The World Bank recently stated that the Dominican Republic and Panama, were the only economies that will reach “exceptional” growth, in Latin America and the Caribbean in the 2013 forecast.

Augusto de la Torre, Chief Economist of the World Bank for Latin America and the Caribbean, said in presenting the report “Latin America faces volatility, the dark side of globalization”, that the growth estimates are consistent with anticipated low inflation of 3.5% and 4.1%.

Peru, Panama, Dominican Republic and Colombia will grow higher than the average in the region, said De La Torre. He said that regional growth forecasts have dropped by half a percentage point, due to the uncertainty in Europe.

The Dominican Republic will grow 4.5% this year and the following year, according to projections from the International Monetary Fund. De la Torre said that most of the English-speaking countries of the Caribbean are highly exposed to external volatility, limited by their size, and high levels of debt.

“The Dominican Republic is a country that has been growing strongly, one of the best performances in the region, and has very integrated trade and financial flows. Therefore they are able to capture the benefits of globalization they need to harness the possible external volatility,” said De La Torre.

This economic forecast and more importantly the factors that support it confirm that the country provides excellent opportunities for investment in Dominican real estate. For years the prices for land in Dominican Republic and real estate have been very competitively priced when compared to other countries in the region. This trend may change if the economic projections for growth result in significant gains compared to others in Latin American and the Caribbean.

Rob Chenvert, ABR®