When I arrived by boat with my family in 2001, life was slow and easy; the Mexicans still live the old way but life has become an extension of Miami - fast vibrant exciting with a booming real estate market.

As little as 4 years ago, the growth began. Skyscrapers climbed to the sky. Condos began selling for $300-$500000US dollars, not pesos, the official currency. Houses with oceanfront that could be bought 6 years ago for $60k, climbed into the $150K range.
Bare jungle that used to sell for $1000 a hectare (1 hectare=approx.2.2 acres) is now going for over $50K, depending on location. Brand new houses in American style suburbs began mushrooming and Mexicans lined up to buy them, along with a few smart foreigners. Four years ago a new 2 bedroom 2 bath house with sunroof and garden went for $40,000, now they are in the region of $90,000 region and climbing fast.

The good news is its only half way. Yes you should have been here 4 years ago but its not too late - the word between the realtors is 2-3 more good years before saturation and full market value is reached. Bottom line, buy a new house or condo now and watch your investment probably double in 3 years while you rent it out or live here in winter while your neighbors freeze back home.

Developers have been pouring in from Spain, the USA, Canada and Mexico city, why? Low cost land + high demand + low construction costs = profit. In the small city of Playa Del Carmen I have seen over 50 new condo building projects in the last year alone. 

About 45 miles South of Cancun a condo here is not likely to be under $130k. Oceanfront condos move in the $250 to $500k plus range and they will be 5 star with all mod cons – Jacuzzi, pool, etc. 

Developers are opening large American-style shopping malls as populations are expanding at an ever increasing rate; this area is predicted to go from 100,000 people to 600,000 in the next 6 years. Twenty years ago there were 3 small movie houses – there are now 24 state of the art cinemas with all the latest movies –they’ve opened in the past 4 months alone.

Wal-Mart is here, so is MacDonald’s, Sam’s Club etc.

Mexicans love the new wave. They want American or fancy European taste goods, restaurants fast food and slow, the lifestyle. Over 1,000,000 foreigners live in Mexico today, many in this region, settling in. Canadians, American, Britons and Europeans are moving in and fueling the boom. In addition the wealthy families from Mexico City – with its rat race of thirty million people, pollution and high crime rate, want to retire here. 

Cozumel is the largest island of Mexico - only 9 miles from Playa Del Carmen. Dozens of projects are underway, and selling fast. This I fear is the last area for good buys in beach front real estate. 

Prices range from $300 to over $1000 per square foot beach front property in this whole region, and is hard to come by, unless you go far south towards Belize.

Cancun, with a population of over 50,000 leads the area in real estate prices; oceanfront condos are on par with Miami and selling at around $80,0000 again depending on exact location and size. One can still find a good deal in the older suburbs, with a 3 bedroom house of Cancun possibly going for under $100,000.

In Playa the big developers and hotel chains are building rapidly and I expect in the next few years the entire coast will be composed of hotels. The Riviera Maya has become one of the busiest areas in the world for tourism.

A friend purchased a small residential lot for $80,000 a year ago and sold it recently for $160,000, again in a high demand location. Another aspect of real estate turning good profit, is subdivision - buying 10 acres and splitting it up for residential lots. Over 3 times return in the right location.

In the past 2 years the infrastructure has improved dramatically - new hospitals, universities and schools have sprung up. My kids attend a new private school that almost equals American standards.

New cars are the most outstanding development - just 4 years ago a SUV or luxury car was very rare, now I watch fascinated as every second car is a new BMW Toyota SUV or Mercedes version, even Hummers are here. Financing came out around that time so the real estate boom equals new wealth and lifestyle.

If you want to retire or live in a new country consider Mexico – it’s changing faster than you or I can blink, but be willing to learn Spanish and live in tranquility with the locals who are wonderful people.

If you’ve been coming down to Mexico on vacation for years and thinking about buying, do it soon or it will be over, I kid you not.
For investors, these are my best picks depending on your investment level:-

House or condo. Buy if price and location good, rent and hold. Buy several to maximize profit and retire from the proceeds.
Development- I offer 20% ROI on beachfront condo development, minimum
Investment $550000usd. I build 12-15 condos to be sold within 18 months.
Land - solid return with good location. Very high ROI with smart purchase.
Hotels - I have several from $1million to $50 million.
The best deal is large oceanfront lots zoned for hotels. These can be bought for a couple of million and flipped at huge return as phenomenal demand from the international hotel chains who want a piece of this market.
I also offer accounting service and can have a corporation set up in your name to own the properties making it 100% legal, in your name.
Rental and maintenance service available.
Even Stewart Title service now here.
Recently, an investor bought many acres just back from a beautiful beach, he now sells an up market 4 bedroom house in American style community in the $600k range and they are selling fast to my surprise.

If you have any serious questions about this area or deals going fast you can reach me at dave2ash@yahoo.com, I will be glad to work with you, I am strictly a buyers’ agent, my website is www.primeinvestmentrealty.com

Retire In Mexico - Live Better For Less -Retire In Mexico - Live Better For Less - While there are some people who come to Mexico for a week’s vacation and end up living here for the next twenty years, most people adopt a more prudent course and do some homework first. Dru Pearson is a person who did her homework and she is someone who knows about retirement in Mexico. While there may be a few expatriates scattered in a dozen villages throughout Mexico, most Americans and Canadians settle in one of five locations: San Miguel de Allende, Mazatlan, Oaxaca, Guadalajara, or Lake Chapala. Dru Pearson visited all these areas before settling in Lake Chapala. Dru gives sound and thoughtful advice on retirement in Mexico. Everything from how to pick your location to Mexican paperwork is covered. If you've ever considered retirement in Mexico please read this report first. It has the information that would otherwise take you months of frustration to acquire