November 2026 Costa Rica Property Report: 97,505 Active Listings, Plenty to Question
The CostaRicaRealtor data desk counts 97,505 active listings, but asking prices and listing histories need a closer read before you make an offer.
Santa Cruz has a median asking price of $540,000. Alajuelita sits at $149,619. Those belong in the same national report, but they are hardly interchangeable buying decisions. The CostaRicaRealtor data desk tracks 97,505 active listings for November 2026. Choice isn't cheap. And a lower asking price means little if the location makes your daily life harder.
I've bought and sold here since moving to Costa Rica, and I put more weight on a property's paperwork than its sales pitch. Price cuts appear in 37.9% among listings with a tracked price history, a subset of 9,292 listings. That finding does not describe all 97,505 active listings. But it does give buyers a reason to ask what changed, what still needs fixing, and how the seller arrived at today's price.
As of November 2026.
This month's numbers
- Active listings: 97,505
- Of the 9,292 listings we have tracked through at least one price change, 37.9% have cut the asking price (a buyer's-market signal).
- 6.5% appear on more than one portal (no MLS means the same home is listed several times).
- Median time visible on our platform: 113 days (counted from the listing's first day with us, so it is a floor, not a measure of how fast the market moves).
Most expensive cantons (median sale price)
| Canton | Province | Median price | $/m2 built | Sale listings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Cruz | Guanacaste | $540,000 | $2,996 | 4053 |
| Osa | Puntarenas | $499,000 | $2,693 | 2625 |
| Quepos | Puntarenas | $478,500 | $2,591 | 1008 |
| Puntarenas | Puntarenas | $475,000 | $2,134 | 3435 |
| Nicoya | Guanacaste | $449,500 | $2,498 | 1594 |
| Carrillo | Guanacaste | $449,000 | $2,875 | 1728 |
Most affordable cantons
| Canton | Province | Median price | $/m2 built | Sale listings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alajuelita | San José | $149,619 | $1,360 | 153 |
| Rio Cuarto | Alajuela | $151,819 | $811 | 30 |
| Guacimo | Limón | $171,622 | $1,460 | 132 |
| Turrialba | Cartago | $176,023 | $1,000 | 602 |
| Alvarado | Cartago | $176,023 | $1,186 | 72 |
| Turrubares | San José | $180,000 | $1,252 | 288 |
Change in median asking price (month over month)
- Santa Cruz: -9%
- Perez Zeledon: +4%
- Santo Domingo: +4%
- Heredia: +4%
- San Jose: +3%
- Puntarenas: -2%
What it means for buyers
I'd use these figures to build a shortlist, then test each asking price against genuinely comparable properties. Osa's median is $499,000 and Quepos's is $478,500. At the more affordable end, Rio Cuarto sits at $151,819 and Guacimo at $171,622. Cheaper isn't better. Check the actual journey to work, services and the people you expect to see regularly before treating a canton median as a bargain signal.
And here's what nobody tells you: a listing's visible age isn't a sale clock. The median time visible on the platform is 113 days, which does not tell us how long a property takes to sell. Nor does seeing a property advertised repeatedly prove demand, with 6.5% of listings appearing across multiple portals. So ask for the price history, have your lawyer check title and recorded restrictions at the Registro Nacional, and verify access and water availability before committing. My preference is boring paperwork over an expensive surprise.
Figures are Costa Rica Realtor's own computation from asking prices across the whole Costa Rica market, the most complete Costa Rica market picture available. Free to cite with attribution to costaricarealtor.com.
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