Costa Rica Real Estate Investors Market Update - Finance Minister says Costa Rica is in a "very strong and very favorable" financial position.
 
  President of the central Bank of Costa Rica - Francisco de Paula Gutiérrez 

1.     In looking at Costa Rica's balance sheet, you will quickly see that according to the country's Finance Minister Guillermo Zuniga, Costa Rica is in a "very strong and very favorable financial position.
2.     Costa Rica is enjoying a budget surplus.
3.     Imports and exports are only declining slightly.
4.     Costa Rica is less reliant on the USA than we have ever been.
5.     Not only is Costa Rica in the best financial condition its been for over a decade...
6.     Costa Rica's banks are also in very good shape.

7.     On the 8th October 2008 the President of the Banco Central de Costa Rica Francisco de Paula Gutiérrez stated that he: "does not see any economical indications of the world financing crisis affecting Costa Rica
8.     As an example to confirm that, you'll see that as of 10th October 2008 while the Dow Jones Industrial Average is down about 40% over the last year, the Costa Rica Stock Exchange is up 11.06%

Looking at how mortgage interest rates have risen in Costa Rica it would appear that - unlike many countries - the Costa Rica market has been uncannily accurate in predicting a period of much higher risk.
According to the Banco Central de Costa Rica (BCCR) the weighted average of all Costa Rica mortgage interest rates for the state banks in colones was at its lowest at 9.64% in April 2008. On the 7th October 2008 it was 14.65%. For the private banks, it was at its lowest in April at 8.09% and on the 7th October 2008, was at 13.22%. Mortgages in US dollars at the present time range from about 8.57% with ScotiaBank offering 11% mortgages (for the first three years).
As anyone will tell you who has applied for a mortgage in Costa Rica - myself included - the banks in Costa Rica are very much more conservative than the banks have been in the USA and they were never in the business of giving out ridiculous mortgages to low income people who could not afford the payments.
This is reflected in a recent statement (11 October 2008) from Maria Isabel Cortes , the President of the Costa Rica Banking Association (La Asociación Bancaria Costarricense) when she said that: "The increase in interest rates is still is not affecting the punctuality of mortgage payments from the Ticos."

  Banco de Costa Rica  and Bancrédito  both confirmed the healthiness of their mortgage portfolios at the present time.
According to the US Mortgage Bankers Association "Among mortgages on one- to four-family homes, 9.16% were a month or more overdue or were in foreclosure in the second quarter."
Meanwhile in Costa Rica Arnoldo Trejos Dobles, the Assistant Director of Bancrédito, stated that from September 2007 - September 2008 the number of people 90 days late on their mortgages has improved from 0.97% to a mere 0.74%. So compared to Costa Rica, on a percentage basis the US has over twelve times more people late with their mortgages!
Costa Rica banks were also not in the business of investing in their monies in the various meltdown mortgage funds and SIV's that did invest in these sub-prime mortgage products and other toxic derivatives or as Warren Buffet called them: "... financial weapons of mass destruction.