Most condo buyers interested in purchasing in Belize head for Ambergris Caye or Placencia. Not surprising really because if you take the time to add up the number of developments in Belize offering condos and pluck out those located in Ambergris and Placencia, you'll be looking at 70% of the market. Put it another way, of all the condo projects in the country, 70% are located in Placencia and Ambergris Caye.

Condos make up the core of the Belize international real estate offering. Land is relatively expensive compared to construction, particularly if the land is beachfront; so it’s logical for developers to design master plans with condos in multi-storey buildings.

As the most established second home, retiree and tourism location in the country, the Ambergris Caye real estate market is the most expensive for condos. Prices in Placencia, also a popular vacation spot, follow close behind. In both locations you're looking at a median price per sq foot well over US$200. To bring this number down, buyers head to more emerging areas that are less developed and less popular with tourists.

Most condo projects in Belize are small in size. The most common layout is a three to four floor condo building overlooking a pool and restaurant with a pier or dock stretching into the sea. Large-scale destination resorts covering hundreds of acres of land are much less common than in Costa Rica, Nicaragua or Panama. You can probably count them on one hand.

If you’re in the market for a condos in Belize, remember that asking prices are very negotiable, particularly in this post-crisis era. Unless you’ve got a speculators stomach steer clear of pre-construction offerings in the less developed areas. The inherent risk will be lower if you focus on quality property that has been completed. Finally, don’t forget to investigate the re-sale market as motivated sellers may be pricing their property below developer-direct levels.