“Kathleen, could you guess at a median home price for Cuenca, Ecuador? Any ideas? Any ballparks? Any suggestions for how to quantify this?”
–Anne V., United States
Latin America Correspondent Lee Harrison responds:
“I’ve never tried to get a real median. The problem in Cuenca is that the Ecuadorian market drags medians down unrealistically.
“I think it makes more sense to look at averages. This is what I did in preparation for my presentations at the Retire Overseas Conference in Scottsdale earlier this year. I look at 15 apartments that I believed would be comfortable for an expat, in neighborhoods and buildings where a gringo would want to settle.
“Using that method, I came up with an average cost of US$860 per square meter.
“I used the same approach to come up with comps for other key markets we track:
- Montevideo working class: US$1,408 per square meter
- Montevideo upscale: US$2,488 per square meter
- Panama City, Panama: US$1,828 per square meter (Punta Paitilla and San Francisco neighborhoods, specifically)
- Fortaleza, Brazil: US$1,927 per square meter (Aldeota)
- Medellín, Colombia: US$1,505 per square meter (El Poblado)
Continue Reading: Euro-Crisis Creates Opportunity For Travelers And Investors
