Rounding the bend along the shoreline at the point where Río de la Plata meets the Atlantic, you’ll know realize you're someplace special. This is the South American Riviers. This is where you'll find magnificent, sparkling, white-sand beaches falling off into the ocean. High-rise condos, luxury hotels and casinos will beckon from the distance. You'll wonder at one of the continent’s most glamorous resorts, often host to jazz and film festivals, rodeos, fashion shows on the beach, and major conferences. You'll be in the estimeemed company of visitors that include international celebrities, European royalty, and Brazilian and Argentine politicians and jet-setters.

After losing some of its shine during the 1990s, Punta del Este, traditionally known as "The Pearl of the Atlantic", has reinvented itself once again as South America's premier all-purpose vacation spot. It now offers attractions for everyone from lounge-music fans and families with small children to sport fishermen, gamblers, and sun worshipers. The streets and the city are as clean and appealing up close as they are from miles away, and the beaches are well maintained and spotless. It s crime-free, and is completely devoid of the panhandlers you might expect in a city of this size. And it’s a place that oozes with class, from the fine, upscale shops and boutiques to the world-class restaurants, and dazzling casinos. It even has a classical and jazz radio station, a rarity in South America.

As for the real estate market in Punta del Este, the name of the game rentals. Just about every property here is used part-time by its owner and rented out when the owners are not in residence. This includes houses outside of town as well as the condos and apartments in the city proper.

A property in Punta del Este will collect a rent that’s three to five times higher than a similarly priced property in Colonia, for example. You may well rent the property for more months in Colonia, but not enough more to make up the difference.