June 6, 2011 - By now, everyone knows that the real estate industry in Costa Rica is not a very friendly market towards sellers and that many real estate companies are now mainly staying afloat through Costa Rica real estate rental.

As Costa Rica home owners are struggling to sell their home at the right price, many of them are using the rent or sale option with Costa Rica real estate brokers. This means that they are renting their home with option to buy.

In most cases, many of these people are trying to either get short term lease on their home or rent their house as a Costa Rica Vacation Rental in case a buyer comes along but they are not holding their breath.

?

Since the Costa Rica real estate market is somewhat still in denial, many home owners that are trying to sell their property are still placing a high value on the worth of their home which is evident in the price the charge to rent their home.

?

One trend in the Costa Rica real estate rental market based on our database of real estate rentals over the past 3 years is that the cost of renting a house has steadily gone up by about 2-3% over 2009. This trend is actually mimicking what is currently going on in the United States where it is estimated that price of rental properties will go up as much as 4.5% this year alone.

?

One exception to the above rental price increase is in Escazu and Santa Ana area where the rental price is up by 4% in Escazu and pretty much stayed even in the Santa Ana area.

?

Another exception are the beach rentals of Costa Rica that have actually decreased in price by less than 1% which is probably due to the tourism in Costa Rica being down in the past few years.? Prices will probably rise or level off soon as tourism is starting to pick up in Costa Rica.

?

In general, this increase in rental price may be due in part because the job market in Costa Rica is looking up in certain part of its economy like call center jobs, outsourcing and the telecommunication market expanding to allow new companies in the country.

?

This has in turn led to many young bilingual Costa Rica leaving their family home to live on their own.

?

One may ask how Costa Ricans are dealing with this increase in rent. The answer to this is that they are doing what they have always done which is to walk the neighborhoods they want to live in and look ?for rent? signs.

?

Also, most Costa Ricans are part of a community and within that community, they are able to find apartment or house for rents thanks to family and friends for a price that is not advertised(if at all) in newspapers and on the internet.

?

If you are on the lookout to rent real estate in Costa Rica, don?t forget to read our article about your rental right in Costa Rica.

?

Mike Meehan is an expat that has been living in Costa Rica for over 8 years and owns a Costa Rica real estate company as well as a few other businesses.? He prides himself in having integrated himself with the country and his people and can be contacted at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

?