Puerto Vallarta Real Estate Market after Covid-19 Pandemic. GAYPV travel guide reached out to the Puerto Vallarta real estate agents to discuss the Puerto Vallarta real estate and condo market. We asked them how the real estate condo market and the real estate business might change in Puerto Vallarta after the Corona Virus Pandemic. Here is what we were told to expect in Puerto Vallarta by local realtors for those looking for a condo for sale in Puerto Vallarta.
Michael Green Boardwalk Realty
Although the market for Puerto Vallarta real estate has slowed, it has not stopped. Since closing our physical office and working from home since mid-March, (per government recommendations) we have several new offers in process. Last week, the Google search term “Puerto Vallarta Real Estate” was up by 82%. So clearly, many people are feeling “cooped up” and dreaming about a property in PV when they are able to travel again!
For buyers, it is important to understand that the fundamentals of our market here may be quite different to what they are used to at home. The vast majority of properties for sale here (over 95%) do not carry mortgages. Homeowner fees, utilities and property taxes are also much less than what they are in the US and Canada. Many owners also successfully rent their properties when they are not in residence, further offsetting expenses. Average time on the market for properties here, while coming down in the last few years, is still around one year, not several days or weeks like many metros north of the border. Also, the vast majority of the sellers here are retired or semi-retired, have a comfortable nest egg and are not desperate for money. During the six weeks of shutdown, I have only had one call from a seller, asking what is going on, if there are any showings, etc. The vast majority are willing to just wait out this situation. I have not had any sellers lower their price in response to this pandemic.
Sellers understand that while the virus has had devastating impacts to human life, it is not affecting properties. The property will still be here in a week, a month, a year or however long it takes to sell. Over the last few years, properties here have sold in a range of 95-96% of the listing price. Based on offers we are currently working on; I see that trend continuing. There may be the occasional highly motivated seller or developer lowering prices or negotiating on select units, so buyers looking for a good deal should look now.
Buyers looking to “steal” a property here at 30-40% off should look elsewhere. That did not happen here in the economic meltdown from 2008-2010 and I do not see it happening now. Sellers need to understand that for many buyers, the thought of purchasing a property in another country is a daunting task and very stressful. For that reason, sellers (or their agents), should be prepared to answer a multitude of questions about the property that they may not be used to in the US or Canada. Also, the typical buyer here is not purchasing to move here for a job, a certain school district or to take advantage of a very low interest loan that they have been offered. The purchase here is typically something a buyer wants to do, not something they have to do. For sellers, it is important to understand that buyers may have the idea that our market here is a “buyers’ market”, when in fact it is not, for many of the reasons outlined above. For that reason, sellers should take every inquiry or offer seriously even if they consider it “insulting”.
Both buyers and sellers should keep the above in mind and realize that the market here is strong, stable and is not going away. They may be frustrated now that they may be losing money in the stock market or in currency exchanges. But it is important for them to consider that when and if they ever want to sell that they are selling in a stable market, their neighbors are not going to panic and jump in and slash prices like in many other real estate markets or the stock market. Those that buy now will have a great place to enjoy next year and for years to come. Those that panic and give up their dream may lose it. The market will not stop here, buyers will continue to buy and properties will sell. Although this pandemic has caused worldwide disruption, I believe that PV and the PV Real Estate market will survive just fine and this too shall pass.
Michael Green is the Broker of Boardwalk Realty. Active in local and national Real Estate boards; published author and acknowledged expert on Puerto Vallarta Real Estate, Mike moved here in 1997 to take advantage of the unsurpassed lifestyle PV offers. E mail Mike at: Michael@boardwalkrealtypv.com
Wayne Franklin Tropicasa Realty The market in general was immediately affected at the time of the shutdown in mid-March. Showings stopped and the focus was on maintaining the transactions that were in escrow and keeping existing deals together. We were very successful in doing that. Then we saw a period of limbo where agents and clients alike were unsure of what was ultimately happening and having to watch other countries and how they were coping with the situation. The first buyers to return to the market were investors/bottom feeders. But sellers were not yet in that mindset as they felt that the crisis would not be long-lasting enough to consider significant price reductions. Within the last month, we have seen far more activity in inquiries, showings and offers. While still not as robust as levels prior to CV19, buyers are slowly but surely returning to the market. In the last month, we’ve seen no fewer than a dozen deals being negotiated with no significant differential between list price and sales price from pre-CV19 levels. In fact, we’ve had full price and even one over-asking sale.
In the beginning, showings were conducted primarily virtually through cell phones. While we continue to do that as well, there has been an increase in requests for live showings. This is only done with permission from the owner, whether in residence or not. Our agents take all necessary precautions including masks, sanitizing gel, social distancing, etc. Prospects are asked to not touch surfaces while in the residence. It is likely that with more live showings in the future, further sanitizing routines will need to be implemented. But I also believe that more virtual/video showings will be taking place.
As an industry and in our company, we had already been incorporating more technology to our business and that continues. Clients will be able to continue to view properties with the 3D virtual walk-throughs that we have on most of our listings. We will also be incorporating the video/virtual showings and other methods that allow clients to be able to view properties remotely. Digital marketing vs. print has also shifted and will be vastly more important after CV19. As an industry we have the capacity to transact business and close transactions remotely and/or digitally, something that much of the U.S. seemed to struggle with during this time. We will be enhancing that by allowing our clients to virtually and remotely stay abreast of their transactions. In addition, we have augmented our website chat feature so that more agents are in attendance during the day to answer client’s questions, and will be enhancing that feature so clients can get more information more quickly as they want it. We will be unveiling a new website shortly as well to better serve our international clientele. Technology is going to be one of the significant shifts that this situation has made us embrace, and the clients will benefit significantly.
Ryan Donner Ryan Donner & Associates The real estate market has seen a significant hit since quarantine measures have been put in place. From January 1, 2020 to June 2020, total number of sales is down 28%. What is interesting though is that Ryan Donner & Associates actually saw an increase in buyer leads in the first quarter of 2020; I believe, because as buyers were at home quarantining with nothing better to do, they began searching for real estate online. We are still showing property, but not in the same manner as before. Now we are doing more showings virtually where we as agents go visit properties and use video calls to conduct showings. Using technology like this has never been so important as it is now.
Warren Brander ReMax PV
- 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. See Warren’s full story about the real estate in Puerto Vallarta after the Corona Virus here.
Carl Timothy Timothy Real Estate A big chunk of our market are US citizens and when everything stoped, we were getting Buyers that were under contract asking the Seller to reduce their prices, or threatening not to close. Now I am hearing from my real estate friends that the California market has recovered and prices are going up again. It is going to take awhile for people to come back to Puerto Vallarta, but I think once things crank back up again we won’t have the 2008 situation of many years to recuperate. We have almost all of the properties that were under contract move forward with closings, and I am getting contacted by clients and people that I don’t know looking to move the our Bay. We will see more and more properties come on the market starting in Septiembre and moving forward. This will be an enticement for serios Buyers looking to invest in our market that also has a great rental market for income. There are a lot of developers that have projects all set to launch, or already launched, so the inventory choices for Buyers will be fantastic
Alfonzo Davalos The Agency Real Estate I think for Puerto Vallarta Real Estate Agents it is important to have virtual tours. That will be a great addition on their listings to show people what the property looks like. Also, I think we will still have people who want to invest in the area. People who stayed at hotels before are going be more thoughtful and maybe avoid staying in a hotel. Now will be the time to decide to see the pre-construction developments, get an equity loan to bring the cash to purchase real estate here, or get a loan in Mexico to make their dream come true. What I’m doing different is to create content on my different social media and blogs, make people excited about town and also promoting virtual tours.
This is a developing story with more realtors responses added often. See our other blog stories of how Puerto Vallarta gay hotels are updating for the return of the LGBT travelers. How will Puerto Vallarta gay event be different after the covid pandemic? See that story here.
