Washington, Mar 4 (EFE; additional context by The Costa Rica Star).- The pace of new home sales in the United States increased 0.2 percent in January to an annual rate of 481,000 units, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. In Costa Rica, the first quarter of 2015 indicates strong interest in new construction and the mortgage markets.

Here’s the Real Estate Situation in the U.S.:

• Analysts expected the rate to be around 471,000 units.
• Sales last month were up 5.3 percent compared with January 2014.
• The median price for new homes sold in January was $294,300, an increase of 9.1 percent from a year earlier.
• The inventory of new homes held steady at 5.4 months of supply given the current rate of sales.
• The index of pending sales of existing homes is up 8.4 percent compared with January 2014 and stands at its highest level since August 2013.
• In January, the index moved up to 104.2 points from 100.7 points in December

Sales of new homes plunged 51.6 percent in the Northeast and slipped 0.8 percent in the West, while transactions increased 2.2 percent in the South and 19.2 percent in the Midwest.

New home sales account for roughly 8 percent of the residential real estate market in the United States.

Sales of new homes are recorded when a contract is signed. Transactions involving existing home sales are not counted until after closing. EFE

Here’s the Real Estate Situation in Costa Rica

Nearly 250 exhibitors answered questions and offered their products and services at the ExpoConstruccion trade show in late February, which was deemed a great success. Similar events are scheduled to take place in the next few weeks, including a Housing Fair at the Real Cariari Mall in the second weekend of March.

There were 180 new construction projects showcased at ExpoConstruccion, and the costs ranged from $40K to $1 million. More than $60 million were borrowed for new construction purchases in Costa Rica last year, which marked an eight percent year-over-year increase.

A recent article published by The New York Times focused on the Dominical housing market. This remote beach town is located on the Southern Pacific Coast, and it was once marketed as an exclusive real estate haven. As explained by Kevin Brass in The New York Times:

For years, property industry observers predicted that Dominical would be the next boomtown in Costa Rica, after the coastal highway was paved four years ago.

Home prices in Dominical soared from 2003 to 2007 in anticipation of the road’s completion and as the building of an international airport nearby was discussed.

But the market stalled in 2008, in the wake of the economic turmoil in the United States. The majority of international buyers in Dominical are Americans, who mostly disappeared after the crisis.

The article continues with a statement from a Re/Max agent in Dominical who is seeing a gradual increase of purchases, and not so many “short sales” or hasty transactions to get rid of homes at a loss. As expected:

Dominical is starting to attract more upscale travelers, beyond the surfers and ecotourists […]