Puerto Vallarta Real Estate during COVID-19 by Warren Brander of Warren Brander Real Estate Group. We are getting lots of questions from people concerning what is happening here during the pandemic, especially people with homes here or who are looking to purchase. We are still open for business. Most real estate agencies here in Puerto Vallarta closed their physical offices when Mexico started reporting cases. Our team has been working from home as much as possible since March 18th. As for sales, in the first days of the pandemic hitting the US and Canada we did see cancellations of a few deals that were not yet finalized. This was due to people being worried about their jobs and the stock market. The good news is people are now returning to the real estate market. In the last couple of weeks our team has had quite a few new offers made and accepted. This we believe is due to a few things:
- People are concerned that if there is a second wave of COVID that they will be stuck again in their small condos in a major metropolitan area. While they could be quarantined here as well (as we are now) at least they would be living in the perfect tropical environment.
- New construction now is very attractive. Discounts are great – not due to COVID – but just in general. Places will be completed when the rental market returns to normal so they will be ready when that happens. And in my experience a lot of the savvy developers have been willing to be flexible on payment plans.
- There have been some price adjustments. We are not talking deep discounts as some may have posted online but adjustments due to the peso devaluation. These generally are in the under US$150,000 category. These sellers were pricing their homes in pesos but our MLS system requires the price to be put in in USD. So when the peso was around 18/19 pesos to the USD prices in MLS reflected this. Now with the peso around 24 pesos to the USD, prices have been updated to reflect this. This reflects an opportunity for those looking in this price range while the peso is at this level.
For sellers we are changing our approach here as well. While we have always done this for our listings, we are adding pictures, doing FaceTime showings, updating our virtual tours and practicing social distancing. Online marketing, while it was always important, has become crucial now as establishments are closed so print material cannot be distributed and people are shopping from home (and frankly bored with more time to look online at options). Showings, for now, are being done differently. Masks are requested to be worn, Lysol wipes are used as is hand sanitizer before entering or leaving the home and social distancing is done. We also try to pre-screen interest in a property before showing, now more than ever, by doing virtual walkthroughs so that we show only to those really interested.
So in general I would say that things are still good here in PV. We are adapting, changing and doing well.
There is a lot of pent up demand in purchasers with many writing us and asking when they can come down and look at places. For now I am telling them sometime in June but I see July-October being busier than usual for the real estate market this year. See what other Puerto Vallarta realtors are saying about the future of Puerto Vallarta condo and real estate market after COVID pandemic here.
Warren Brander and his team are expert real estate agents at Warren Brander Realty Group. He can be reached at 322-200-2253, or by email at warren@wbrealtygrouppv.com You can also check out his website for a great selection of Puerto Vallarta condos and homes for sale at Warren Brander Realty Group.
