IL Postcard

Own a 20-acre Ranch in Shakira’s Neighborhood for $58,000

Date: 10/03/2008 Author: Lee Harrison

Friday, Oct. 3, 2008

Read more about Uruguay in International Living Postcards—your daily escape

Dear International Living Reader,

Just a stone’s throw from Uruguay’s most popular beach resorts, you’ll find miles of wide, open space with rolling hills and stunning natural surroundings, where you can own a huge country estate for less than $25,000.

These ridiculously low land prices are close to the famous resorts of Punta del Este and José Ignacio. The Uruguayans have been taking advantage of these land parcels for many years, but they’re just now beginning to come to the attention of the foreign property buyer.

In the marketplace, these properties are known as chacras (ranches), and they can vary in size from 1 to more than 100 acres. Once they become larger than 200 acres or so, they’re more often called an estancia.

A chacra is sometimes used for agriculture, but is more often enjoyed by Uruguayans as a vacation property. Many families spend holidays and weekends there, tending gardens, barbecuing, or simply enjoying the open spaces. Often, people will own horses or do a bit of “gentleman farming.”

For you, these ranches offer a country lifestyle near the beaches, restaurants, and nightlife along the Uruguayan coast…without the coastal property price tag.

Here are a few individual good-value chacras I came across while scouting for the new Uruguay: The Owner’s Manual.

One of the cheapest options I found was a 12.4-acre parcel available in Cañada Bellaca, with an asking price of just $21,000…just under $1,700 per acre. For $38,000, there’s a chacra of the same size for sale in Las Cañas. But this one is on high ground, with panoramic views of the countryside and nearby mountains.

Just 20 minutes from the resort at Punta del Este, I found a 20-acre chacra with a small white house, electricity, and private water for just $58,000.

Recently, I’ve seen a new version of the chacra emerging along the outskirts of Punta del Este and nearby La Barra. Developers are buying a large tract of land and dividing it into chacras of 5 hectares (12.4 acres)…a size that’s large enough to be exempt from the strict controls applied to subdivisions. They bring electricity and water to each parcel, add some common facilities, put a gate out front, and apply a significant markup to the cost of the land. It’s a good way to turn a profit without the hassles and risks associated with building houses or condos. And it’s good for the buyer, who gets a chacra with some extra development-style amenities like a clubhouse and pool.

These next few may be good for a large estate, or even for a subdivision.

Near José Ignacio (where singer Shakira has her own chacra), I came across a 91-acre parcel selling for $218,300. This one has a nice view of the rolling hills, along with fruit trees and a stream.

For $300,000, you can get a five-bedroom, two-bath house on a 131-acre property with a stream and all utility services. This chacra has a great view of the mountain range known as Sierra de las Animas, and is less than two miles from the ocean…a great location for a project or subdivision.

Leaving the Punta del Este area, there’s a good opportunity available near historic Colonia, the hottest property market right now in Uruguay. This property is 40 acres, and only 3.5 miles from Colonia itself. It is one mile from the airport, and the asking price is $240,000, or $6,000 per acre.

For information on these and other properties, contact Campos del Este, an agency that specializes in country properties. The owner, Noel de los Santos, can be reached at ventas@camposdeleste.com. Noel is also the public notary who handled the purchase of my first property in Uruguay, so he’s a one-stop shop if you buy one of his properties.

These are not the cheapest land buys in Uruguay by any means. If you venture farther into the interior, it’s not hard to find land for $1,000 per acre and lower. But these chacras are fairly close to the beaches and big cities that draw people from the world over, so you can enjoy the best of both worlds.

Lee Harrison
Roving Latin America Editor, International Living

Editor’s Note: Lee covered the length and breadth of Uruguay while researching for our new Uruguay: The Owner’s Manual. Everywhere he went he found amazing real estate bargains guaranteed to suit your lifestyle and budget. In this new manual he tells us where to find these bargains, as well as the advantages attached to life in Uruguay: excellent health care and inexpensive health insurance; modern highways; high-speed Internet; clean, well-maintained beaches; and low crime rates, just to name a few. Find out more here.

Read related IL Postcards:

- Ocean-view Homes for Less Than $100,000 in a World-class Beach Resort

- Uruguay: Capital Living for $69,000

- Uruguay’s Most Beautiful Beaches