Punta Mita Mexico Property Investment

On Punta Mita, the peninsula north of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, developers are seeing little indication of a slowdown in the American market.

“There is a lot of money out there,” said Maria Cintrón Magennis, chief operating officer of Casa Mexicana, co-developer of El Encanto, a luxury housing project targeting North American buyers.

El Encanto is launching its second phase ahead of schedule and expanding the offering, after unexpected pre-sales, she said. The second phase will include 22 houses on a terraced hillside overlooking the Bay of Banderas, priced between $1.2 million to $3 million (about €818,000-€2 million). The largest houses offer 7,291 square feet of interior and outdoor living space (about 677 square meters).

El Encanto en Punta Mita

According to Magennis, U.S. buyers see Mexico as an alternative to Hawaii and California, where prices have skyrocketed.

“I think they see a really good value,” she said.

Ten years ago Punta Mita was a deserted stretch of dense foliage used only by fishermen and locals looking for a weekend beach escape. But the peninsula is being developed by Mexican real estate giant Dine under a master plan covering 1,500 acres (607 hectares). The Four Seasons Punta Mita opened in 1999, followed by a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course; a St Regis hotel and a second golf course are scheduled to open next year.

The gated site will eventually include about 1,000 homes, built by several developers

El Encanto is being developed by New York-based AIG Global Real Estate, Mexico City-based BCBA Impulse and Dallas-based Casa Mexicana. The project will eventually include 54 houses, designed as second homes.

In addition to the obligatory granite counter tops, sub-zero refrigerators and outdoor grills, houses in the second phase of the development will include several features the developers learned were important to their North American clients, Magennis said, including icemakers, large bath tubs and garbage disposals.

“In Mexico garbage disposals are not that common,” she said.

El Encanto en Punta Mita