Don’t Cry For Me – I’m in Argentina

Well, not really. But it looks pretty tempting, especially after looking at Cafayate, Argentina, a new 1300 acre luxury home enclave that will ultimately have 360 homes built. It’s a bit remote though. After flying to Buenos Aires, you are still another two hour flight and three and a half hour drive away.

Estancia de Cafayate is the brainchild of the American financial author and investor Doug Casey, who calls himself an “anarcho-capitalist” and was a classmate of former President Bill Clinton at Georgetown University in Washington.

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“Here we have fresh air, wonderful hiking, fine wines and great food, and Argentina generally offers an ideal combination of culture and climate at a low cost,” he added. “Think 10 percent of the value of anything comparable in Europe, for example.”

The development covers 1,360 acres, in a district where tourism and winemaking (midrange whites from the torrontés grape in particular) — not to mention subdivision preparation and golf course landscaping — are bringing evident prosperity. Some 500 of the 12,000 residents from the nearby town of Cafayate have worked at the development over the last three years. For the moment, only a handful of hacienda-style properties have been built, but when the foundations of more homes are dug, and residents are ready to hire staff, that number is set to rise.

Mr. Casey expects that, when the shared facilities are completed in 2014, the Estancia de Cafayate will have around 50 of its projected total of 360 homes. Plots are being sold for an average of a little more than $6 per square foot, and range in size from 16,145 square feet to 18,300 square feet. In Argentina, land for luxury residences is routinely priced in U.S. dollars. Building costs, meanwhile, are averaging about $400 per square foot.

With a climate similar to the western United States, this might become the next big thing. I just gotta brush up on my Spanish!

Source: NY Times