A Quick Guide to Buying Mexico Property

Country:  Mexico

Something unheard of is happening in Mexico at the moment; US citizens are sneaking across the border and setting up home in pristine beachfront locations. Fortunately for them, the Mexican government is generally quite pleased about the economic benefits of such transgressions. These under-the-wire ‘Gringos’ are heading predominantly for the quiet surfer-dude territory on the immense Pacific peninsula of Baja, while the more strait-laced of their countrymen flock to the heavily developed resort destinations on the Yucatan peninsula in the Caribbean east – predominantly Cancun.

For Brit house hunters, of course, Mexico has a good number of likely hotspots, including the incredibly diverse attractions of Mexico City – with its uber-elegant San Angel neighbourhood, the Pacific hideaway bays of Puerto Vallarta, Puerto Escondido and Bahias de Huatulco, and, of course, the high-diving and high-priced, although perhaps ever-so-slightly faded, grandeur of Acapulco.

Recent property market trends in Mexico have given investors good reason to feel confident that an investment here will not let them down. As Brent Gleeson, president of NewCondosOnline.com, says: "The value of property in Mexico has been going up steadily every year for the past five years. The pace of Mexico real estate appreciation is healthy in most areas.”

It should be noted at this point that there are zones in Mexico, with restrictions on foreign property ownership, and one of them is the entire coast of the country. This isn’t however, as problematic as it sounds, as property must simply be purchased through a trust, which must be set up by a Mexican bank.

In Yucatan, an exclusive ‘apart-hotel’ development is offered by TM Real Estate and Karisma Hotels and Resorts.
The Fives lies just outside of the bustling seaside town of Playa del Carmen and 66 kilometres south of Cancun. The Fives offers direct access to the Caribbean, including a stretch of private beach, and owners will also benefit from 24-hour concierge service, a beach club with pool, Jacuzzis, bar and restaurant, a social club with a kid’s club element and a spa and wellness centre.

The apartments’ interiors are ultra-slick, with top-of-the-range fixtures and fittings, and prices for two-bedroom units – with options to enter them into the hotel’s rental pool – start from around $350,000 (£176,000).
An excellent example of the quality property now being developed on the Pacific coast is Estrella del Mar, an 330-hectare country club community that includes an oceanfront hotel, more than five kilometres of pristine beach and an 18-hole golf course designed by Robert Trent Jones Junior. Estrella del Mar is a large development, and will host almost 2,000 properties when complete, but it’s just one of a number of ongoing Mexican developments owned and operated by the US-based Club Acquisition Company, with others generally sited in Baja. Properties in Estrella del Mar are currently on the market from around $300,000 (£150,000).

In Cancun, there really isn’t a whole lot of room left for frontline developments. The Emerald Residential Tower & Spa is a luxury high-rise apartment building that sits on one of the last remaining parcels of developable land in the Cancun hotel zone, and it’s right on the beach. It’s also at the heart of Cancun’s retail therapy zone, with the La Isla Shopping Village less than 100 metres away. Downtown Cancun is 15 minutes away, as is the airport.
This high-end development offers apartment owners a concierge service and a stretch of private beach, but it’s the residences themselves that seriously impress. Each has direct access via a lift, and comes complete with a fitness room and steam bath, a sea- and lagoon-facing terrace with Jacuzzi, and enough technological gadgetry to confuse Bill Gates. To fit it all in, the apartments require the full 300 to 400 square metres of living space, and are hence priced from $1.45 million (£730,000), from Grupo Grand Coral.
 

First published in October 2008.
Some information contained within this article may have changed since it was first published. Homes Overseas strongly advises you to seek current legal and financial advise from a qualified professional.