Tulum, Mexico is a buyer’s market

When the United States began to blockade last March, wealthy New Yorkers fled to the Hamptons and Hudson Valley homes looking for space, nature, and home offices. However, real estate developer Christian Hellies, 37, who is accustomed to traveling between the city and the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, decided to take a different route.

Helies has moved to a beach three-bedroom condo in the gated community of Puerto Aventuras next to Playa del Carmen for $ 395,000.

“I rather wanted to be here when I realized that in a terrible environment, traveling and the idea of ​​being in a typical New York home might be a problem,” he says. “If you’re going to survive a pandemic, it’s good to do it in a sunny place.

Beautiful tropical water. ”

Over the last two decades, Playa del Carmen and Tulum—the top spots on the Yucatan Peninsula Riviera Maya (formerly known as the “Cancunt Tulum Corridor” in 1999) — have been mainly expatriates from the United States and Canada. And the owner of a second home in Europe and Mexico.

Despite the anecdotal explanation that the pandemic has now persuaded hundreds to follow a Caribbean dream, the huge supply of new builds has proven difficult to shift, and some sellers. Must lower the price.

In 1998, Playa del Carmen had a population of 20,000. According to the Mexican Population Council, in 20 years it will grow to 252,000 and is expected to exceed 300,000 by 2023. Real estate prices in Quintana Roo, Riviera Maya are also steadily rising.

The average annual growth rate of real estate prices was 8.1% in 2018 and 10.8% in 2019. according to The Sociedad Hippotecaria Federation, which publishes the Mexican Home Price Index.Growth has shrunk slightly since the pandemic: last year’s annual growth 7.5 percent.

However, due to the rapid development in recent years, realtors have reported that buyers can more intensely negotiate many discounts on new condos in the area.

60 km south of Playa del Carmen, Tulum is a relaxing tourist destination famous for its Mayan ruins and “eco-chic” atmosphere. Attracts tourists, celebrities and influential people avoiding high-rise resorts, Flats Brothers and glow parties. In Cancun and Playa del Carmen during spring break.

In the 1990s, Tulum was nothing more than a bus stop for tourists visiting the Mayan ruins on the coast. Even in 2013, when real estate agent Engel & Volkers Playa del Carmen partner Carlo Truzzi bought land between the town of Tulum and the beach and built his own house, he said, “there was only a jungle.” Recollects. “I wondered,’Am I making a mistake?’Maybe I’ll be alone in the jungle ten years later.” His fears were unfounded — Tulum’s. The population is currently about 40,000. According to Sotheby’s International Realty, Tulum prices range from $ 2,000 to $ 4,000 per square meter, compared to $ 3,800 to $ 7,000 per square meter in Playa del Carmen.

According to Truzzi, young buyers are particularly keen on studio condominiums, working from home and renting them when they leave the house. Studios within walking distance of the beach sell for around $ 100,000.

In January of this year, the region transitioned from yellow to orange under the Covid-19 traffic light system in Mexico. This means that bars and restaurants need to reduce capacity to 30%, but beaches remain open. “The virus is also here. I’m not going to deny it, but everything is outdoors and everyone follows the protocol. That’s another way to handle it,” says Toluzzi.

However, “the supply is too high. The supply is higher than the demand, so the buyer has control.” Tulum currently has 380 developments offering apartments for sale, built in the last three to four years. She estimates.

The Tulum market is dominated by presales and buyers who are ready to make more deposits can get a big discount. According to Torres, in 2019, these discounts were typically 2-7%, depending on the size of the down payment, but can now be even higher. For example, Amour Alde Azama In 2022, if the buyer pays an 80% down payment, it will be sold at a 20% discount.




Toluzzi states that presales can have drawbacks. “If you buy a new development that will be completed within two years, you need to be aware that there may be a new development next to you by that time.”

And within a few years, Tulum can actually look very different. In October 2020, the President of Mexico announced plans to open a new airport there in 2023. Meanwhile, construction of the controversial 1,500km Maya train around the Yucatan Peninsula is already underway.



https://eminetra.co.uk/tulum-mexico-...market/314366/