Costa Rica vacation homes hit by crisis

The U.S. mortgage crisis has hit Costa Rica's once booming vacation home market, with sales plummeting as Americans who dream of buying a tropical getaway struggle to find financing.

U.S. retirees and vacationers often pay for beach homes along Costa Rica's jungle-fringed beaches by taking out mortgages on their homes in the United States, but trouble in the banking sector has made that more difficult, realtors say.

Prices for some vacation houses and condominiums in the Central American country have dropped as much as 40 percent from their peak a few years ago and sales have slumped at least 30 percent over the past six months, they say.

Real estate agent Sabastian Pecher said sales are particularly slow for less expensive condos in the $100,000 to $200,000 range, which typically have two bedrooms and are within strolling distance to a beach.

"On the lower end we're down at least 50 percent to 60 percent," said Pecher, who sells second-hand homes as well as new condominiums.