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| Southern end of Chipipe beach |
Frank and I did a lot of walking around when we visited Salinas. We still do. Walking around and seeing things up close gives us a good idea of an area. In this video we walked the back roads to another small area of Salinas called Chipipe. This small community has some homes, condos and apartments; the beach was wider and a lot less busy compared to the main beach of Salinas.
Update 2016 - Not too long ago, Chipipe beach/community used to be less expensive than Salinas. It was much, much quieter because no motorboats or jet skis were allowed in the waters except for the fishermen who made their living, well, fishing. See video at end of post.
Just 4 years ago, you could buy a 3/3 condo on the beach for under $100,000 and rentals used to be $500 and up. If the condo was small you could find one for $400 a month right on the beach! During low season there might be 10 people on the whole beach. If going back a street or two, three and four bedroom houses that needed minimal work, yes minimal, maybe paint job, and kitchen cabinets updated were going for $45,000 to $75,000.
Chipipe back then was considered a family beach because there were no night clubs, bars, and discotheques on the Malecon like there is in Salinas, San Lorenzo.We all know what that means, safer and quieter beach.
How do we know all this? Back in 2011 and 2012 we considered moving to this part of the beach; we like looking at the real estate in areas and knowing what the market is and we do a lot of property market research and not just in Ecuador. The reason we did not move to Chipipe is because of the then slow infrastructure of the Internet and the lack of grocery stores in the area.
Rumor has it that the Internet is getting better now since the coastal area did upgrade their Internet to fiber-optics but back in 2012 it was about the speed of dial up. There's still only one grocery store (high prices too...more expensive than Supermaxi)in Salinas that is walking distance and only for some people, since it is still quite a few blocks away from Chipipe; and the other two grocery stores are further away and you will need to take a bus or taxi.
Today, so much has changed. The rentals have doubled and some of them tripled in price. Some are even asking over $2000 per month. The real estate sales market has at least doubled.
The beaches are packed, and the once quiet and peaceful beach is now noisy and smelly with stink pots (sailing term), jet skis and sea doos. The wind blows just right so that when three or four jet skis are blaring their engines out in the water, the exhaust wafts up your nose and into your lungs while you are trying to relax on the beach, and allllll daaaaaay looooong.
Chipipe is where all the foreigners have bought condos and are now renting them out at double, triple the prices they were four years ago. Gone is the day when you can rent a beach front condo for $500 in Chipipe. If you want to talk about rental inflation, Chipipe has probably seen the most than any other areas in Ecuador, and in 4 years time!! Even more than Salinas Malecon. Remember we have been keeping both eyes on the market.
When I asked a local real estate agent "who pays these prices?" He was evasive and didn't answer the question. The reason is, the answer is: The foreigner/gringo, that's who. Yes there are some wealthy Guayaquilians that come for vacations and pay big prices but they only stay very short term.
If you want a year round rental you will pay Florida prices in Chipipe. Say, wasn't it just a few months ago that some well known foreign property pumping, err....I mean, foreign retirement internet newsletter wrote an article for a mainstream press, outlining how South America is "the new South" and how you can retire at the beach for $1000 per month"? Nuff said.
This is what happens to a small area after foreigners over run a place. Smaller areas are affected the most and at a quicker rate.
Chipipe is a small beach community; it doesn't even have a grocery store! Therefore it doesn't take a whole lot of foreign population for the prices to quickly reflect the foreigner market prices in just a few short years! Anyone buying in Chipipe today, unless they somehow get a home or condo that needs TLC will not be able to get out of it very easily or at a profit BECAUSE THE PRICES ARE ALREADY FROTHY!
Enough said. We just wanted to update a very outdated article that needed to be updated and improved on. As you know, we tell it like it is, nothing candy coated and nothing white washed. It is what it is. This is not just a glimpse as the title implies, its an eyeopener.
Until we write again, you might like to see some of these videos and articles about Salinas and Chipipe Beaches.
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