Foreigners Move to Mexico: Sales of Beach Homes Among This Population Increase 32%

For the most part, Americans are taking advantage of the fact that living in the Mexican beach paradise costs a fraction of what it costs to live in New York or San Diego. Mexico has become a haven for thousands of Americans avoiding the stress of high inflation and interest rates in the United States.

Why the shift is happening now

This preference for Mexican land is showing up clearly in real estate. In just two months of this year, the sector sold more than 300 apartments to Americans — most of them residents of California.

At the start of the pandemic, Americans had to choose between staying confined in a small dark apartment in New York or traveling and renting an Airbnb in Cancún, Tulum, Puerto Vallarta or Los Cabos. The arithmetic was hard to ignore: a 100-square-meter apartment is worth $200,000 USD in Tijuana, but the same apartment in San Diego costs between $1M and $1.5M USD.

The numbers behind the trend

After the mass vaccination against COVID-19 in both countries, luxury home sales totaled more than 11,000 units across different tourist destinations of Mexico during 2021. Sales of luxury beachfront apartments are projected to grow more than 32.08% this year — Softec expects more than 15,605 units sold.

Americans realized they could acquire an apartment — not always beachfront, but with sea access and white sand — for between $100K and $200K USD.

Where the demand concentrates

The Riviera Maya is the area with the highest registered sales of condos and apartments to Americans and Canadians. Several border cities have also been energized by U.S. inflation and rising interest rates.

In summary

If you're thinking of investing in the Riviera Maya, the macroeconomic context is doing the heavy lifting for the demand side. Contact HH Luxury to know the developments with the highest capital appreciation in the region.