The Dominican Republic Isn’t Oversaturated — It’s Growing Up

Over the last few weeks, I’ve had a lot of conversations that all circle the same concern:

“Is the Dominican Republic getting oversaturated?”
“Are we late?”
“Are prices about to correct?”

Here’s my honest take — and it’s probably calmer than what you’re hearing elsewhere.

The Dominican Republic isn’t oversupplied.

It’s becoming more honest.

There is still real demand here:

• From families

• From people with flexible or remote work

• From buyers looking for a better life, not a loophole

• From people who want to be here long-term

What’s changing isn’t demand.

What’s changing is tolerance for poorly executed projects.

Last Time the Market Was This Expensive, Investors Waited 14 Years to Break Even

In 1999, the S&P 500 peaked. Then it took 14 years to gradually recover by 2013.

Today? Goldman Sachs sounds crazy forecasting 3% returns for 2024 to 2034.

But we’re currently seeing the highest price for the S&P 500 compared to earnings since the dot-com boom.

So, maybe that’s why they’re not alone; Vanguard projects about 5%.

In fact, now just about everything seems priced near all time highs. Equities, gold, crypto, etc.

But billionaires have long diversified a slice of their portfolios with one asset class that is poised to rebound.

It’s post war and contemporary art.

Sounds crazy, but over 70,000 investors have followed suit since 2019—with Masterworks.

You can invest in shares of artworks featuring Banksy, Basquiat, Picasso, and more.

24 exits later, results speak for themselves: net annualized returns like 14.6%, 17.6%, and 17.8%.*

My subscribers can skip the waitlist.

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_{*Investing involves risk. Past performance is not indicative of future returns. Important Reg A disclosures: masterworks.com/cd.}

This isn’t a crash story — it’s an execution story

Projects that struggle going forward won’t fail because:

• “There are too many condos”

• “Foreigners stopped coming”

• “The market collapsed”

They’ll fail because they were fragile from the start:

• Underfunded developers

• Thin contingency budgets

• Poor permitting strategy

• Weak contracts

• No margin for labor or material price changes

Those issues were baked in at purchase.
The market just isn’t hiding them anymore.

That’s not the market failing.
That’s the market telling the truth.

And here’s the part people miss

At the same time this is happening in the DR, something else is happening in the U.S.

U.S. multifamily and commercial real estate didn’t break — it reset.

Pricing corrected.
Debt stress surfaced.
New construction slowed.

That’s pulling professional operators back into Class B and C deals.

But here’s the key point:

👉 Those buyers are not the same people buying homes in the Dominican Republic.

Two different buyers. Two different motivations.

In the U.S.:

• Sophisticated operators

• Comfortable with debt and regulation

• Running a business

• Optimizing returns

In the DR:

• Higher-net-worth families

• Flexible or remote work

• Buying villas and townhomes

• Prioritizing safety, rhythm, and quality of life

They’re not chasing IRR.

They’re asking:

• “Does life work better here?”

• “Can my family actually thrive here?”

• “Is this simpler than what we’re doing now?”

That demand hasn’t gone away — if anything, it’s getting clearer.

One thing I see all the time

A lot of Americans come here thinking they’ll buy a clean 2-bed for $100k.

There is demand for “cheap” real estate.

But the product people imagine:

• turnkey

• safe

• clean title

• rentable

• in areas foreigners actually want

…mostly doesn’t exist at that price anymore.

So people split into two groups:

1. Those who say “forget it”

2. Those who reset expectations and stretch to the real market floor

That’s not the market failing.
That’s the market being honest.

A quick pause — this is what “life actually working here” looks like

One thing I’ve noticed as more families move here (and as more people visit with intention) is that they’re not just buying homes — they’re building memories.

That’s actually why we built Jeffers Studios here in Punta Cana.

Jeffers Studios is our photo and video studio, and it exists for moments like:

• Destination weddings

• Engagement sessions

• Family & lifestyle photography

• High-quality video storytelling

We work with couples and families who don’t want generic “beach photos,” but something that actually reflects their story and their time here.

If you’re planning:

• a destination wedding in 2026

• an engagement shoot

• or family photos while you’re in the DR

👉 Message Erik directly here to talk through photo or video packages
(weddings or anything else)

No pressure — just a conversation about what you’re trying to capture.

Why this is actually good news

A more honest market means:

• Better projects win

• Bad ones stop getting rescued

• Buyers who do real due diligence get rewarded

• Families have more predictability, not less

The magic isn’t gone.

It just shows up for people who move with intention instead of impulse.

If you want to go deeper on this…

This is exactly the kind of conversation we continue inside DR Inner Circle — where we talk through:

• how to evaluate projects

• how to avoid execution risk

• how to move here without expensive mistakes

👉 You can join DR Inner Circle here
(it’s less than the cost of a stop at Chipotle)

And if you want to unpack this LIVE — including my wife Silvia’s perspective as a Dominican and as a mom —

📺 Join us live this Friday

Friday, December 19 at 12pm EST
On YouTube — live with me and my wife Silvia

We’ll talk:

• families vs investors

• U.S. vs DR fundamentals

• what’s real vs what’s hype

• answer questions live

Just click here at noon eastern to join the live!

Final thought

The Dominican Republic isn’t punishing buyers.

It’s rewarding the ones who take the time to understand what they’re actually buying.