You can find colonial real estate at rock-bottom prices in cities like Cuenca, Ecuador

InternationalLiving.com unearths rock-bottom pricing in colonial properties in the historic districts of Panama City, Panama, Granada, Nicaragua and Cuenca, Ecuador.

High-quality colonial-era real estate is coming onto the market with price tags from as little as $115,000 in historic city districts across Latin America, Internationalliving.com has found.

Real estate prices have been fluctuating across South and Central America over recent years and bargains in sought-after historic districts can be found today in countries like Panama, Nicaragua and Ecuador.

“I’ve visited a lot of Central and South America’s colonial gems,” said Internationalliving.com contributor Margaret Summerfield. “And it’s not just the charm and number of attractions that make these places special – it’s the value, too. You can have your own colonial home from $115,000.”

Summerfield investigated the historical districts of Panamanian capital Panama City, Granada in Nicaragua and Cuenca in Ecuador; she found colonial real estate at rock-bottom prices in each of them.

In Casco Viejo, a protected UNESCO World Heritage Site and the cultural and colonial heart of Panama City, property prices have fallen by as much as 30 per cent from their peak in 2007-2008.

Properties in Casco Viejo in need of complete restoration start at $1,000 per square meter, while restoration costs run to around $1,000 to $1,200 per square meter (or $93 to $112 per square foot).

In Granada, a city rich with cobblestone streets, terracotta roofs, and cathedral spires, real estate prices are even cheaper today.

“A move-in-ready home close to the landmark San Francisco Convent, with two bedrooms and two-and-a-half baths, is $115,000” said Summerfield. “This property has a central courtyard garden, and both bedrooms have small balconies.”

The low cost of living in Nicaragua compliments the modest property prices: “A couple can live well on $1,000 a month here,” Summerfield continued. “Household help, a gardener, medical care and property taxes all cost significantly less in Nicaragua than they would in the U.S.”

The article, entitled “Colonial Bargains in Latin America – from $115,000” which appears in the October edition of International Living magazine, gives numerous other examples of cheap colonial properties in both cities, as well as highlighting good-value deals in the city of Cuenca, Ecuador.

You can read the article here.