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House Hunting in Ecuador: An Andes Retreat Outside Cuenca for $550,000

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Perched at the eastern edge of El Cajas National Park, a UNESCO-designated biosphere reserve, this contemporary home sits on four undulating acres outside of Cuenca, Ecuador’s third-largest city.

With the 110-square-mile park as its backdrop, the four-bedroom, three-bath house “is isolated and surrounded by nature,” said Ashley Rogers, founder of Ecuador At Your Service and the listing agent. “But in less than 30 minutes, you can be at dinner or the symphony in Cuenca.”

The sellers worked with the Cuenca architect Sergio Zalamea to create “a modern house with nature inviting you in, but a home that’s private, safe, and secure,” Ms. Rogers said. Its design includes underground tanks for fuel and water storage, and a discrete 818-square-foot apartment beneath the 1,830-square-foot main home.

CuencaHighLife, an English-language news site. “It’s a cultural center with a rapidly rising level of sophistication, and it’s relatively comfortable if you don’t speak Spanish,” he said. “You have the big-city advantages without the megacity problems.”

Mariscal La Mar International Airport, about 1.5 miles east of central Cuenca, connects with Quito and Guayaquil, Ecuador’s two largest cities.

MLS-Ecuador, an English-language listings and data site.

“It’s a seller’s market if you’re selling to foreigners,” he said. “But for local buyers, who make up most of the market, there’s too much inventory.”

Before the pandemic, “the expat community was mostly retirees seeking small apartments in the low $100,000s,” said Xavier Amoroso, owner of the HouseHuntEC agency in Cuenca. (Ecuador adopted the U.S. dollar as its national currency in 2000.) Most preferred to live in the downtown historic district, the surrounding “new town,” or in condos along the banks of the Tomebamba River. But a wave of younger and wealthier buyers is increasing demand for homes in rural areas, Mr. Amoroso said: “They don’t want condos. We have beautiful mountains here with animals and nature. With a detached house, you can see it from your garden.”

continued economic challenges for Ecuador, prices in Cuenca have held steady over the past decade, Ms. Rogers said. “There are a lot of new high-rises going up, and their prices are rising because construction costs are going up,” she said, estimating that “a nice high-rise condo that an American would consider” averages about $1,300 a square meter ($120 a square foot). A “high-end home in a nice area” costs about $800 a square meter ($75 a square foot).

Mr. Amoroso said that the “average upscale house in the outskirts,” on half an acre of land, average $550,000 to $580,000.

ISAM Proyectos Inmobiliaros, which converts older commercial properties into multiunit residential buildings. Now they go for about $1,600 a square meter, he estimated, significantly more than what they cost a decade ago. “Foreigners want to be here. It’s where social and cultural life happens.”

While Ecuadoreans power the market in greater Cuenca, the city has long attracted retirees with its low cost of living and high quality of life. Most of them are Americans, with a small portion from Canada and Europe, according to Maite Duran, founder of the Gringo Visas consultancy, which helps foreigners obtain visas. “Americans see the cost of groceries here compared to home, and they’re amazed,” she said. “Services here are pennies to the dollar.” In 2018, the website International Living named Cuenca one of the world’s best retirement destinations, spurring another surge of arrivals.

Digital Nomad visa launched in March 2022, requires proof of employment with a minimum monthly income of $1,275, Ms. Duran said. The most popular visa remains the retirement visa, which requires a $1,275 monthly income from sources like pensions, dividends or Social Security, and specifies an income of $250 a month for dependents or additional applicants. Visas, valid for 24 months, “allow the same benefits and guidelines as any Ecuadorean, including access to government health insurance, opening a bank account, and the ability to work here,” she said.

Grace Nelson law firm in Cuenca. “Some exclusions apply around borders with Peru and Colombia, but foreigners don’t buy there,” she said.

Notaries oversee property transactions, “though we always advise that foreign buyers retain an attorney,” Ms. Velastegui said. “A lot of people here claim to be real estate agents, but they’re not.”

The attorney executes a title search, and both parties sign an “earnest money agreement,” with a small goodwill deposit for taking the property off the market.

Most of Ms. Velastegui’s foreign clients grant her power of attorney for property transactions, “and not just people outside Ecuador,” she said. “If you don’t speak Spanish, it’s mandatory to have a representative translate for you during the closing.”

Most foreign buyers pay cash “because they have to,” said Mr. Amoroso of HouseHuntEC. Mortgages are not available to foreigners until they have lived in Ecuador for three years, he said, though in rare cases buyers short on cash may arrange a mortgage directly with sellers.

Spanish; U.S. dollar

Buyers in Ecuador can expect to pay a total of about 3 percent of the sale price on taxes and closing fees, Ms. Velastegui said. That includes notary fees, a 1 percent transfer tax, and a municipal registration fee that varies by region and sale price.

Lawyer’s fees generally total about 1 percent of the price; a power-of-attorney agreement costs an additional $80.

Fees for visas begin at $450, Ms. Duran said. Her company charges $1,550, including visa fees, to complete applications.

Broker commissions in Ecuador vary from 4 to 6 percent, Ms. Rogers said. Annual property taxes on this home total about $40.

Ashley Rogers, Ecuador At Your Service, 011-593-99-547-5116, ecuadoratyourservice.com

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