many more examples one could post.
Permits in Puerto Rico are virtually impossible to get, and even then, they are sometimes revoked, or the projects stopped by endless lawsuits from environmental and nimby groups.
One last thing….hopefully Mr. Trump is not counting much on the good faith of the current administration in Puerto Rico. Their credibility and the value of their promises are highly suspect…as of this morning the Governor of Puerto Rico and 12 others in his Administration are charged with 18 federal indictments. It is not likely that their cooperation on real estate development deals will be worth much form here on out.
Sarah, have you been to Puerto Rico recently or checked on the cost of property in the San Juan area?
Having recently moved here, I can tell you that property prices are not low my any means.
Island land is limited that why the prices are high not to mention perfect weather and storm free for the most part. I say is worth the money…
Dear Jose Perez:
You are obviously ignorant regarding the isand of Puerto Rico. You might want to check:
http://www.stormpulse.com/
and click on the forecast models on the right…you will see that there is currently a potential hurricane heading on a direct path towards Puerto Rico…the same day that you write about perfect weather here….and that says nothing of the Tropical Storms of the past couple of weeks….Puerto Rico is a prie target for hurricanes…only Haiti and Cuba lie in riskier locations in the region.
As for limited land, there are about 340 MILES of coastline here, and that says nothing of the other islands such as Hipanola (Domincan republic and Haiti which offer many times more coastal miles than Puerto Rico at fractions of the cost.
And finally, the prices are down substantially now that the bubble has burst here too….but they are still unjustifiable high relative to other equal or better localtioins in the region…..no more time for ignorant comments….cheers.