“Hundreds of Miles of Virgin Beach…”

The view from Ronan's hotel room...apartments with similar views on this boardwalk start at $90,000.

Friday, April 11, 2008

Read more about beachfront property in Brazil in International Living Postcards—your daily escape

All of my friends are getting to Brazil before me!

First, Laura Sheridan and Eimear O’Driscoll got to go. (You can see their reports on Taiba and Fortaleza if you missed them.) Now Ronan McMahon is there with IL’s editorial director, Len Galvin. I’m starting to feel like I’m missing the party.

I can’t complain too much, though. They’re sending back some excellent reports on the area around Fortaleza on Brazil’s northeastern coast.

For example, I’ve just received this from Ronan, my good friend and executive director of Pathfinder Ltd. Pathfinder searches for and promotes all kinds of real estate in emerging markets around the world. So when Ronan sends me a report about a new market, it’s like getting a professional geologist’s report on a new land formation.

Here is his first report…see if you don’t agree with me that Ronan loves to do his homework:

Hi Dan,

You wouldn’t believe this place. I have never seen so much beach. Hundreds and hundreds of miles of virgin beach interrupted only by quaint fishing villages and rivers meeting the ocean. Hard to believe that what I’m talking about is within a half-hour drive east and west of a First-World city of more than 2.5 million people.

In fact, the city of Fortaleza is built around a beach. The photo above is the view from my hotel room. The type of view that can be bought right here in the city for $90,000. But no one has tried to sell me real estate in my hotel lobby. In fact, I haven’t seen a single realtor sign. They have so much beach here they don’t realize how special what they have is. This market is early and seriously underdeveloped.

The cheapest beachfront lots we’ve seen so far cost about $19,000, and we’ve seen second-tier lots for half this price. But road and electricity infrastructure is a problem at this price point...you’re often waiting for a neighboring land owner to bring them to your plot, and, as you know, this might never happen. For first-line beachfront with planned road and electricity, figure $30,000 per lot.

Because of the way the small cliffs have formed along parts of this coast, some second-tier lots have panoramic beach and ocean views. True beachfront will always be more valuable, of course...but, personally, I love these views...especially at this price—lots like this cost $16,000.

I pictured the house I could build in a place like this (I’d buy two lots), did the math, and couldn’t believe it when I realized that a 120-square-meter house with pool on a double lot would come in under $100,000. (I confirmed building costs with an architect I met this evening.) What I liked about this project was that the road was in and some houses were already built. Developers have bought parcels of adjoining land, and there are plans to build and sell condos with prices in the region of $1,000 per square meter, making the custom house option all the more appealing.

This area is very different to any other emerging destination and market I have seen. Brazil is booming and has a huge domestic market. Everywhere you go, houses are being renovated and there’s a sense that things are on the up.

Fortaleza is Brazil’s biggest domestic tourist destination but has been marketed almost exclusively to Brazilians. But this is set to change; on Tuesday, we meet Brazil’s new minister for tourism. He has big plans to market Fortaleza aggressively to the North American and European markets. He’s already in negotiations with Delta to secure a direct flight from Atlanta.

Bottom line…it’s early here, but things are set to move so fast that the window of opportunity will be shorter than I expected.
Need to run, Dan, as we have a breakfast meeting with First American’s approved lawyer here in Fortaleza. Don’t forget to tell your readers about my Webinar.

How could I forget about Ronan’s Webinar? I’m going to moderate it, and if you have any interest in this new Brazilian beach market, you can get the inside scoop directly from Ronan himself…free. The first-ever Brazil Beachfront Webinar takes place April 30, and as a reader of these Postcards, you are invited.

It won’t cost you a penny…simply fill out this Brazil Beachfront Webinar registration form, and we’ll e-mail you details about how to log on April 30.

We’ll be hearing more from Ronan in the next few weeks as he reports on his exploration of Fortaleza and the Brazilian coast, so watch your inbox as we get close to April 30 and the Brazil Beachfront Webinar.

Dan Prescher
Publisher, International Living

P.S. I’ve just been told that there are already more than 1,000 folks registered for this Webinar! Seems to be a lot of interest…but the good news is that the tech guys say there is no limit to the number of participants we can handle. I hope that’s true…but if you’re interested in this Brazilian Beachfront Webinar, I suggest you register as soon as possible.

Read related articles:

- Drinks on the Beach…and Other Reasons to Love This City

- 30 Days to the World’s Best Beach Buy

- Beachfront Condos for $88,000 in This Peaceful Brazilian Town