Costa Rica Mortgage rates will be higher than you are accustomed to in your country of origin. In Costa Rica if a Bank makes a mortgage loan they are stuck with that mortgage loan for the entire duration of the loan. As such, banks in Costa Rica are very conservative and take their time in reviewing mortgage applications before making any commitment. Most people are surprised that it can take a couple of months to complete the mortgage application process.
Also there is no secondary market to bundle and sell off mortgages like there is in the United States. This is another reason why banks are very conservative in their loan risk evaluation.
It is difficult to find fixed rate loans in Costa Rica. You may find a teaser rate where the loan is fixed for the first year or two but after that it kicks into a variable rate. For loans made in Costa Rica currency the Colon the variable rate is generally tied to what is known as the Tasa Basica Pasiva (TBP) which is set by the Central Bank of Costa Rica. The curent rate of the TBP is 7.15%. You can view the historical rates for the Tasa Basica Pasiva from 2004-2015 in the following image:
For Dollar denominated loans the variable rates are based upon the prime rate or the libor rate. That means that they review the loan on a periodic basis and adjust the rate according to the prime rate or the libor rate.
For example Banco de Costa Rica has published the following interest rate schedule for its Dollar denominated loans.
Another local bank has set out its interest rate for dollars according to the following schedule:
Scotiabank of Costa Rica which offers both dollar and Colones loans publishes the following rates:
For Colones interest rates Banco de Costa Rica has published the following rates based upon a percentage of the TBP which was discussed above.
