This week a Galapagos icon, Lonesome George, the last of his specie of giant Galapagos Tortoise, died without the ability of reproducing.
It’s never easy on a place when their icon dies, we’ll see how the Galapagos reacts to this one.
Cause of death was “natural causes”.
I witnessed something shocking this week…
The international demand for “Ecuador real estate” literally doubled according to my website server stats.
It caused me to probe further, and sure enough, according to search statistics released by Google, for the first time in recent memory, this week, in June, “Ecuador real estate” was more searched for online than other traditional retirement hot spots like “Costa Rica real estate” and “Panama real estate”!
First, see how the demand for Ecuador real estate has changed compared to Costa Rica and Panama over the last 8 years…
Click “display images ” to see chart of Google stats…Ecuador=blue Costa Rica= red Panama=yellow
Now, check out how the demand has been for property in the 3 countries according to Google over the last month. Click “Display images” in your email viewer to see the graph. Ecuador=blue Costa Rica= red Panama=yellow
What’s caused the steep jump in demand?
My guess is the promotions surrounding the upcoming International Living Magazine Conference in Ecuador from Aug 2-4, 2012.
Love or hate what they have to say, we all have to admire how that magazine has built such an enormous, loyal following (many thousands) and how they’ve truly become the trend-leaders in the expat world.
Not to mention, they’ve ranked Ecuador #1 on their “Best places to retire index” for three years running now.
Before that, as you can see, Ecuador passed pretty under the radar.
So… if you have a property in Ecuador you were thinking about selling, stop thinking, list it!
Sell.
Now’s the time to move it.
Take advantage of all the enthusiasm and increase in international demand surrounding the event until the end of next month and sell your home, the only IL event in Ecuador for this year (according to IL).
I bet you thought I was going to tell you “buy, buy, buy” like the others, huh?
One good place to list your Ecuador property and get free exposure is my site, It’s free, no listing fees nor commissions. This week it’s been re-opened so anyone can publish their property for sale. Submit listings here.
To be notified of the newest properties for sale as soon as they hit the market, sign up for my Weekly Ecuador Insider´s Newsletter, you can unsubscribe at any time:
Go ahead, get it out there. Every day new listings are published.
This is how a lot of the area around the new airport looks, dirt roads and all.
On July 2 the new international airport in Quito will receive its first ever flight. A test flight with real passengers on an American Airlines flight.
This marks one of the final tests needed to be done before opening the airport.
This is big news and could completely change the dynamic of the city of Quito.
Moving the airport out of town will allow for buildings in town to be raised higher, effecting the property market.
New areas of Quito will become popular hot spots, others will whither on the vine.
Anyway you look at it, it’s an opportunity for investors.
To be notified of the newest properties for sale as soon as they hit the market, sign up for my Weekly Ecuador Insider´s Newsletter, you can unsubscribe at any time:
Che Guevara, one of the most memorable rebels of the 20th century.
With a quick Parlimentary vote Paraguay just ousted their president over the weekend.
This would probably make big news in North America, but down here in South America, changing of the political guard is a common occurrence.
Chavez is ticked, just cut oil sales to Paraguay.
How will this effect Ecuador?
Well, it won’t effect it much, maybe just serve a reminder of how quick regimes can change down here.
Once a good friend and fellow international investor told me… “If you wait for these back-water countries to be politically stable before you visit or invest you will never go.”
It’s true.
Fact is, often most investors (and especially tourists) won’t even have any idea something big is going on. The effect on private property rights is the one biggie to keep an eye on and that right is rarely infringed upon as governments change wheels down here.
To stay “in-the-know” on all the latest happenings in Ecuador that effect foreign investors, sign up for my Weekly Ecuador Insider´s Newsletter, you can unsubscribe at any time:
Ecuador made the headlines this week around the world when WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange stepped into the Ecuadorean Embassy in London with hopes of the government granting him asylum.
This is big for Ecuador.
If Correa lets Assange in, will that open the flood gates for other wanted fugitives seeking refuge in Ecuador?
Would it hurt diplomatic relations with the US?
Probably. And that’s a risk tough to fathom when Ecuador sells one third of all it’s exports to the US.
Basically, if Ecuador wants to side with the rest of the super powers on this one, they’ll turn Assange in, if they wish to go against the international grain they’ll grant him asylum.
Would foreign investment in Ecuador be affected?
Yes. Foreigners may look at Ecuador as a riskier play, lowering the interest level.
We’ll see what happens and keep you informed on this one!
To stay “in-the-know” on all the latest happenings in Ecuador that effect foreign investors, sign up for my Weekly Ecuador Insider´s Newsletter, you can unsubscribe at any time: