Nicaragua

Why El Presidente Ortega Hasn't Changed Our Minds About Nicaragua

Nicaragua appeals to the romantic. It is a land of pirates and martyrs, heroes, warriors, and poets, fighting each in his way for what he believes. Nicaragua is a colorful land, from its red clay-tiled roofs to its powder blue church steeples…from the yellow, green, red, and blue facades of its centuries-old haciendas to the pink and purple bougainvillea that cascades down its inland hillsides.

Geographically, Nicaragua is blessed, with two long coastlines and two big lakes, plus volcanoes, highlands, rain forest, and rivers. In this regard, it's got everything Costa Rica and Panama's got, all less discovered and developed and available for the adventurer and eco-traveler at bargain rates.

Architecturally, too, Nicaragua is notable. Its two sister colonial cities, Granada and Leon, vie for the title of Oldest City in the Americas. Whichever story you believe (that the Spanish conquistadores settled first on the shores of Lake Nicaragua at Granada or, perhaps, a few months earlier in Old Leon), Nicaragua is the big winner, with impressive colonial-era churches, public buildings, and parks to her credit.

Real estate prices in Nicaragua rose steadily until the presidency of Sandinista Danny (Ortega) began. After his election, the U.S. real estate market began to tumble and investors began to pull back, taking a wait-and-see attitude over the possibility of wealth redistribution and land reform that framed Ortega's leadership during the latter part of the 20^th century.

Over half a decade later, and the bad press initially surrounding the re-election of El Presidente Ortega is turning. While still a bit of a wild card, Ortega is playing nice with the U.S. He is working to clean up title on 3,800 properties held by Nicaraguans. And, importantly, he continues to support foreign investors' land rights. While most U.S. speculators are holding their sidelines approach to the Nicaragua market, the tourists are beginning to buy in again. Sales aren't as brisk as before Ortega's re-election, but they are trending up, especially near the tourist hubs of Granada and San Juan del Sur.

Our top choices in Nicaragua are colonial (and cheap!) Grenada and beautiful San Juan del Sur on the Pacific Coast.

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