Tip Sheet.(Latin American vacation properties)(ski packages)

Byline: Carolyn Whelan, Ginanne Brownell

Real Estate: Lovely Latin Hideaways

By Carolyn Whelan

For North Americans and Europeans looking to buy vacation homes, few places are more alluring these days than Latin America. "Many people are sitting on equity in their homes," says Ronan McMahon of International Living, an Irish organization that helps expats find overseas homes. "They can release that equity and live in Latin America at one fifth the price." tip sheet discovered some of the region's hottest properties:

Mexico: In sexy Los Cabos on the Baja Peninsula, per-square-meter home prices range from $410 for a mountainside hideaway to $4,725 for an oceanfront condo (mihc.com.mx ). Some 10,000 expatriates winter in lakefront Ajijic --one hour from Guadalajara-- for its temperate climate and lush vegetation. Home prices more than doubled last year, to an average of $150,000 (ajijic.com ). Bohemian San Miguel de Allende, in central Mexico's highlands, is renowned for its cobblestone streets and art galleries. Square-meter prices range from about $600 for a condo in a gated community to $2,500 for a luxe hacienda.

Costa Rica: Looking for wildlife, beaches and a stable economy? Two-bedroom homes in high-end Escazu , on the western end of the capital, San Jose, start at about $120,000--double or triple what they sold for five years ago (remax-first-cr.com ).

Nicaragua: Coastal houses south of Managua sell for as little as $100,000; land ranges in price from $6,100 to $41,000 a hectare. And in Granada , Spanish colonial homes hover around $150,000. "We're selling as many coastal properties in three months as we used to sell in a year," says Steve Snider of ...