Breakfast, on a shaded terrace, is a mango smoothie followed by Huevos Rancheros…the sky is an incredible, rich blue…the kind of sky that makes you dream big.
For a morning walk, you head straight to the beach and step onto warm, powder-soft sand.
You pause to watch the ferry depart for Cozumel.
Later, you’ll stroll Fifth Avenue, drinking coffee, munching on pastries, and people-watching; sunset is on a rooftop with friends, watching the sky turn hibiscus and tangerine.
This is everyday life in Playa del Carmen, one of the most livable beach destinations on the planet…a chic, thriving city where the main pedestrian drag is a short stroll from the sand…the ideal place to own an overseas dream home.
Playa del Carmen is also the site of an incredible new deal I’ve just uncovered and that I want to share with you…(more on that in a moment.)
Buying ahead of the transformation of Mexico’s Riviera Maya has proved incredibly profitable for members of my Real Estate Trend Alert (RETA) group and could do the same for you. Read on for the low-down on this booming destination and how you can harness the power of its incredible “Path of Progress.”
The Transformation of the Riviera Maya
The beach city of Playa del Carmen sits along an 80-mile stretch of coast in Caribbean Mexico known as the Riviera Maya. This coast is home to one of the most powerful “Paths of Progress” in the world today and Playa is the region’s booming heart. (A Path of Progress is anything that improves the accessibility of a piece of real estate and increases its value.)
The origins of this Path of Progress go back to the 1960s, when the Mexican government realized the huge potential of the booming travel market. Cheaper flights had opened up overseas vacations to the masses. They wanted a slice of the action and were very forward thinking in the approach they took.
After some serious research, they selected underdeveloped (but inherently desirable) Cancun as the perfect location. And they set about precision-engineering it as a tourist mecca.
It took a few decades, but the Mexican authorities pulled it off.
Today, Cancun is one of the most popular beach destinations in the world, and it’s still growing and developing. The international airport has expanded six times. New hotels and resorts are opening all the time.
Thanks to this surge of investment in Cancun, a Path of Progress began roaring south in a wave of infrastructural development that transformed the stretch of coastline we now call the Riviera Maya.
Last year over 30 million people passed through Cancún airport. In 2000 that was around 7 million…in 1990 around 5 million…and before 1975 the number was zero. Growth has been explosive.
The Heart of the Riviera: Playa del Carmen
For many decades, Playa del Carmen was mostly known as the place to catch the ferry to Cozumel, an island 45 minutes offshore that’s long been popular with scuba divers and snorkelers.
The town of Playa del Carmen itself was little more than a few dusty dirt roads, with rustic accommodations and eateries by the ferry terminal for the few people who decided to stay the night.
Think thatch palapas. and hens and pigs roaming around.
But Playa has innate appeal. It boasts glorious white-sand beaches…stunning azure Pacific waters…perfect weather…
The government built a new highway in the early 1990s that linked Cancún with Playa and Tulum. This improved access triggered a wave of development.
Services and little businesses began to crop up. A restaurant here…a little tienda there.
Over time, the sandy streets gradually got paved. Small boutique hotels opened, as did trendy restaurants and organic cafés. Development spread quickly along 5th Avenue, which today is the city’s main drag, a miles-long pedestrian street lined with cafés, stores, restaurants, bars, nightclubs…
Playa’s 5th Avenue is about three miles long, a walking street of restaurants, cafés, bars, venues and stores a few blocks back from the Caribbean. The vibe is increasingly upmarket, with fine dining and high-end international cuisine.
Like Cancún before it, this sleepy seaside village was transformed into a world-class tourist destination in a matter of decades.
But it also followed a different path than Cancún…
Central Playa is walkable, the type of place where you can grab an espresso and croissant at a co-working café in the morning…enjoy a lunch of fresh seafood on the beach with your toes in the sand…and have your choice of any number of gourmet options for dinner…with shopping for high-end fashions and artisan creations mixed in—not to mention relaxing spa treatments.
My team and I dig out opportunities all over the world to share with my Real Estate Trend Alert group. An example is an exclusive deal I negotiate on condos in the best-in-class Singular Dream community in downtown Playa del Carmen. In June 2021, RETA members could buy one-bed luxury condos here from $174,600. In June this year, a one-bed condo was listed there for $316,000. That’s an uplift of $141,400.
Today, Playa is what I call an “internationalized place.” A destination that’s inherently desirable. A place to escape for vacation or to just escape full stop. And it’s easy to reach thanks to the international airports in Tulum and Cancún.
This city at the heart of the Riviera Maya is in the midst of a new transformation into a fully fledged high-end destination. It’s maturing into a sophisticated, upscale hotspot increasingly drawing a well-heeled clientele with money to spend.
Prices now to stay in the top resorts around Playa can be eye-watering…even thousands of dollars per night.
Located 15 minutes’ drive north of Playa, the Grand Velas resort is an eye-wateringly expensive all-inclusive resort. It can cost $2,745 per night to stay here…
A condo in Playa is accessible for a weekend from much of the U.S. and Canada. You can leave New York or Toronto or Houston in the morning and be on the beach that afternoon.
You also have great weather year-round…a big mix of people from around the world…lots of fun things to do…good food…a stunning white-sand beach.
This is all ideal for rental income. And it makes for a fun social and night life if you want to spend time here.
As the Path of Progress changes and accelerates, the city is taking on a new shape and character.
It’s now entering a new phase, going more upmarket…higher end.
Vacation rentals are in demand much year-round. As my contacts on the ground have told me: “There just doesn’t seem to be a true low season anymore.”
In fact, in the city’s best-in-class communities I’m hearing of incredible annual occupancy rates of 75%…80%…even 98%…
A New Opportunity
The opportunity here is incredible…the dream lifestyle and the income potential of a condo here make Playa the perfect place to own an overseas dream home…and it’s a short flight from the U.S.
Now I’ve managed to find a stunning new off-market opportunity here and I want to share the details with you…
This is an opportunity to own luxury one-bed condos, in the heart of the action, one block from Playa’s famed walking street 5th Avenue, and a short stroll from the beach.
The community will be next-level, with a half acre rooftop amenity area called The Sky Club. This rooftop will be unique in Playa del Carmen. A half-acre of lushly landscaped luxury, with a sauna, infinity pool, gym, restaurant and Caribbean views. Resort-level amenities like this in Playa are a major premium, but nowhere has a rooftop amenities area as expansive and devoted to quiet luxury as this.
With our Sky Club and perfect location one block from Playa’s famed walking street 5th Avenue, I figure these condos will be rental-income machines.
I’m predicting a gross yield of just over 16%. That’s $28,750 in gross annual income…and I’m likely being conservative at that.
Yet the price is from just $178,400 for a luxury one-bed condo in the heart of everything with that huge rooftop of resort-level luxury.
This Thursday, September 11 at 1 p.m. ET, I’m taking part in a special LIVE online event hosted by International Living Executive Editor Jennifer Stevens to discuss this opportunity.
At this event, we’ll be exploring everything about this deal—from the incredible lifestyle in Playa…to our stunning community with its half-acre of rooftop amenities…to the amazing income potential of these condos…to how you can act on this deal…
On Thursday I’ll send you a link to join the event. Add it to your calendar here.
Wishing you good real estate investing,
P.S. Playa del Carmen is a destination where my RETA group has had a number of spectacular deals on one-bed condos. Just look at the track record here…
- $122,300 More—In 2017 I brought RETA members a deal on one-bed condos in Siempre Playa, close to 5th Avenue and the beach. The exclusive RETA price on one-bed condos was from $142,700. This month, a one-bed condo was listed for $265,000…an uplift of $122,300 on our RETA price.
- Boost of $102,018—In June 2022, I brought my RETA group a deal on one-bed condos in the Paravian community, with RETA-only pricing from $159,800. In August 2024, a one-bed there listed for $261,818. That’s $102,018 more.
- Uplift of $141,400—In June 2021, RETA members could buy one-bed luxury condos in the stunning Singular Dream community from $174,600. In June this year, a one-bed condo was listed there for $316,000. That’s an uplift of $141,400.
RETA members who own in Siempre Playa have been staying in and renting out their condos since taking possession in spring 2021, in this thriving community in a prime location.
