Banana Exports Fall 10%

The chief non-petroleum export of Ecuador, the Banana, fell in sales in the first trimester of 2012 by 10% ompared to the first trimester of last year.

The fall is generally attributed to the world financial situation and the unusually strong rains Ecuador experienced this winter.

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Ecuador GDP Rises 4.87% Year on Year

The President of Ecuador, President Correa, announced yesterday that the GDP of Ecuador grew 4.87% in the first trimester of 2012 compared to the first trimester of 2011.

It’s true, this place is hopping, the crisis in Europe and the US seems a long way away. people have money, cash, credit, and they’re buying.

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Average Professional Salaries in Ecuador?

Before considering coming to work in Ecuador, you may be tempted to ask, how much can you make as an executive or manager in a company in Ecuador?

ayampe ecuador

Well, as you can imagine in a country where the minimum wage is $285 a month… not much.

Managers in small and medium sized businesses can expect to make around $600 a month.

Doctors fresh out of college often make around $800 a month.

Teachers also make around $6-800 a month.

General Managers of businesses in Ecuador were recently reported by the Comercio to average $14,400 a year.

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Colombia and Peru Sign Free Trade Agreements with the EU

Ecuador’s neighbors, Colombia and Peru, announced this week that they had signed free trade agreements with the EU.

This puts a bit of pressure on Ecuador, in that exporters from Colombia and Peru will be able to enter the EU with more competitive pricing than Ecuador.

For the time being, maybe Ecuador can get by financing their government with oil proceeds, and the rich earth the Ecuadorians are lucky to have, but sooner or later they’re going to have to focus on building export industries in order to compete with their neighbors.

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The Dirty Side of Real Estate Agents in Ecuador

real estate agents in Ecuador

“How much for the house?” I asked.

“$175k.” The real estate agent in Guayaquil, Ecuador responded.

“Humm, that’s funny.” I thought.

Cause I just spoke to someone (the owner) 5 minutes ago who told me the place was for sale for $170k.

But I wasn’t surprised.

You see, in a country not used to using real estate agents, most sellers and buyers don’t like paying commissions, they’re not “broken in” to it like we are in North America.

So some agents at times will “markup” the property like this in order to make their money.

And buyers and sellers know this, and often prefer to scout out the owner of the property to do deals directly, bypassing the agent.

But this isn’t all…

Other agents will show you one of their listings, then out of the blue tell you that you, the buyer, owe them a commission as well as the seller.

I’ve seen other agents try to charge a 6% or even 8% commission, which for me is just steep. (Most agents in Ecuador charge around 3%.)

Other agents (foreigners primarily) will charge you by the hour just to drive you around, which is fine as long as they tell you they’re going to do that beforehand.

Which sometimes they don’t.

And many agents in Ecuador will agree to sell your property but only use it as a “bait and switch” in order to lure buyers in so they can sell another property they have a direct hand in.

No mistake about it.

Ecuador, with no organized MLS listing system, remains the wild west of property investing where you really have to know what you’re doing to find the best deals, just like I teach in my full guide.

And yes, there are also a lot of good, ethical agents in Ecuador, too, some of which even licensed, worth their weight in gold.

Just keep “yo’ head on a swivel”. If you know what I mean.

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