New Build or Resale on Isla Verde: Which to Buy

Side by side

Criterion	New build, completed	Resale, 5 to 15 years old
Median price premium, H1 2026	plus 22 percent	baseline
Structural warranty	5 years from handover	remainder, if under 5 years
Service charge, first two years	about a third lower	full rate
Association accounts to read	none yet	three years or more
Reserve fund	starts at zero	should hold 10 percent of budget
Delay risk before keys	none once completed	none
Choice of units	what the developer has left	what is listed

Where the new build wins

Certainty about the building’s condition and the cost of the first years. Nothing has failed, the warranty covers what does, and the association charge is low because the reserve fund has not been called on. A buyer who wants to move in and think about nothing for five years is buying that.

The premium is the price of the certainty, and it is real: a 55 sqm one-bedroom at the new-build median on the marina in Playa Norte costs about 29,000 CRC more than its resale equivalent. The off-plan guide explains how buying before completion claws some of that back, at a different risk.

Where the resale wins

Information and price. Three years of association accounts tell you what the building actually costs to run and whether the roof is paid for, which no brochure can. The price has had the developer’s margin taken out by the first owner, and a resale in a building under five years old still carries the warranty.

Pros and cons of each

The new build’s pros are condition, warranty and low early charges; its cons are the premium, an association with no history and a reserve fund at zero. The resale’s pros are the accounts, the price and a settled building; its cons are wear, a service charge at the full rate, and the chance of a special assessment the minutes will reveal if you read them.

Risks and what to check

For a new build, check that the developer has registered the association and handed over the reserve fund, because some hold it for a year. For a resale, read the minutes for voted assessments and the reserve balance, as the service charges guide shows. Both need the title checks, and the permit check matters most for the resale in a converted building.

Who should pick which: scenarios

The buyer who values a quiet first five years and can pay the premium buys new. The buyer who reads accounts and wants the price buys the four-year-old resale. The buyer with time and no need to borrow reads the off-plan guide and considers a launch. In every case the condo buying guide gives the order of steps from deposit to keys.

Frequently asked questions

How much more does a new build cost per square metre?

About 22 percent more than a resale unit of the same size in the same district, at the Isla Verde Land Registry's first-half 2026 medians. The gap is widest on the coast.

Does the structural warranty transfer to a second buyer?

Yes. The five-year warranty attaches to the building, not the first owner, so a resale unit in a building under five years old still carries it.

Are service charges lower in a new building?

In the first two years, yes, usually by a third, because nothing has needed repair and the reserve fund starts from zero. By year five the two converge.