The Dominican Republic occupies 48,482 square kilometers, making up the eastern two thirds of the island of Hispaniola, with the country of Haiti comprising the western third. The island of Hispaniola sits more or less in the center of the Caribbean Islands - with the Turks and Caicos and the Bahamas to the North, Cuba and Jamaica to the west, Puerto Rico and the Leeward Islands to the east, and South America to the south. The north coast gives way to the Atlantic Ocean and the south coast gives way to the Caribbean Sea.

The Dominican Republic has over 386 miles of coastline with the island being a total size of 18704 square miles and has a population of 8.8m

After a decade of little to no growth in the 1980s, the Dominican Republic's economy boomed in the 1990s, expanding at an average rate of 7.7% per year from 1996 to 2000. Tourism (the leading foreign exchange earner), telecommunications, and free-trade-zone manufacturing are the most important sectors, although agriculture is still a major part of the economy. The Dominican Republic owed much of its success to the adoption of sound macroeconomic policies in the early 1990s and greater opening to foreign investment. Growth turned negative in 2003 (-0.4%) due to the effects of government handling of major bank frauds and to lower U.S. demand for Dominican manufacturers. The Mejía administration negotiated an IMF standby agreement in August 2003 but was unable to comply with fiscal targets. The Fernandez administration obtained required tax legislation and IMF board approval for the standby in January 2005. The Dominican peso fell to an unprecedented low in exchange markets in 2003-2004 but strengthened dramatically following the election and inauguration of Leonel Fernández. Since late 2004 it has traded at a rate considered to be overvalued on a purchasing power parity basis. Inflation fell sharply in late 2004 and was estimated at 9% for that calendar year. The Fernández administration successfully renegotiated official bilateral debt with Paris Club member governments, commercial bank debt with London Club members, and sovereign debt with a consortium of lenders. It met fiscal and financial targets of the standby agreement but fell short of goals for reforms in the electricity sector and financial markets. Central Bank statistics indicate 10.7% growth for 2006 with 5.0% inflation. The Central Bank estimates that the economy grew at 7.9% in the first six months of 2007 with an inflation rate of 5.9%. The Dominican Republic's most important trading partner is the United States (75% of export revenues). Other markets include Canada, Western Europe, and Japan. The country exports free-trade-zone manufactured products (garments, medical devices, etc.), nickel, sugar, coffee, cacao, and tobacco. It imports petroleum, industrial raw materials, capital goods, and foodstuffs. On September 5, 2005, the Dominican Congress ratified a free trade agreement with the U.S. and five Central American countries, known as CAFTA-DR. The CAFTA-DR agreement entered into force for the Dominican Republic on March 1, 2007. The total stock of U.S. foreign direct investment (FDI) in Dominican Republic as of 2006 was U.S. $3.3 billion, much of it directed to the energy and tourism sectors, to free trade zones, and to the telecommunications sector. Remittances were close to $2.7 billion in 2006. An important aspect of the Dominican economy is the Free Trade Zone industry (FTZ), which made up U.S. $4.55 billion in Dominican exports for 2006 (70% of total exports). Reports show, however, that the FTZs lost approximately 60,000 between 2005 and 2007 and suffered a 4% decrease in total exports in 2006. The textiles sector experienced an approximate 17% drop in exports due in part to the appreciation of the Dominican peso against the dollar, Asian competition following expiration of the quotas of the Multi-Fiber Arrangement, and a government-mandated increase in salaries, which should have occurred in 2005 but was postponed to January 2006. Lost Dominican business was captured by firms in Central America and Asia. The tobacco, jewelry, medical, and pharmaceutical sectors in the FTZs all reported increases for 2006, which somewhat offset textile and garment losses. Industry experts from the FTZs expect that entry into force of the CAFTA-DR agreement will continue to promote substantial growth in the FTZ sector for 2008.

International Hot property has Identified and researched property in Dominican Republic and has targeted the new 5 star resorts currently being developed on the island. With forward thinking government policies to encourage investment into the Island. Property prices are well priced in relation to the other islands and thus proving popular for overseas property investors who can see the huge growth potential for both property price increases and very high rental returns as the Dominican Republic becomes more and more popular.

WHY INVEST IN DOMINICAN REPUBLIC PROPERTY?

The Dominican Republic is hot and tropical, with little seasonal variation in temperatures, which average about 77°F (25°C). Seasons can, however, be determined by rainfall, with October to April being the rainy season on the north coast, while May to November is the wettest month in the south of the country. The driest area is the west. Cooler temperatures and less humidity are generally experienced between November and April, while the mountainous interior is always cooler than the rest of the country.. The busiest time of year to visit the Dominican Republic is between December and April when North Americans take a tropical break from their winters, and from June to September, which coincides with European summer holidays. Santo Domingo enjoys a typically tropical climate, the heat tempered somewhat by sea breezes. The average annual temperature is 77°F (25°C). The rainy season is between May and November, but consists of heavy showers of short duration after which the sun shines brightly once again.

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