Saharan dust is a mixture of sand, dust, and minerals from the vast Sahara desert that covers most of North Africa. Every year around this time, hundreds of millions of tons of dust are picked up there by strong winds, move over the Cape Verde Islands, and are blown across the Atlantic Ocean carried by the warm Harmattan winds. This year, the dust is the most dense in half a century, according to several meteorologists. The thick smog makes for very hazy yellow-brown skies and causes sharply reduced visibility.

As all things, it comes with good and bad consequences.  The dust helps build beaches in the Caribbean and fertilizes soils in the Amazon due to high levels of phosphorus, iron oxide minerals, potassium and calcium . Also, the layer causes conditions that are unfavorable for cloud formation, and this prevent hurricane development.

But it also affects air quality in North and South America, and people with astma our other allergies should stay inside . Outdoor exercise is to be avoided. 

Stay safe and healthy !

Looking at the figures of the first trimester 2020, and speaking to our customers, we expect Casa de Campo and its unique portfolio of luxury homes will have a bright future. Despite of the current challenges, average prices went up and the number of sales for this period was the same as in 2019, with an even higher volume of lots changing ownership. In total the sales volume was close to 20 Million US$, with about 20 properties under contract *

Our home has become more important now than ever, and families are looking for places that offer the best outdoors, so if they have to stay at home, they can still enjoy nature, and have an active life. We foresee prices to remain stable in a very active market, with great interest also by our local market. The international market is only waiting to have travel bans lifted, and have shown a lot of interest in our homes, not only as an investment, but as a valuable alternative to their main home. Casa de Campo has shown to be an excellent place with important lifesavers : fast internet, supermarket opening hours with dedicated times for the vulnerable, deliveries or pick ups from various sources, and an opportunity to jog, walk, or bike.

For people who are thinking of selling, this is a good time to move ahead. Buyers and sellers will meet in a fair market value trade. 

We are here to help you with your questions. We have dedicated ourselves to update our marketing skills and have improved our platforms, so we can now offer virtual walkthrough visits. Our potential buyers can now visit your home even if they are miles away. But for locals, we have made sure that all visits are perfectly same. It helps that most properties are individual homes, so it is easy to arrange to have all doors open, all appliances on, so that any person can safely inspect without touching a single handle or knob.

We also see a bright future for the private rental market. This year, our high season didn't end at Easter, with lots of inquiries for the high season. Lots of families have rented for longer term a home where they can home school their kids, work from home, and enjoy the outdoors. And where they can avoid contact with other people they don't know, so we foresee they will rather prefer a private home than a big hotel. Staying healthy and happy is so much easier here.

* sources : data compiled from published numbers by CasadeCampoRE, DRSotheby's Realty, independent brokers, and direct sales.

As in any unknown situation, it is hard to predict the future. Nevertheless, especially in the resort areas, and based on what we saw after the financial crisis, we expect Real Estate to keep on growing in a few months. As most transactions are cash sales, home owners usually don't have the pressure of paying off a mortgage. Certainly rental income will be suffering for some time, but the decline in confidence related to the direction of the economy coupled with the unprecedented measures taken to combat the spread of COVID-19, are naturally bringing an abundance of caution among buyers and sellers. The temporary softening of the real estate market will likely be followed by a strong rebound once the economic 'quarantine' is lifted. We expect to see a lot of opportunities for those who dare to be optimistic, and who prefer hard assets instead the volatility of the stock exchange.

So meanwhile, we keep in touch, work from home on marketing skills, and prepare for the rebounce. Technology will become even more important to bring people together, service our clients, and keep us all safe. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us @whatsapp or @tel. +1 809-543-2001

1. Replace traditional light bulbs by LED lights, reducing your energy consumption to only 16 % of your energy cost per light bulb.

2. Clean AC filters monthly or quarterly, depending on the use, because a dirty filter will result in higher consumption, and also cause more noise. Turn off your AC or set it a few degrees higher when you are not in the room.

3. Adjust your water heater tanks to the season, turning temperatures down in Summer and turn it up during Winter. Or even better, replace old tanks by tankless gas heaters who only consume energy when in use.

4. Repair leaking faucets because a drip of 1 drop per second can waste 250 gallons of water per month.

5. Check your automatic sprinkler system and adjust for rainy days. Make sure all sprinklers are properly working because a broken one will result in a fountain, or pool of water around it. Also set the system to water early in the morning or late at night for the best efficiency so your lawn doesn’t get burned by droplets of water under a scorching sun.