With prices in neighboring islands rising steadily and availability of land to develop becoming scarce, investment hunters are looking to the Dominican Republic. It’s the second largest of the Caribbean Islands and prices are not anywhere near a peak.

The country was pretty much untapped during it's dictatorship, but it was not until the 90’s that the Dominican Republic started to invest seriously in the tourism market, and thus brought investors.

With crime rates in low numbers, and and its people are well known as being amongst the friendliest and warmest in the World, the Dominican Republic has much to offer tourists with attractions such as tropical beaches, Amazon-like forests and the gathering of dolphins and whales every year on its shores.

The Dominican Republic has begun to see luxury resorts built on it's shores, and apartment condos emerged to compensate for need of extra rooms in such areas as Punta Cana, where the occupancy rate is at an 80% all year round.
Millions of dollars are being invested in developing new resorts and luxury golf communities, as well as re-developing untapped parts of the country previously inaccessible, and now being seen for the first time with the construction of a new 'Boulevard Turistico el Este' which will connect most of the east coast.

Legalizing Real Estate in the Dominican Republic
The emerging Dominican Republic Real Estate market, called for regulating and licensing of real estate agents in the country. There is a new law currently in congress that will be in place within the next year(2009)which is working to achieve this with the ‘ Asociación de Empresas Inmobiliarias' blocaly known as the AEI. The AEI is a collective membership of real estate professionals who subscribes to a strict Code of Ethics.

The AEI encourages consumers to rely on the expertise and integrity from their members. Members if the AEI are the experts of residential and commercial property transactions and adhere to high ethical standards.

Real Estate Title, Taxes and legal Services

It is wise to use the services of a Title Company such as Stewart Titles, or a reputable law firm.

Law services in Dominican Republic
Guzmán Ariza, which was founded in 1927 -and was the first and only national law firm in the Dominican Republic, with lawyers in seven offices covering the Santo Domingo metropolitan area, including Juan Dolio and Boca Chica, as well as the southeast area (Punta Cana, Bavaro, Miches, Macao) and the northern part of the island (Sosúa, Cabrera, Las Terrenas, Samaná, San Francisco de Macorís)

This lawfirm offers a concentrated practice in servicing the business and personal needs of international corporations and individuals, especially in the Real Estate and Business and Corporate Law areas.

Your Real Estate agent should be able to provide you with a trusted lawyer based on your needs.


Escrow Service Provider
An independent Escrow Service Provider manages the financial aspects of the transaction including receiving and holding funds in a secure escrow or trust account, reviewing the instructions of all participants to the transaction and disbursing funds as required.

The Escrow Service Provider has no financial stake in the real estate transaction, acts as a "disinterested party" and is responsible for the management of the funds and documents and their appropriate disbursement, in strict accordance with the guidelines established by the parties involved in the transaction.

These Companies provide security to the transaction and operate on a fee basis. We strongly recommend the use of an Escrow Agent when purchasing overseas properties when possible. We generally work with Stewart Titles International, which has offices here in Dominican Republic.