Coming soon to a hill near you

Cerro de las Espinas seen from Punta Negra, with some of the roadwork done.


So our little spec of world may not remain unknown or remote for much longer it would seem.

This is thanks in part to interest sparked by our house (multiple lots of land and houses have been sold in the past one month citing Arrancopelito as the reason of the purchase decision, believe it or not) but also in a much larger sense because of the massive Latitud Sur project just 2km behind us commanding the Cerro de las Espinas (Thorn Hill if you were to translate the name) with its breathtaking views of everything from Punta del Este to Punta Colorada and Laguna del Sauce, hugging a huge golf course, and topped by a 5 star hotel on the tip of the hill. www.latitudsur.com.uy

What can I say, I feel a bit nostalgic for the Barra de Portezuelo that never was for me. When I fell in love with this place the road was unpaved, hence zero traffic, only one or two houses built, absolutely nobody at the beach ever, etc. Now that we're finally living here, cars drive by, the beach parking lot has at least 2 cars every day and as many as 8 on weekends, and in the Latitud Sur project website, MY BEACH is marked as "Beach Club."

The Latitud Sur hill, with a working farm in the foreground.

Then again, my guess is that somewhere in the near future we will have a couple of restaurant options which don't exist at present (to begin with, at the hotel). My guess is also that the hotel will have an indoor swimming pool and spa that I may want to become a member of. And who knows what other conveniences will come our way. The plans call for a "shopping area" on the edge of the compound, for example. But also, I won't be coy about it, the rise in property value can be felt by the week right now. What I was happy to sell for 35k last week, today feels cheap at 45k.

Hence we are retrenching, selling the one lot in the obvious area half a block away from the beach and buying 3 lots further inland, with crappy access right now, but with amazing views, in a location more secluded from what I expect will be increasing traffic in years to come, and at "not yet discovered" prices.

The hill seen from Barra de Portezuelo

This decision comes after a bi-athlon review of the entire area which included a 3 hour bicycle tour of Punta Negra (which left me with a bit of sun stroke despite the rain, the sun here is very strong) and a one hour adventure hike yesterday with the realtor, which included climbing 12-foot ravines, getting lost in the thorny brush, and overcoming the terror of the crucera (the nasty viper). We didn't see any vipers, although the 2 feet high cushion of dead grass would hide them from view. I wore plaid design rain rubber boots to protect me. By the second or third ravine ascent or descent I stopped caring about the snakes and started fearing the realtor. He could have killed me and buried me in that spot and nobody would have ever found me. Luckily for me, he is into commissions, not killing clients...

A country road approaching the Cerro de las Espinas

What about my Punta Negra survey... well, I saw an area that I sort of liked, especially because of the views of the hills, including the Latitud Sur project, and I saw a lot of things I don't like. What I don't like is the close proximity of houses to each other. Lots are small, 600 m2, or 6,000 sq ft, often narrow and long, meaning all the houses are too close to each other, and in a place where being outdoors is much of the allure, it feels too "communal" for me.

In some areas some people have bought multiple lots, and those have built better houses, with nicely kept yards, and mostly with very nice views.

My least favorite part, ironically, is the part closest to the beach, within two blocks of the beach, let's say, which has been built in a sort of Mad Max shantytown style (the house that looks like a cross between a ship and a medieval watch-tower, for example), which coupled with the sandy, windswept terrain, makes it feel pretty depressing. There are quite a few extremely small and extremely inexpensively built shacks in wood that are absolutely beautiful, but there´s a lot that isn´t good looking at all.

These two houses I would call "transitional" in Punta Negra. Tidy, not a "found materials" shack, clean yards, but still ugly and tiny.


Further up the hill and before entering the forest there a couple of nicer houses, more desirable in my opinion. A realtor explained to me that when the subdivision went on sale originally, they started selling only the first couple of blocks by the sea, which was where there was electricity and roads had been made, and that they went on sale for USD3,600 payable in 96 installments. That's why the shanty feel on the beachside strip. As time went on, prices rose and new buyers had to buy further inland, and at higher prices, thus the better houses in the back, just before reaching the forest parts, where in general terms prices and construction quality drop again.

In sum, there are now quite a few cheap lots for sale for anyone less anti-social than me, which will trebble or quadruple in value in a couple of years. My prediction. The other option is to buy several lots and houses on a "keep buying up anything next to you that comes up" basis and then average out the price. Dollar averaging but for real estate rather than stocks. If I were not so in love with this place, Barra de Portezuelo, I would buy a bunch of lots there. But prices here are suddenly getting borderline out of my range, so I will get some more here before I turn my attention and money to Punta Negra. In any case, the whole area has a big boost coming.