This piece contains a few excerpts from an article by Sandra Dibble on Tiger Woods’ Baja Golf Course, from the San Diego Union-Tribune. Sandra Dibble writes many articles on Baja and often attends Baja events, developments, etc. Pictures by: John Gibbins / Union-Tribune
Punta Brava sales team member Ryan Osterdorf teed off at what would be the location of the golf course’s 10th tee.
According to Rosarito’s AMPI (Mexican Realtors Association), sales in the northern Baja area are increasing at an unexpected pace.
“We are very excited to see what we are seeing, this is something we did not expect until 2011”said Blanca Guerrero of RE/MAX Baja Realty in Rosarito Beach. She added that, “sales levels are now at the 2003/2004 levels which are very good.”
Most of the buyers are Americans: 70% were from California, a few from other West Coast states and the rest from the East coast. They range in ages, from 40 to 65 years old, and are looking for retirement (35%), a second home (30%), long term investment (25%) and other (10%).
“Many of our buyers are escaping from the high cost of living in California, especially the extremely high property taxes” says Victor Loza of RE/MAX/Your Baja Connection. Loza further added that, “Indeed, property taxes in California could be around $7,000 annually, while in Rosarito - for an oceanfront condo - they are about $300 per year, and approximately $80 for an ocean view home.”
A number of incredible opportunities can be found at the moment, particularly in Rosarito Beach in Baja, and at just a short 30 minute drive from the San Diego border, it is an excellent option for many.
Sales have increased tenfold compared to the start of 2009, when the economic crisis exploded and the influenza scare dealt Baja California a very strong blow. Then it was followed by the bad press about the drug cartels fighting in the region. The drug wars were portrayed as if they affected all citizens of Baja, not taking into consideration that these terrible fights where occurring in areas not visited by regular folks, let alone tourists.
Americans living here – around 15,000 in Rosarito and 30,000 in Ensenada- immediately started posting testimonials, U-tube commentaries, blogs, etc. to show that life was very different to what the US media was “advertising.” Many even created blogs and forums which are easily accessible on the Internet now.
Even with the crisis fading and sales improving faster than once thought possible, we still have several development projects that are barely beginning to renew their construction and some that are still in the wait-and-see stages.
Real Estate prices in Baja dropped approximately the same percentage as Southern California. The 35% drop found in the third quarter of 2009, has since increased around 5%, making the average price of an ocean view and oceanfront residential property in 2009 in the Rosarito region approximately $285,000, and oceanfront condos at $306,000.
Now, with Tiger Woods’ Punta Brava, Baja will be getting lots of positive attention again. “This is the best we could ask for. Similar to the type we were getting in ‘04 and ’05,” said James Bond, a U.S. retiree realtor working hard in Baja. “Back in those days, the U.S. media was portraying Rosarito and Baja as the ‘American Dream found… just south of the border’… then the whole economic turn hit, and Baja stopped being the darling of the American media.
Since the announcement of Tiger Wood’s Baja development, almost 170 “super” prospective buyers have been flown down to tour the site; looks like most have showed excitement for the project.
Brian Tucker, the development’s director said “This is to be one of the singular golf clubs in the world.”
With views of the ocean at every tee or green, the Tiger Woods golf course will be the centerpiece of the development planned at the tip of the Punta Banda peninsula overlooking Todos Santos Bay. The project includes 120 units, with prices starting at $3 million for a lot and $3.5 million for a condominium, according to information released at the project’s unveiling.
Punta Brava’s financial backer is Red McCombs, co-founder of Clear Channel Communications and former owner of the San Antonio Spurs, the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Vikings. McCombs is a principal of The Flagship Group, headed by the Austin-based developer Brady Oman. The project’s estimated cost is $100 million.
This past President’s Day weekend/Valentine’s Day was a blast. So many tourists came, the weather was just perfect, and buyers were all over the place. “I had two different groups wanting to see the same oceanfront house, and at the same time! This hadn’t happened since 2007,” said Victor Loza, referring to a $245,000 oceanfront listing, a 3bed/2ba house in northern Rosarito.
This is the best time to invest in Baja California real estate, and you should wait no further.
Here are some excerpts on Sandra Dibble’s article on this multimillion dollar Baja project:
Punta Brava founder and principal Brian Tucker says of his Baja California project: “We’re not selling 600 units of condos. This is to be one of the singular golf clubs in the world.” The golf course is the centerpiece of the development planned at the tip of the Punta Banda peninsula overlooking Todos Santos Bay.
Tiger Woods has been on leave from professional golf, but his widely reported personal problems are not the reason for delays in launching a luxury development outside Ensenada where he is designing a golf course, say promoters and government officials with knowledge of the project.
Developers of Punta Brava, located on a peninsula about 65 miles south of San Diego say the permitting process has moved more slowly than they expected, but they count on breaking ground this year and opening in 2012.
Developers say they have maintained their close working relationship with Woods, who has not said when he will resume golfing professionally.
“No matter what, Tiger Woods is the best golfer in the world, and there is nobody else that we would rather have design our golf course than the best golfer in the world,” said Brian Tucker, founder and principal of Punta Brava and a vice president of The Flagship Group, the project’s development company.
When Punta Brava was announced Oct. 7, 2008, “the world was a different place,” Tucker said. While the economic downturn has brought coastal real estate development in Baja California to a virtual standstill, Tucker said Punta Brava is moving forward. Since the launching, 167 prospective buyers have been flown down to tour the site, he said, and have shown enthusiasm for the project.
Sales won’t begin until next February, said Susan Wise, spokeswoman for The Flagship Group.
“We’re not selling 600 units of condos,” Tucker said. “This is to be one of the singular golf clubs in the world.”
With views of the ocean at every tee or green, the Tiger Woods golf course is the centerpiece of the development planned at the tip of the Punta Banda peninsula overlooking Todos Santos Bay. The project includes 120 units, with prices starting at $3 million for a lot and $3.5 million for a condominium, according to information released at the project’s unveiling.
Punta Brava’s financial backer is Red McCombs, co-founder of Clear Channel Communications and former owner of the San Antonio Spurs, the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Vikings. McCombs is a principal of The Flagship Group, headed by the Austin-based developer Brady Oman. The project’s estimated cost is $100 million.
Construction was scheduled to begin in early 2009 and be completed in 2010, according to the Tiger Woods Design Web site. The site lists Punta Brava as one of three designed by Woods; the others are in North Carolina and Dubai.
Baja California Tourism Secretary Oscar Escobedo Carignan said the project is an important step in projecting the state as a “sand and sea” destination, a term for oceanfront resorts that feature natural beauty. While Punta Brava would have no beaches, it is a dramatic natural setting with views of the ocean on three sides.
The developers say they are taking care to minimize the project’s environmental impact. A group of opponents to the project, the Viva Punta Banda Coalition, says the development threatens one of the few remaining areas of marine coastal sage scrub in Baja California and will require large amounts of water in an area where water supplies are scarce. The opponents say the project’s desalination plant will discharge brine sludge into the ocean, threatening marine ecosystems.
Tucker said that it has taken “way longer” than expected to get permits. The proposal passed a key hurdle late last year when Mexico’s Environmental Ministry gave a green light to the project, said Escobedo, the tourism secretary.
The area still needs a land-use change to allow for a tourist development. Linda Salazar, an official with Ensenada’s Urban Administration Secretariat, said federal environmental officials are expected to act in the next two weeks.
Another hurdle that the project must clear is a detailed review by Mexico’s National Institute for Anthropology and History, or INAH. Archaeologists familiar with the region say the site holds important remains of groups from as far back as 10,000 years ago.
INAH conducted a preliminary study last year, but needs to conduct a more extensive review before the project can move forward, according to the institute’s Baja California office. The study would be paid by the developer, but conducted by INAH.
Julia Bendimez, INAH’s director in Baja California, said the institute is prepared to conduct its review of the archaeological sites on the property, an area known as La Lobera.
“The salvage effort will begin when the company needs it,” Bendimez said.
Sandra Dibble: (619) 293-1716; sandra.dibble@uniontrib.com
www.bajainvestment.com
Gustavo Torres
AMPI Rosarito Realtors