What this report covers — and what it omits
In scope: live broker-scraped for-sale inventory on the corridor, median ask bands by rough tier, yield bands from nearby STR comps where sample depth allows.
Out of scope: reliable fleet-wide DOM, sold prices, MOI, and appraisal-grade appreciation — Costa Rica has no MLS and closed-sale data is fragmented.
Refresh cadence follows the cache updated stamp — not a fixed calendar. Check the map for live counts.
Active inventory pulse (July 2026 cache)
On the 2026-07-21 forsale-cache pass we counted 1,245 active Gold Coast listings: about 530 homes, 266 condos, 355 lots, and 94 boutique — exact mix moves as brokers add and delist.
Largest town cells that day: Tamarindo ~398, Playas del Coco ~229, Avellanas ~144, Flamingo ~108. Luxury gates and Papagayo fringe add smaller but high-ask slices.
Browse live totals on /map and ranked yield on /top-deals. Re-run `scripts/forsale_market_stats.ts` after cache refreshes for the machine-readable snapshot in `docs/seo/forsale-market-stats.json`.
Median ask bands (indicative, not appraisal)
On that same cache pass, median ask was about $599k (p25 ~$320k · p75 ~$1.3M). Town medians diverge — Coco skews cheaper than Flamingo luxury sand.
- Entry condos / small homes — often high-$200s to mid-$500s USD ask where listed.
- Mid-market villas (3–4 bed, walk/drive to beach) — commonly mid-$500s to ~$1.2M ask.
- Luxury gates (Papagayo, Conchal, select Flamingo) — ~$1.5M–$5M+ ask long tail.
These are listing ask bands from aggregated broker data — not sold medians. Always verify a specific folio with your attorney.
Yield bands from nearby STR comps
Where the cache carries a gross-yield estimate (677 listings on that pass), bands sat near p25 3.1% · median 5.0% · p75 7.2% on ask — upper tails on disciplined basis, lower tails on luxury sand.
Net yield after opex, management, IVA, and tax sits lower — use the calculator to flex assumptions.
When comps are thin, listings show rough estimate only — same honesty bar as the map. DOM, sold history, and months-of-inventory are unavailable in this cache — we do not invent them.
Buyer's market? — careful framing
Without sold data we will not declare "buyer's" or "seller's" market for the whole coast. Sub-markets diverge: overpriced luxury may sit while walk-tier Coco homes still receive multiple inquiries in dry season.
Use ranked yield vs ask and time-on-listing anecdotes from your agent — not a single national narrative.
Where to go deeper
- /top-deals — ranked for-sale yield.
- /check — check a specific listing before offer.
- /map — full geographic context.
- Town hubs: Coco, Flamingo, Tamarindo guides under /guides.
- Community polygons: /guides/guanacaste-communities.
Monthly refresh: this report tracks cache updates — when `forsale-cache` moves, rerank on the map for the latest picture.
Frequently asked questions
Is Guanacaste in a buyer's market in 2026?
We lack fleet-wide sold data to label the whole market. Sub-segments differ — luxury can sit while walk-tier homes still move in dry season. Rank yield vs ask on live inventory instead of a single headline.
How many homes are for sale on the Gold Coast?
On the 2026-07-21 forsale-cache pass we counted 1,245 active corridor listings (homes, condos, lots, boutique). The live map shows the current aggregated count as brokers add and delist — prefer the map over any static report number.
What is the median home price in Guanacaste?
There is no official MLS median. On the 2026-07-21 ask snapshot the corridor median ask was about $599k (p25 ~$320k · p75 ~$1.3M). Sold medians are unavailable fleet-wide.
What STR yield should I expect in 2026?
On listings with a gross-yield estimate in that cache pass, median gross yield was about 5% on ask (p25 ~3% · p75 ~7%). Net is lower after opex and tax. Model your scenario — do not use a single market average.
Do you publish days-on-market?
Not fleet-wide — broker data does not give us reliable closed-sale or unified DOM feeds. Ask your agent for listing-specific history.
How often is this report updated?
When the forsale cache refreshes — see the cache updated stamp. Rerun rank on listing map for the live picture after each data pass.
Written by Patrick Beland
STR expert and investor — software developer, house flipper, former realtor in Canada, and short-term rental investor across Canada and Costa Rica, now based in Playas del Coco. I write from my own books, not a brochure. About
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