The Best Place to Invest in Uruguay
Date: 05/12/2008
Monday, May 12, 2008
Colonia, Uruguay
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If I were going to spend an investment dollar in Uruguay, my first choice right now would be Colonia. Things are booming.
Colonia de Sacramento sits on the banks of Río de la Plata, just a 50-minute ferry ride from Buenos Aires. It’s the cultural pride and joy of Uruguay. Colonia’s Barrio Histórico is likely the best-preserved Portuguese colonial historic center in existence today, with a good number of homes from the late 1600s still standing…and, in fact, still occupied. The narrow cobblestoned streets, sidewalk cafés, restaurants, and shops draw tourists year-round. People from all parts of the world are strolling its sycamore-lined streets in record numbers this year (including plenty of North Americans), with hotel occupancy rates running higher than 90%.
The first thing I wanted to do in Colonia was to go see the $38,000 house I’d found on the river during my last visit in 2005. The house looked great…but I was surprised to find out that the person who bought it two years ago had resold it after just a few months for $75,000.
In the same block, a three-bedroom house that we’d looked at for $80,000 was just resold for $150,000. Throughout the city, we saw evidence that prices have almost doubled in 2.5 years.
And the boom is just beginning.
Two huge projects, Marinas de Sacramento and Arenas Blancas, are bringing a $32 million investment into the area and are expected to double the local population.
A hot seller right now is Real de San Carlos Village and Golf by developer and real estate broker Toribio Achával. This project offers quarter-acre lots in the beach sector (starting at $60,000) and one-third-acre lots in the golf sector, starting at around $90,000.
As to non-development real estate, a small, one-bedroom original Portuguese colonial on the river will cost you $180,000, while a completely refurbished large colonial on the river (with three suites) is going for $350,000. Small homes outside (but within a block or so) of the historic center start at $65,000.
The two best real estate resources I’ve found in Colonia are Rodolfo Fernández of Toribio Achával, and Joaquín Mato of Sergio Mato Inmobiliaria. I’ve worked with both young men for years, and I've benefited from their honesty and understanding of the market. Both speak English.
As of 2008, Colonia is Uruguay’s second largest real estate investment market after Punta del Este. But realize that Colonia’s market is smaller and measures its monthly influx of tourists by the thousands, rather than the hundreds of thousands, as Punta del Este does.
Colonia has long been one of my favorite places. And it’s one that I think would be perfect for year-round living, a view shared by an ever-increasing number of people. The readers who have purchased here over the last three years are in an enviable position, but there’s still plenty of room to get in on what I believe is Uruguay’s best investment for 2008.
Lee Harrison
Roving Latin America Editor, International Living
Editor’s note: For everything you need to know about investing, buying a second home, and living in Uruguay, find out how to get your copy of Uruguay: The Owner's Manual.
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- Where to Find Colonial Homes for $80,000
- A Seaside Apartment for $75,000 in This Friendly Beach Town