Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico’s housing market has been stagnant for the past 18 months, after enormous price increases in the early-2000s.  Puerto Rico’s economy has been in recession since 2007. Homeowners wanting to sell their residential properties have been forced to lower their selling prices.

The luxury property market has been badly affected by the crisis.  In the capital San Juan, the average price of four-bedroom houses dropped 7.8% in 2008 from a year earlier, based from Coldwell Banker’s House Price Comparison Index (HPCI). When adjusted for inflation, house prices plunged 15.8% over the same period.

The average price of four-bedroom houses in San Juan was US$329,750 in 2008, down from US$357,500 in 2007.

There were just 1,289 housing units sold in the first quarter of 2009, down 43.7% from the same period last year, according to Estudios Tecnicos, Inc (ETI). Residential property sales fell by 11.5% in 2008, following an 18% drop in 2007.

There are no restrictions on foreigners buying property in Puerto Rico.

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