BY CHRONICLE STAFF

Despite a rise in real estate prices and an explosion in hotel rooms, Costa Rica's real estate market - already one of the fastest-growing in Latin America - has a bright outlook, experts say.

"The perception of Costa Rica as a safe place is one of the reasons why the real estate market has been so vibrant in the past and will continue to be in future," says Rogerio Basso, a Miami-based Latin America analyst with Ernst & Young's hospitality and real estate practice.

And despite the price increase, Costa Rican real estate is still less expensive compared to the United States, the origin for most of its residential real estate investment, he points out. "Today Costa Rica is still a value proposition compared to the United States," Basso says.

The increase in prices in Costa Rica, has led real estate brokers in Nicaragua...