Walking out your back door straight onto the beach with the ocean as your swimming pool is a dream many people aspire to.
With this in mind, every year, we put together an index of some of the best and most affordable beach destinations in the world for those dreamers.
The cost of the dream in California is at least three times the cost on a per square meter basis than the most expensive destination in this year’s index. Well, actually, you can buy a place in Huntington Beach, California, for the price per square meter of the lowest priced destination in the index, but you’re buying a mobile home that comes with a monthly land lease of at least $2,400.
Always look at the fine print… and compare apples to apples.
Most of the locations in the index are in Latin America, but a couple of our top picks in Europe make the cut: Montenegro and Northern Cyprus. Prices in both locations have gone up a lot in the last few years, but they still offer good value today… especially as the world over has seen a real estate boom since the pandemic ended.
Of course, average prices per square meter are just part of the story, but they definitely give you a head start on finding the best, most affordable beach destinations around the world.
Each destination also has good potential for rental income and net yields. Another colleague has had short-term rentals in Santa Marta for years. He reported excellent returns even through the pandemic as tourism traffic switched from foreign to local with Colombians from Bogota and the other major cities finding Santa Marta.
Net rental yields in any of these destinations should fall easily within my target range of 5% to 8%.
Our survey looks at 28 different markets around the world. We take a sample of two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartments of between 70 to 100 square meters in size (about 800 to 1,100 square feet) in neighborhoods where an expat would be likely to buy.
We survey at least 10 qualifying properties in each market. They’re not the cheapest, or the most expensive… but in each case, they’re properties that we’d be willing to look at if we were buying.
Markets that were once bargains get expensive… other once-quiet markets get red-hot and take off… while still others lose value, often due to exchange rates or local market disturbances.
This year we name 8 winners when it comes to getting a quality, sea-view unit at the world’s lowest prices.
Why Care About The World’s Cheapest Beachfront?
We all know that price isn’t everything. In fact, the returns you can earn from a property don’t have much to do with the price. I’ve seen expensive properties produce huge returns, and cheap properties perform poorly.
But for most of us, price is indeed important for diversity’s sake.
If you have, say, $500,000 to invest abroad, you can buy a luxury penthouse in a single city… or perhaps four properties in different countries, with different climates, using different currencies. As a diversified investor, this makes a lot of sense.
Seeing Beyond Property Prices
If you’re looking for a place for full or part-time living abroad, then price may well be your most important property factor. The price, view, cost of living, amenities, and the weather may be all you need to care about.
Investors, however, will need to consider occupancies, rental demographics, liquidity, and a host of other factors—in addition to price—before making a final decision. Either way, it’s reassuring to know that there’s a world of smart beach options to pick from.
Let’s take a look at 2024’s top 3 winners in this survey…
- Cartagena, Colombia: A World-Renowned, Branded City With High Occupancies And Inexpensive Sea View Properties
Cartagena is the jewel of Colombia and its best-known tourist destination. The historic center—a UNESCO World Heritage Site—is one of the world’s few remaining walled cities, and it’s in an amazing state of restoration. In fact, it’s probably the nicest Spanish Colonial environment we’ve seen… and we’ve seen plenty.
Aside from the amazing architecture, the walled city offers beautiful plazas, lots of fine dining, and local ethnic cafés that you’ll enjoy exploring. The walled city is the main tourism draw in Cartagena, but the walled city is surrounded by a number of popular beach areas along with a few upcoming historic areas that lie outside the wall.
Santa Marta is our preferred beach destination in Colombia… at least for personal use. It’s an intrinsically beautiful Caribbean getaway that conveys a friendly, local feel. It’s a favorite for Colombians, especially families.
The cost of living here is probably the lowest you’ll find anywhere on the Caribbean. And it’s somewhat off the beaten trail, with a fraction of the foreign tourist traffic, expats, or international recognition that nearby Cartagena gets.
By day, Santa Marta offers swimming and sunning, diving, and a low-key, palm-lined boardwalk.
At night, it’s a different story. The waterfront often turns into an impromptu beach party… especially on weekends. Families turn out by the hundreds to enjoy the local music and eat from food trucks.
- Viña del Mar, Chile: First-World Beach Properties With Year-Round Pleasant Weather
Viña del Mar is one of our favorite seaside resorts, and its advantages start with the moderate weather. There’s plenty of hot weather at this latitude, but the Humboldt Current moderates the temperatures here.
Viña del Mar is the primary coastal attraction and #1 resort in Chile. From the wide, white sand beaches to the luxury hotels, tall oceanfront apartment buildings, and excellent restaurants, it’s all here.
On the practical side, Viña del Mar’s biggest advantage is that it’s in Chile… a true first-world environment, with fast, modern highways, excellent infrastructure, and drinkable water throughout the country. Chile is also one of the safest countries in Latin America, with the region’s lowest homicide rate (2022 data).
Sincerely,
Lee Harrison
Contributor, Global Property Advisor
