Photograph by Dennis West of Direct Photographics
Home All-Stars: Great Distances
January 1, 2006
Patagonia
Huge cattle ranches below snowcapped peaks, pristine rivers filled with
trout, white water flowing through majestic canyons: No, this is not the American
West but the Argentine South–the lakes area of Patagonia, to be precise. However,
the attractions are much the same as those in Colorado, Montana and Idaho, says
Jeff Wells, one of the founders of Austral Real Estate, which specializes in
estancias, or trophy ranches in the country.
Patagonia, which extends more than 1,000 miles, encompasses part of Chile,
where the coastal area of the Gulf of Corcovado is “reminiscent of Seattle or the Norwegian fjords,” says Wells. But more North Americans head for
Argentina–around San Martin de los Andes, San Carlos de Bariloche and Esquel. At the edge of
the Andes, the clouds dump moisture that produces lush, green vistas.
Scenes from the Arelauquen Golf & Country Club in Bariloche: The
lodge (top photograph) and a private residence on Lake Gutierrez (bottom photograph). Photography by Burco Group. (Click images to enlarge); function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
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Even so, the beauty of Patagonia might have gone unnoticed without Ted
Turner’s purchase of a 55,000-acre ranch here in the late 1990s. “People thought, ‘If Turner did it, maybe I should do it, too,’ ” says Wells. “And for a million
or so, you got what would cost $50 million in the States. Over the last seven years,
the estates that would have been one to two million are now three to five.”
Neville Johnson, sales director for Gateway to South America Ltd., adds, “Prices in the Andes Mountains and foothills–some of the most beautiful scenery in the world–have lifted spectacularly.” Properties in lakeside sections up to 220,000 hectares (543,400 acres) are available, and while these are far more expensive than they would be if sold for farmland, “they’re still relatively cheap based on international values.”
“There are parts of Chile and Argentina that are like farm towns in the
States 30 years ago,” Wells says. Over the next two years, as the airports are enlarged
and new roads are put in, he says, the area should also attract people who
“aren’t pioneers. In 1997, when I bought my own ranch, I was the first foreigner in
the area since the 1930s. Now every neighbor I have is from another part of the world.”
Spain
Poets may write about castles in spain, but traditionally, upscale real
estate investors have focused on the sun and sea there. Foreign buyers (and notables
like Michael Douglas, Julio Iglesias and the royal family of Saudi Arabia) have
turned to the island of Majorca, the south coast (Sotogrande, around Cadiz),
Marbella and the Costa del Sol, the Valencia Coast and the Costa Brava, north of
Barcelona, says Josep L—pez Deiros of the real estate firm Fincas-Exclusivas.
When it comes to the Costa Brava, Deiros says, “The attraction is the beauty of romantic coves and fishermen’s towns.” In Girona, which Deiros names as having “exceptional air connections with Great Britain,” there is the additional bonus of medieval architecture.
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