PLACENCIA, Belize, June 18, 2026, 02:24 CST
- The Agency has opened its first Belize office in Placencia, adding to a Central America network that already includes Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama.
- The office will be led by Dean and Kim Astren, local operators with experience in construction, design and cross-border property sales.
- The launch comes as Belize draws more foreign-buyer and travel attention, though past fraud cases in Belize developments remain a due-diligence warning for overseas investors.
The Agency, the Los Angeles-based luxury real estate brokerage, has opened its first office in Belize, marking a fresh push into a coastal Central American market that the firm says remains undercovered by global brokerage brands.
The office gives The Agency a formal base in Placencia, a Stann Creek beach town that has become a target for foreign buyers looking at second homes, resort assets and lifestyle investments. The firm is entering Belize after building out offices in Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama, making the launch part of a broader regional bet rather than a one-off flag planting.
The timing matters because Belize is trying to convert stronger post-pandemic travel numbers into longer-term investment. The Belize Tourism Board said 2025 overnight stays were projected at 551,698, above 2019 levels, while cruise arrivals were still below their pre-pandemic high but recovering.
The Agency said its Belize office will be led by managing partners Dean Astren and Kim Astren. Dean Astren has more than 27 years of experience in engineering, construction and development, while Kim Astren is described by the firm as a top producer across the Caribbean and Central America.
Mauricio Umansky, The Agency’s founder and chief executive, called Belize a market “the world is just beginning to pay attention to.” He cited coastline, biodiversity, investment rules and quality of life as reasons buyers were looking beyond more established luxury destinations. PRWeb
James Ramsay, executive vice president of The Agency’s franchise division, said “finding the right partners” had been central to entering Belize. The company said The Agency Belize will be located at #4 Tipsy Strip in Placencia, and its own Belize page lists Dean and Kim Astren as managing partners. PRWeb
The deal also has a competitive angle. RE/MAX 1st Choice Belize, a local brokerage, said in March that Dean and Kim Astren were its top-producing team for 2025; The Agency’s own profile for Kim Astren also refers to her 2024 RE/MAX ranking and her work with Dean across Placencia, Hopkins and surrounding areas.
The Agency says Belize’s appeal includes English as the main language, common law — a legal system based on British court precedent — no capital gains tax and no foreign ownership restrictions. Those claims are part of the firm’s market pitch, not an independent forecast of sales volume.
Belize also received a softer burst of U.S. attention this week after People reported that Olympic gymnast Simone Biles had been posting from a Belize vacation with her husband, NFL player Jonathan Owens, since June 14. The item is not a property-market indicator, but it adds to the destination visibility that brokerages often try to turn into buyer interest.
There are risks. The Federal Trade Commission said in February it was returning nearly $23 million to consumers who bought deceptively marketed overseas real estate lots in Sanctuary Belize and Kanantik, a reminder that foreign buyers still need to verify title, permits, infrastructure claims and resale assumptions before committing money.
The Agency did not disclose investment costs, office headcount or revenue targets for Belize. That leaves the test where it usually is in small destination markets: whether international attention turns into closed transactions, and whether local execution can match the global brand.
