Country Article / Postcards
Calling All Caribbean Entrepreneurs
Date: 01/01/2004Dear International Living Reader,
On the Dominican Republic's southeastern shore, Punta Cana is the area of the island that is most rapidly developing.
Five years ago, with Bávaro Beach at its heart, Punta Cana was a deserted paradise--overgrown tropical vegetation kissing up against baby-powder-soft white-sand beaches. Today, large hotel complexes line those beaches and the tropical vegetation has been immaculately groomed into "civilized" gardens and walking paths. Some of the newest designer golf courses in the Caribbean are here, too. Around them and their anchor hotels, elite gated communities have sprouted.
The Punta Cana Beach Resort boasts that Oscar de la Renta and Julio Iglesias live there. Lots on the golf course, some with an ocean view, are selling quickly. In another resort, the Palma Real--associated with the Melía Caribe all-inclusive resort--a 2,600-square-foot, three-bedroom duplex is for sale for $245,000. Prices go up from there. For a 5,200-square-foot, four-bedroom home, for example, you may pay $575,000 or more. But remember, this is a choice part of the Caribbean, and these are very reasonable prices for this area.
For real estate speculators and other opportunists, this area represents much potential. My broker friend tells me that two million tourists are expected to visit Punta Cana in 2004. To serve them, 65,000 employees live in the area…about 20% of them in upper management. More hotels are being built, and housing for local employees is desperately needed. A smart entrepreneur could quickly build apartment buildings and have them rented immediately. Construction costs range from $30-$60 per square foot, depending on quality.
Other businesses are needed, as well…like smaller hotels and restaurants to cater to locals and the non-all-inclusive crowd. By the way, Punta Cana has it own extremely reliable power plant--it is the only area in the country that is not connected to the notoriously unreliable Dominican Republic power grid.
If you are not interested in gated communities, golf courses, and so on, take heart. Punta Cana is but one tiny sliver of this beautiful island. There are still plenty of places to get away from it all, where the only footprints in the sand will be yours. And the further you get from places like Punta Cana…served by both international and regional airlines…the lower the prices.
Suzan Haskins
for International Living