playa del carmen
West Coast: ° Cabo San Lucas
° Puerto Vallarta ° Sea of Cortez
East Coast: ° Playa del Carmen
° Cancun and the Mayan Riviera
Beachfront property can be an excellent investment . . . if you are careful where you buy . . . but it can also make a great second home or a retirement home when you are ready. And, if you only plan to live there part-time, why not rent out your coastal paradise the rest of the year? The rental income can mean your place on or near the beach is covering its costs—and maybe more.
Favorite investment picks from International Living magazine include Playa del Carmen, which was a town we visited in September 2008. It is charming, easy to get to and in an area surrounded by National Heritage sites.
Mexico’s Riviera Maya is getting its own airport, and 15 minutes from where this airport will be is what International Living magazine considers to be one of the world’s best resort rental opportunities today.
Right now, there is a shortage of rentals in this resort, even before the new airport brings additional visitors to the area. The resort is 35 minutes from Playa del Carmen and one hour from Cancun airport.
While we do not think these are the most beautiful beaches we have seen, nor is the water the purest turquoise, it is still a desirable beach area. The resort area is owned by a major Spanish company. It also owns Europe’s second largest travel agency, which sells and runs 2.5 million vacations every year. The company’s hotels along this coast have been operating at 88% occupancy for the past 10 years. The resort has a total of 2,700 rooms . . . it needs about 3,000.
According to International Living, a developer is building 300 condos which will be built to hotel specs because the resort wants to rent them to guests. You’ll be able to rent your condo to the resort for a fixed annual rent. The condos will be located a block from the new 7,600-square-meter clubhouse.
Amenities here include shops, tennis courts, a spa, and restaurants overlooking the natural wells that dot the golf course. Prices start at $154,000. This includes full fit-out and furniture. Depending on the unit, you’ll pay $1,623 to $2,660 per square meter.
By comparison, in nearby Playa del Carmen, beachfront units cost $4,000 to $5,000 per square meter. The fixed annual rent on a $154,000 unit is $9,000. This is net—you are not responsible for any of the costs.
Even though International Living magazine is advising buying in a nearby resort, for our money, we would rather be in Playa del Carmen itself. It is a charming town, perfect for strolling during warm evenings, high-end shops, excellent restaurants . . . a perfect people-watching place.
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UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Mexico
- Historic Centre of Mexico City and Xochimilco (1987)
- Historic Centre of Oaxaca and Archaeological Site of Monte Albán (1987)
- Historic Centre of Puebla (1987) Pre-Hispanic City and National Park of Palenque (1987)
- Pre-Hispanic City of Teotihuacan (1987)
- Sian Ka'an (1987) (near Cancun)
- Historic Town of Guanajuato and Adjacent Mines (1988)
- Pre-Hispanic City of Chichen Itza (1988)
- Historic Centre of Morelia (1991)
- El Tajin, Pre-Hispanic City (1992)
- Historic Centre of Zacatecas (1993)
- Rock Paintings of the Sierra de San Francisco (1993)
- Whale Sanctuary of El Vizcaino (1993)
- Earliest 16th-Century Monasteries on the Slopes of Popocatepetl (1994)
- Historic Monuments Zone of Querétaro (1996)
- Pre-Hispanic Town of Uxmal (1996)
- Hospicio Cabañas, Guadalajara (1997)
- Archeological Zone of Paquimé, Casas Grandes (1998)
- Historic Monuments Zone of Tlacotalpan (1998) Archaeological Monuments Zone of Xochicalco (1999)
- Historic Fortified Town of Campeche (1999)
- Ancient Maya City of Calakmul, Campeche (2002)
- Franciscan Missions in the Sierra Gorda of Querétaro (2003)
- Luis Barragán House and Studio (2004) Islands and Protected Areas of the Gulf of California (2005, 2007)
- Agave Landscape and Ancient Industrial Facilities of Tequila (2006)
- Central University City Campus of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) (2007)
- Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve (2008)
- Protective town of San Miguel and the Sanctuary of Jesús Nazareno de Atotonilco (2008)
Changes in Latitude, Changes in Attitude