Puerto Vallarta is experiencing a correction in the real estate market due to the current world economic situation and at the same time this is an extremely exciting time to buy real estate in Puerto Vallarta. Why? For the first time in years, this is a buyer’s market, and for the obvious reason that is currently sweeping the world: a global financial crisis centered in the US and now reflected across all global financial markets. The last time we had a buyer’s market was in the two years after 9/11, when sales slowed down considerably and those that couldn’t outperform the market at that point, were sold at depressed values. The current market is more entrenched and will likely last longer before the recovery begins. There is a silver lining in this situation, as with the crisis, the US dollar has risen sharply against the Mexican peso. For new developments, this means that they can offer greater discounts because they pay their labor in pesos and buy their material in pesos and sell their product in USD. As a result, their profits have increased dramatically and this puts the new Buyer in a great position where, not only is it a buyers market, giving the Buyer more power, but the Buyers money will go much more to pay expenses. It is a good time to think about buying in Puerto Vallarta.

After 9/11, the market reversed after a year and a half of being flat with a dramatic rally that brought the depressed market up to the historical rate of home inflation in about six months. When the reversal happened, those who were sitting on the fence waiting for the market to bottom missed their chance to buy at the then ‘lows’ and then got stuck in a ‘Seller’s’ market once again. Anyone can guess how long the dollar will remain strong and once it weakens, the strong dollar part of the opportunity will be lost. The other factor is to see when the financial crisis bottoms out and that’s where people risk buying. These are the two factors that need to be considered when buying a property here.

The process of buying a property in today’s market will be very similar in that you as the buyer will try to determine the exact time to make the purchase. I think there is little doubt that the market will recover when one looks at the rush of Baby Boomers, some who have lost considerably in the current position of the stock market, but many others who are still quite buoyant and willing to buy at a beautiful retirement market. which has so many positive qualities in terms of a second retirement home and a place to live, especially during the six month period between November and May, which is a very popular time for tourists and homeowners to come here due to the cold snowy winters in the north. This statement is not to deny how beautiful Puerto Vallarta is in the summer, which is one of our favorite periods. It is very lush, tropical and all the vegetation is emerald green. More and more people shop and spend time during this time of the year as well once they experience it. So it really is time to buy!