Cancun Real Estate

Cancun Real Estate

In spite of Cancun's instant name recognition around the world, it is still a fledgling city. Development originally began in 1970, and two years later the resort was officially born. Home to thousands of North Americans and, increasingly, Europeans, Cancun has become the epicenter for Mexico's booming tourism industry - the seventh-largest in the world.

Cancun superceded Mexico's other internationally recognized resort, Acapulco, as the nation's number one destination spot during the mid-eighties and has experienced development and growth unrecognized in any other Mexican beach resort. The resort, built across a razor-thin spit of coast that juts out into the Gulf of Mexico, boasts sandy white beaches and crystal clear water. It is home to 140 hotels, with more than 24,000 rooms and 380 restaurants.

Over four million visitors arrive each year to either honeymoon, spring break or retire, although the resort town suffered a serious dip in the aftermath of Hurricane Wilma which wiped out Cancun's famous beaches and caused millions of dollars in damage. Sensing a major loss of income in tourism revenue, the government quickly set about importing tons of white sand to replenish the resort's coastal areas. Today the resort is almost completely repaired and operating normally, although minor pockets of damage still remain.

The appeal of the Cancun real estate market is obvious. However, the resort is entering a new phase in its development. Saturated with outdated hotels, especially along Cancun's famous strip, developers are bulldozing them down in favor of luxury style condominiums. Fractional ownership is also becoming popular here as middle- to upper-class foreigners increasingly covet the trappings of the super rich and get the chance to live like them for two or three weeks a year.

Cancun's mainland city is also undergoing an extensive overhaul. Home now to over 600,000 inhabitants, the city infrastructure has had trouble keeping up with the influx of residents. Puerto Cancun, in the city center, is a good example of the new wave of construction that is taking place, with spacious, eco-friendly apartments being erected. As the city grows, so too does the price of real estate. More developers are building further away from the hotel zone with the objective of offering cheaper properties in more tranquil surroundings. This has appealed to retirees who shun the boisterous settings that the resort is famed for.

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