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Nosara’s Economic Forecast Looks Sunny

By Adam Dietrich

As the dust from dry season settles metaphorically and literally, merchants and business owners in Nosara are counting their spoils.         

For many, this year was unprecedented in terms of business and profits, and it seems it’s due to two things. First, the global economic recovery has reached a point where people are travelling again.  Second, local tourism seems to have received a boost, largely due to the expansion of the Daniel Oduber Quirós airport in Liberia, completed this past January

Real Estate Market Shifting
Brandon Richardson, the owner of a local real estate company, is impressed with the recovery in the Nosara area and thinks overall the recession likely adjusted the real estate market in Nosara in a good way.

“It took about a year for the effects of the housing crisis to reach here, so we didn’t feel much until 2009,” notes Richardson. Over the next two years, prices dropped around 15 to 30 percent.  “We were definitely living in a bubble before that, and I think the price correction was a healthy thing,” says Richardson.

Although Richardson says he was still showing a lot of homes from 2009-2011, few of those actually turned into sales.

The owner of another local real estate company, Bram Shook, agrees with the 2009-2011 timeline but disagrees somewhat on the recovery. He says that while people are buying homes again, it’s mostly in the high-end price range. However, he does see a gradual recovery happening.

“We’re selling a lot to Canadians, who weren’t hit as hard by the banking collapse. We’re also seeing the number of buyers come closer to the number of sellers,” says Shook. Part of the problem for realtors here in 2009, was that as the banking crisis deepened in the United States, more Americans who owned property wanted to sell and fewer people had money to buy, but Shook sees that shifting now.

More Tourists Coming From Liberia Airport
For Juan Surfo, who was born here and owns and operates a local surf school, the answer is simple.  “Since they fixed the airport in Liberia, I’m doing way more business. This last season was the busiest ever,” he says.

Surfo organizes shuttles from Nosara to Liberia and says this year he was booking trips every day of the dry season. “It’s crazy. Before the expansion in Liberia some tourists came from Liberia but most came from San Jose. Now everyone comes from Liberia.”

Joellen Hughes, who has managed a hotel and restaurant with her husband Matt since November 2008, said their first year of business showed steady growth of 30%, likely due to a change in staff and business model. However, in July 2010, while the U.S. was still trying to stabilize and Europe was poised to take another dive into crisis, even a Nosara landmark like the Gilded Iguana couldn’t seem to fill rooms. “Since we took over, that period of July-August was our worst financially speaking,” says Hughes.

This year’s high season, though, was their busiest ever. “I think the hotel was basically booked from December to the last week in April, and the restaurant has been full too,” says Hughes.

Although these business owners are dealing with different segments of Nosara’s economy, they represent Nosara’s two economic cornerstones: real estate and tourism. Both took a hit in 2009 and both are in recovery.

Marco Johanning of the Nosara chamber of commerce says there has also been an increase in the number of businesses started in the area, evidence of the recovery. While the chamber doesn’t have statistics on exactly how many new businesses there are, Johanning says there’s been a marked increase.

He also mentions that there’s been a change in the type of tourist: more people are renting vacation homes rather than staying in a hotel. This may represent a more frugal type of tourist intent on staying longer, which is good news for property managers and mini-mart owners.

The Voice of Nosara conducted a brief informal survey of local businesses that supports what is being said. Of the businesses surveyed that were here in 2008 before the recession, almost all have seen their business increase this year compared to the past few years, especially in the property management area.


 

More Regional News

Pictures and News of the Month

The Voice of Nosara brings you a brief recap of June stories you might have missed.

Montaña River Flooding May Wash Away Bridge Fill

The concern is twofold for the residents of Nosara when it comes to transit routes in their community. The roads are in poor condition and the Moñtana river bridge is unfinished.

Ministry of Health and Municipality Look to Eliminate Street Venders

Friday morning, June 22, a group of officials from the Ministry of Health and the Municipality of Nicoya decomissioned merchandise from a group of women street venders that display their products in front of the Court of Justice in the city of Nicoya. 

Wealthy US Citizens dumping Passports to Avoid Tax in Costa Rica

As taxes continue to rise in the United States, the upcoming expiration of the Bush Administration tax cuts and a proposed 55 percent tax increase on the horizon for the wealthy, an increasing amount of the United States’ wealthier population is disillusioned.

Health Department Shuts Down Artisan Tables in Samara

On Friday, June 22, representatives of the Ministry of Health shut down the tables where local artisans have been selling their wares. This is the second time the artisans have been shut down and left wondering where to go or what to do to continue working and supporting their families. 

Representative Mendoza Supports Nosara’s Demonstration

Juan Carlos Mendoza, legislative representative of the Citizen Action Party (PAC-Partido Acción Ciudadana), recently visited Nicoya. VON took advantage of the opportunity to talk to Mendoza and get his opinion about the possible demonstration by Nosarans and the project of the Costal Territories law. 

About 2000 From Nosara Will Protest on July 25th
• Demonstrators Will Demand Pavement for Route 160

Members of different social and community organizations from Nosara will march to Nicoya July 25th to request that the government incorporate pavement over route 160 in the budget. 

Commission Reports that 90% of Proposed Regulatory Plan is a Cut and Paste Job

On Wednesday, June 6, the Administrative Commission of nine community representatives presented an extensive report to the Municpal Council of the Canton of Nicoya, recommending that the council completely reject the proposed regulatory plan elaborated by the Spanish company Inypsa.

Nicoya Mayor Will Protest Against the Government on July 25 Celebrations

Marco Antonio Jimenez Muñoz, mayor of Nicoya, Guanacaste, announced that he will protest against Laura Chinchilla Miranda’s government, on the Day of Annexation because of the "deplorable state of national roads in this area.”

Pictures and News of the Month

The Voice of Nosara brings you a brief recap of the May stories you might have missed.

The Order to Close Pedregal is for Land that Was Not Being Exploited

Several Nicoyans are asking themselves how is it that the company of Pedregal can continue to work on the site of La Calera, at the entrance to the city of Nicoya. The reason is that the Environmental Administrative Tribunal, which ordered a temporary cessation of Pedregal in Nicoya, made this resolution due to a second site where the company was working in 2009.

Servicentro Nicoya Under Scrutiny for Closing Passageway and Possible Illegal Construction

Servicentro Nicoya, located 100 meters from La Anexion Hospital, is under the watchful eye of the Municipality of Nicoya, the Controller General of the Republic, the Environmental Court and residents of the El Carmen neighborhood. 

Rising Prices Hurt the Pocketbook

First the price of gas went up, next the price of bus tickets and finally the government added a 13% tax on products in the basic food basket. It’s time to take out the calculator and grab the pocketbook because everything is going up in price and your bill could reach an unforeseen amount. 

Mystery of E.Coli in Carrillo’s Estuaries Goes Unsolved

This year Carrillo only earned one star instead of two in the Ecological Blue Flag program because of a study that revealed high presence of E.Coli in the beach’s estuaries. Although so far the ocean water is still safe for swimming, that could change if action is not taken to find and remedy the problem. 

Nicoyan Auditor Owes Municipality 15 Years of Taxes
• Municipal Council Approved Sending Case to the Controller
• Official Was Suspended for Three Months

At the same time that ministers of the Republic have been under investigation for evading taxes, the internal auditor of the Municipality of Nicoya, Gilberto Lizano Elizondo, has also been under investigation for evading real estate taxes since 1997, as detailed in a report by the directive organ that investigated the case.

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