While there are good holiday villas in Ecuador buys all over the country, the best buy right now in Ecuador’s property market is unquestionably the purchase of old Spanish colonials in Quito’s historic center. The city is in the process of restoring the old colonial center, something which caused property values to rise rapidly in Cuenca and Guayaquil upon completion. Yet the tremendous value found in these irreplaceable antique homes—many in the $40,000 to $50,000 range—has not yet been recognized by the Ecuadorian investors. Nevertheless, many IL readers have seen the writing on the wall and have already bought real estate here.

The other hot area for Ecuador real estate at the time of writing is the village of Vilcabamba in Ecuador’s southern Sierra. Enjoying near perfect weather year-round and dramatic mountain scenery, it has Ecuador’s highest concentration of IL readers. While the cheapest properties have been bought up by last year’s settlers, and land prices have risen dramatically, lots of good real estate is still for sale in what may be the valley with the world’s best climate.