In a report issued recently by Timothy Real Estate, statistics were provided from Ampi Vallarta’s MLS service Flex, and real estate sales showed a dramatic increase in 2016 over 2015, with 612 sales compared to the previous year’s 442. That’s an impressive 38.5% increase. Gross sales, for homes, condos, commercial and lots, however, was up by only 22.4%, up to $174,595,423 from $142,543,573 in 2015. Real estate agents seem to be selling more, but for less.
The majority of the real estate sales that take place are usually for condominiums, the most popular form of real estate ownership in Puerto Vallarta and Nayarit. In 2016, 70% of the sales were for condos, with the other 30% split between homes, lots and commercial sales. The average median sales price for a condominium in 2016 was $219,801 whereas the year before in 2015 the average median price was $290,678. That’s a 24% drop in condominium values. The median sales price for homes also dropped from $451,386 to $371,583.
What the market seems to be experiencing is a strong demand for properties, especially condominiums, listed under $250,000, over higher-priced properties. From talking to real estate agents, this seems to be the threshold that prospective purchasers are comfortable with - they are willing to forego amenities, views and unit size, for price. The demand for properties over $500,000 remains soft, until you get into exclusive markets such as Punta Mita, which has so far shown a relatively strong demand for properties over one million.
It is all rather interesting as the stock market is rallying to highs never seen before. When will people decide to start taking some of their gains out of the market and purchase something plus-$250,000 retirement property in paradise? Perhaps next season? We’ll have to wait and see, but so far, it seems the trend continues for low-end priced real estate.
