Dominican Republic Property Market Experiencing Confidence Crisis

Dominican Republic property market experiencing 'confidence crisis' Investors looking for property in the Dominican Republic may have found themselves attacking the market with much less zeal of late. According to a new report, more and more people are experiencing waning confidence levels when it comes to real estate investment across the entire Caribbean region. This is despite growing tourism numbers.

In Integra Realty Resources' Q2 Caribbean Market Update, it was revealed that faith in the property market was low. Caribbean managing director of the company, James V Andrews, explained: "There appears to be some, but limited optimism on the part of developers and investors in Caribbean property, as we see continued modest improvement in the sectors of tourism (hotel rates and occupancy, tourist arrivals to major destinations and spending), construction and housing prices in domestic markets."

However, he says investors need to exercise some caution, as government debts are escalating relative to GDP and major world governments are continuing to put pressure on many countries to improve transparency.

Nevertheless, there are positives within the market for those considering Dominican Republic real estate. Holiday let opportunities are in abundance, especially for those targeting travellers in search of a boutique, intimate experience. Tourism in the country will probably only get stronger over the coming years too, with approximately ten hotel projects in the pipeline. This will deliver a further 2,600 rooms, helping the market to shift towards more upscale projects.

There are still barriers for foreign investors, however. The Dominican Republic's Supreme Court recently voted to retain supporting documents in cases of properties with more than one registered owner. Now if a transaction is rejected, the file must be returned to the local land court.

This comes after the Supreme Court announced stricter property rules to prevent land fraud. Investors must now be aware that when two surveys cover a piece of real estate in whole or in part and double registration of property rights were executed based on the same, the Cadastral Agency will hold documents as evidence of this irregularity, Dominican Today reported.