Santa Ana

About Santa Ana:

Santa Ana covers 61 square kilometres on the western side of the Gran Área Metropolitana. Escazú lies to the east, Belén to the northeast, Alajuela to the north and Mora wraps around the west and south. The canton has six districts: Santa Ana, the head town, plus Salitral, Pozos, Uruca, Piedades and Brasil. Ruta 27 crosses its northern half, with San José in one direction and Alajuela and the road to the Pacific in the other. Closer to home, Ruta 121 runs east to west through the centre, Uruca and Piedades towards Mora, Ruta 147 connects Pozos and the centre with Alajuela, and Ruta 310 climbs from Pozos through town to Salitral.

Commerce, services, finance and real estate carry the local economy, and most of it sits in Pozos and Brasil. Forum 1 and Forum 2 stand beside Ruta 27 in Lindora, surrounded by shopping centres such as Terrazas Lindora and Momentum and hotels including the Holiday Inn and Aloft. The Bolsa Nacional de Valores and SUGEF have offices in the canton, and so do the Costa Rican operations of Mondelēz, Procter & Gamble and Akamai. The older Santa Ana is still there underneath. Its first farmers grew onions, families like the Hernández kept a pottery tradition going for generations, and in 1931 the country’s first international airport, La Lindora, opened in Pozos.

The land rises from about 850 metres on the valley floor to more than 2,300 metres near the top of Cerro Cedral, at the southern tip of Salitral. Pozos, where the Virilla and Uruca rivers meet, is a gently rolling valley whose springs gave the district its name. The Uruca, the Oro and most of their tributaries rise in the Cerros de Escazú, and over a third of the canton is protected land, much of it inside the Zona Protectora Cerros de Escazú created in 1976. The turbines of the Parque Eólico Valle Central, turning since December 2012, line the ridge above Salitral and Pabellón. Down below, the Matinilla area of Salitral is a mapped landslide zone, a reminder that slope is the first question on the canton’s southern side.

Pozos is the most populous district and the one most shaped by condominiums and offices. Santa Ana centre and Uruca are mainly residential, Brasil sits against the Virilla canyon with gated developments of its own, Piedades stretches west along Ruta 121, and Salitral is still rural, with coffee as its main crop. Buyers include Costa Rican families moving west from San José and Escazú, staff and executives of the companies in the business parks, and foreign residents drawn by the private and international schools and the quick run to Juan Santamaría airport. A large share of rentals go furnished and by the month to people on corporate assignments.

Houses in Santa Ana:

Gated condominiums with a single controlled entrance, shared pools and green areas hold most of the houses for sale in Santa Ana. Valle del Sol in Pozos is the best known: a 137-hectare golf community walled in by the Uruca and Virilla canyons, with large single-family homes and golf-front residences at the top of the canton’s price range. Elsewhere, three- and four-bedroom townhouses and family homes fill condominiums around Lindora, Río Oro and the centre, while older stand-alone houses line the streets of Santa Ana, Uruca and Piedades. Condominium homes are priced in dollars. Before you offer, read the condominium rules and the fee history as closely as the house itself.

Apartments in Santa Ana:

Mid-rise towers have arrived in Lindora and Pozos, within reach of the business parks and Ruta 27. Torres Santa Catalina in Lindora has reached its fourth tower, and other buildings in the area offer one- to three-bedroom units with parking, security and shared amenities. Many buyers of apartments in Santa Ana purchase to rent to professionals rather than to live in. At the upper end, furnished apartments with views over the valley come onto the market for sale and for rent.

Rentals in Santa Ana:

Rental demand follows the business parks. Furnished one- and two-bedroom condos near Forum and Multiplaza are let by the week or by the month to executives, diplomats and families in the middle of a move. Larger family homes in gated condominiums go on longer leases, priced in dollars. Hospital CIMA and Multiplaza, just over the line in Escazú, add to the pull. Ask who pays the condominium fee and the utilities before you sign.

Land and Lots in Santa Ana:

Land comes in two very different forms here. In Pozos, Lindora, Río Oro and Brasil, most lots for sale in Santa Ana are serviced plots inside gated condominiums, sized for one house and bound by the condominium’s own building rules. In Salitral and Pabellón, on the slopes of the Cerros de Escazú, you find hectare-sized parcels with forest and long views, some with cabins already on them, which buyers look at for private homes or retreats. Larger flat parcels with road frontage occasionally come up in Brasil near Ruta 27. Under the new plan regulador, lot size, density and height depend on the zone, so get a fresh certificado de uso de suelo before you put a value on any plot.

New Developments in Santa Ana:

New building splits between houses and towers. Parques del Sol is a condominium of family houses in seven models of up to four levels, with four pools and a single access gate. Inside Valle del Sol, Brisas del Golf is building a small group of new houses, and Torres Santa Catalina keeps adding towers in Lindora. Projects that started their paperwork under the 1991 rules may fall under the new plan’s transitional provisions or may have to adjust, so ask the developer which rules their permits were issued under. Check the delivery schedule and how your deposit is protected before you buy off-plan.

Offices and Commercial Space in Santa Ana:

Santa Ana is one of the main office markets west of San José. Forum 1 and Forum 2 lease office floors under the free trade zone regime right beside Ruta 27, and Lindora’s malls and boulevard have retail units for shops, clinics and restaurants. Smaller commercial spaces turn up along Ruta 121 in the centre. Confirm with the municipality that your planned activity is allowed in that zone under the new plan before you commit.

FAQ:

• What does Santa Ana’s new plan regulador mean for a buyer?

  It took effect on 5 October 2026 and replaced the plan the canton had used since 1991. It sets the zoning, heights, densities, lot sizes and condominium parameters for every part of Santa Ana. Certificados de uso de suelo that had not yet led to a licence lost their validity when it came in, so any certificate a seller hands you from before that date needs to be requested again.

• Is Brasil part of Santa Ana or of Mora?

  Brasil is a district of Santa Ana, even though many listings still call it Brasil de Mora because it borders that canton. The difference is practical: permits, the property tax and the land-use certificate all go through the Municipalidad de Santa Ana. Confirm the canton and district on the plano catastrado and in the Registro Nacional before you sign.

• What should I check before buying land in Salitral?

  Start with the slope and with where the parcel sits on the map. Parts of Salitral, around Matinilla, are a known landslide zone, the upper slopes fall inside the Zona Protectora Cerros de Escazú, and every river and stream carries a protection strip where you cannot build. Ask the municipality for the land-use certificate, compare the cadastral plan with the title in the Registro Nacional, and confirm water availability and that the access road is public.

• How well connected is Santa Ana?

  Ruta 27, a toll road, runs through the north of the canton towards San José in one direction and Alajuela and the Pacific coast in the other. Ruta 147 leads north to Alajuela, and Ruta 121 links the centre with Escazú and Mora. Living near Lindora puts the business parks and malls within walking or short driving distance, while Salitral means a climb on Ruta 310 every day.

• Which part of Santa Ana suits which buyer?

  Pozos and Lindora suit people who work in the business parks and want a condominium or tower close to Ruta 27. The centre and Uruca have a town feel, with the church, schools and older houses. Brasil and Piedades offer gated developments on the western side, and Salitral is for buyers who want land, views and distance from traffic.