I couldn't find to old Canoa thread since the search feature doesn't seem to work on my phone.
I just purchased my 3rd Ecuador property. This time it's a building lot in Canoa. 416 sq meters on the main road just north of the river and a 3 minute walk from the beach for 15k. It has a partial ocean view, but will have a great view from the second and 3rd floors once I've built my house. We'll be renting an apartment across the street while we build. We are using a mistro from Cotapaxi after looking at the apartments he's currently building and the hotel he recently built. We were quoted about 40k to build a 3bd house with an additional 4 studio apartments for rentals. From my experience with Ecuadorian contractors, I expect the project to come in about 25% over the quoted price if I am dilligent and supervise the project. We are planning on starting construction next year. After furnishing the house and the 4 apartments, I expect to be at about 70k total investment.
I'm posting all this so prospective buyers can see what real prices in a popular Ecuador beach town look like when you take your time (it's 2 years now since I first visited Canoa) and do your research.
I believe the gated community across the street is the project owned by the Expat.comger Wanderingbears.