Has the Puerto Vallarta Real Estate Market Changed?

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With condo sales up 54% in 2014 over 2013 we are having a lot of discussion with our agents and our Customers as to whether we have moved from a ‘Buyers Market’ to a ‘Seller’s Market’. Certainly things have changed, however to make an absolute statement to the affirmative would be perhaps a bit premature. In fairness, there has been a lot of ‘low-hanging’ inventory on the market over the past several years and now I think its fair to say, most of that easy pickin’ is gone. What we are noticing though is that the average number of days on the market for condos is dropping and the velocity of sales is definitely accelerating. So what we are starting to see is a narrowing between what sellers are prepared to accept and often what buyers are willing to pay which is usually precedes increased prices.

At the same time, the sales of single-family homes in the PV area has only moved up by 6% in the same period. We feel that something else is going on with this segment of the market and that is that the demographics of the property buyer has changed and that the boomers and zoomers who dominate this market are realizing – especially after the recession – that either they don’t have the disposable cash to buy the more expensive free-standing Villa and if they do, they often don’t have the need or want the responsibility associated with owning a home here.

So, what we are seeing right now in the Puerto Vallarta Real Estate market is a bit of a dichotomy … condominiums selling well and closing the gap between ask and offer with the potential of increasing prices …. and free-standing Villas sort of treading water with often a lot more negotiation occurring before the meeting of the minds. At the end of the day its all about trends. On one hand we seem to be trending away from a pure Buyers’ Market in condominiums but we are not really in what could be characterized as a Sellers’ Market – yet; and on the other, the continuation of a Buyers’ Market in the free standing Villa market with no real change in sight, at least not in the foreseeable future.

Brock G. Squire

Brock is the owner/broker for Coldwell Banker La Costa Realty and has been an active participant in the local real estate scene for ‘over 25′ years. Coldwell Banker La Costa Realty has three offices in the Puerto Vallarta area – Olas Altas, Marina Vallarta & Punta Mita.

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