More than a construction company, Noval Properties is a world-class development institution with a real estate division, furnishing services and property management. “Noval Properties has a 360-degree vision. We only build in the best locations, always with beach access or golf fields, and provide innovation in the real state model, with complete property management and furniture available, making our offer “hassle-free” and thus giving a lot of value to clients”, assures Cesar Latrilla Rodero, CEO of Noval Properties. Focusing on prime locations in Punta Cana, one of the most sought-after destinations in Latin America and the Caribbean, and guaranteeing a 10% annual ROI, it is not suprising that their investment offer has become widely successful.
Their real estate projects offer an attractive combination of five-star amenities and a uniquely homelike comfort. They are divided into three main groups according to their location: beach, golf and downtown. Moreover, their cost is very affordable — Punta Cana offers the lowest price in residential properties in the Caribbean. Starting at US $199,000 and with a medium price of US $223,000, each square meter has an average value of US $1,800. Apart from their excellent locations and prices, another asset of the residences is the highend quality of their building materials and finishes, with many imported products from the best international brands that add further value to the properties. Additionally, investors who wish to rent or resell their properties profit from other advantages Punta Cana has to offer as an investment location, such as an annual appreciation of 15 to 20%, an average hotel occupancy of 87.7%, the low tax regime (including no tax on foreign pension income), and the fact that more than 3,000,000 passengers arrive every year through Punta Cana International Airport — around 65% of all foreign tourists the country receives annually.
Noval Properties began in 2003 with a very clear vision after realising the need for touristic real estate in Punta Cana long before others did. What started as a tourist-oriented furniture and residential villa company with time became a construction company, and later transformed into a promoter. Latrilla explains that by 2014 the company “focused its commercial and knowhow efforts on promoting its buildings, because it was there where the market was going.” Given the investment boom that followed, they were certainly going in the right direction. In 2017 it started its expansion, with revenues increasing from US $11M to $150M, and nowadays they are evolving again, going through a digital transformation by changing their digital and promotional marketing techniques and bringing experts from abroad. “It could be said that today Noval operates like a small multinational, with an international marketing and sales team of 40 people, and more than 2,000 real estate companies with almost 10,000 brokers that can be counted as part of the sales team”, assures Latrilla.
This digitization process also proved to be very effective in counteracting some of the effects of the COVID crisis, like the global increase in prices and its resulting inflation. As Latrilla explains, they coped with those challenges “by adopting digital systems in the company, like Oracle or Microsoft 365, to improve processes and better manage the company’s finances. This management helped us offer good prices to our customers and be competitive, even when that meant cutting our margins.”
On the other hand, whenever there is a crisis there is also an opportunity, and the pandemic brought an interesting and profitable turn in the country’s touristic real estate sector. Due to the low-interest rates in the financial markets associated with COVID, investors started buying touristic properties in Punta Cana with the idea of enjoying them later. “People now think it is as a good opportunity to buy, enjoy, and rent it later on platforms like Airbnb. We are doing the same, selling the apartments and managing them through Hilton, Sheraton, Hyatt, and other big brands”, explains Latrilla. This new trend resulted in great benefits for the country, translated in an increase of around 4% of its GDP in 2021; this is a significant amount if one considers that between 2015 and 2019 annual GDP rose by an average of 6.1%. Such growth has also been felt by the company, which expects an increase in revenues of $250M for 2022, with more than 1,500 lodgings that will be built. “2021 was the best year in Noval’s history”, continues Latrilla.
This transformation goes in line with the change they have experienced in terms of client origin. During the first decade of the company, around 80% of the clients were international, particularly from the United States, Canada and Spain. Nowadays, 60% of them are either local or expatriate Dominicans who want to enjoy what their country has to offer on a more regular basis, especially now in these post-COVID times.
‘Morgan Capital by Noval’, is also focused on the local market, with the idea of building real estate projects that give back to the Dominican society. This includes social housing, student residences, urban hotels, and senior residences. Conceived as a parallel business model, the capital for this project was raised with private and public investors, and it is estimated to produce between 12% to 20% of profitability. Currently, there are 3 projects with US $50M in investment that are being developed: a student residence, an urban hotel from the Radisson brand, and a co-living. With this project, they expect to raise US $1,000M in 5 years from national and international investors.
And while this is a big undertaking, their vision goes even further. For the next few years, Noval Properties has one of the most ambitious construction projects in The Dominican Republic, and it will be extending its presence to Miches, Santo Domingo, Punta Cana, and Las Terrenas. In the next 18 months alone, they will release an inventory valued at US $650M, almost 3,000 units. “The vision is to keep growing and take advantage of the momentum in the economy, the country’s reputation, and to keep innovating”, assures Latrilla.
Nowadays, the Dominican Republic has the highest economic growth in the region. The real estate and construction sector contributes 14% to the country’s GDP — investing in this market promises to be a safe and profitable choice. As Latrilla sees it, “we have several very good years ahead of real estate development in all sectors: touristic, residential, and infrastructure”, and he invites international investors to come and take advantage of all the opportunities available. For the time being, they will continue profiting from the sector’s great moment and through their success keep contributing to the country’s economy. “Our greatest satisfaction is pleasing our clients and joining the collective effort of the Punta Cana brand. We also aim to be the main player in the development of our strong economy.”
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