Real estate sales in Puerto Vallarta and Riviera Nayarit were off to a strong start in the first quarter of this year, with $180 million reported in sales. That is up over 60% over the first quarter of last year, 2021. And it comes very close to matching the region's best quarter ever in the third quarter of last year. Sales dropped off by 10% in the last quarter of last year, but this quarter shows the market is still going strong.
There may be some headwinds coming up, however. Not because of a lack of demand but because of supply. There simply aren't enough properties currently on the market for the number of people looking, especially for existing properties. MLS inventories are down over 30% from their highs just a few years ago. There's plenty of new units currently under construction, but that involves a waiting period for when the property will finally be available to move in. So realtors are building lists of buyers waiting for something new to come on the market for them while many developments currently under construction are selling out before they are even finished.
Last year the most popular neighborhoods were Central South, (downtown and south of the Rio Cuale), followed by the Hotel Zone, Nuevo Vallarta/Flamingos, the South Shore and Bucerias. This year is similar with Central South leading, but with Nuevo Vallarta moving up a notch, the Hotel Zone down one, and both Bucerias and Marina Vallarta up in the top five.
