How Real Estate Works when there is no MLS
by Claudia Gonella on 1:00 pm December 7, 2009
For those of you in countries/markets without a MLS, you know your real estate market does not operate in the same way as it does in the US where a Multiple Listing Service is the norm. At first glance things may appear the same – there are ‘real estate agencies’, ‘listings’, ‘property registrations’ and so on – but dig a little deeper and you’ll find it to be quite different. This article looks at how the market works for Nicaragua real estate, but much of … Read More »
If you’re representing overseas property that you want to promote to a North American audience, who should you list with?
by Claudia Gonella on 12:32 pm March 10, 2009
Many of the listing sites that service the US and Canadian real estate investor don’t accept international properties. And those that do may not rank well for the search terms that are relevant for your property. The classifieds site craigslist, for example, accepts international properties for sale, but let’s say you are promoting a property in Costa Rica, you wont find the site ranking well for searches for ‘Costa Rica real estate.’ So the first step is to determine which sites service your market best. … Read More »
Learning from the US RE.net in Central America
by Claudia Gonella on 7:44 am January 20, 2009
The actual process of buying real estate in emerging markets like Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua and Belize is similar to the US, and fairly straight-forward. But finding the right property, at the right price, is an altogether different proposition. There’s no Zillow to help you follow market values, no neighborhood APIs for developers to use and Google Street View does not extend to Central America. There are a few fledgling MLS systems but nothing comprehensive. And, perhaps most significantly, market comps are not readily available … Read More »
