During the second trimester of 2016 construction for the private sector declined a 17.3% in comparison to 2015; this is driven by non-residential projects that declined in a rate of 31.1% while residential projects declined in a rate of 6% according to a report by Costa Rica’s Central Bank. The reason for this decline obeys to the fact that 2015 had a big increase in the rate of non-residential projects such as the construction of the City Mall, which even though began in 2014 it wasn’t until the second and third trimester of 2015 that it registered the biggest progress; City Place in Santa Ana, Ocean Mall in Puntarenas, Mall Zona Centro in Desamparados, are also part of the projects that were built and inaugurated during 2015. 2016 hasn’t had the effect of a project of the magnitude of City Mall, thus the decline in the construction rate of the private sector.

However, this does not mean that the real estate market in Costa Rica is at a standstill, it just isn’t moving at the same rate as it was last year which is normal behavior in this industry. 2015 saw the emergence of 48 new projects, while for 2016 the total expected is of 30. For instance Heredia, and the western area of San Jose continue to show growth when it comes to housing projects. The Municipality of Heredia had information of four mixed housing projects (residence/commerce): Finca Montealegre, Santa Verde, Reina del Café and Eco. Two commercial projects, and two residential projects. Meanwhile, Santa Ana saw the inauguration of Terrazas de Lindora earlier this year and Escazu Village is expected to open doors before the end of this year.

The Monthly Index of Economic Activity shows that Costa Rica has the highest economic growth in Central America with a 4.9% considering data from the first semester of 2016 in comparison with the 2.2% of last year. Costa Rica expects to close this year’s economic growth with a 4.2%. This number is an important element in the stability of the country and the attraction of new investment.