Costa Rica housing starts fall 15 percent

(ICR Archive)

January 19^th, 2016 (ICR News) Costa Rica’s Central Bank reports that housing starts fell 15 percent in the last quarter of 2015 compared to the same period a year earlier, led by a decline in housing targeting the middle-class.

For its part, the non-residential sector rose by 18 percent during the same period.

Meanwhile, social housing projects – those subsidized or paid for by the government to provide housing to the poor – saw a record increase during the same period.

Experts suggest that high interest rates – even during a time of negative inflation –along with stagnant personal incomes and an over-saturated market of existing homes are responsible for the decline.