Investors looking to put their money in Mexico Real Estate

I know that good news is a little difficult to come by recently, but I wanted to share these 2 articles with everyone.  It looks like the new Tourism Ministry in Mexico is doing their job in getting the positive aspects of Mexico out to the general public.  This is important to balance out all the negative news about the violence that is occurring in isolated areas of Mexico.  One thing the Tourism Minister is working on with the US State Department is to be more specific in the warnings it puts out about Mexico.  Mexico is a large and diverse country and just like it is unfair to speak negatively about the entire United States because of specific concerns of crime in a particular city in the US, it is likewise unfair and not accurate to talk about the entire country of Mexico as being unsafe because violence that is in isolated areas of Mexico.  Here are 2 recent articles I have seen. 

http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/sdcounty/article_ee5a8030-eedf-5023-980c-16e0234227f8.html

 http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/mexicos-tourism-minister-wants-americans-back/2011/08/02/gIQA9dKawI_story.html

In light of the dramatic decrease in value in the Stock Market recently, I believe this is going to be a positive for investors looking where to put their money. The volatility of the Stock Market is not something the average investor has the stomach for. They prefer to invest their money and know that it is a safe investment and they don't have to watch over it day-by-day. Real Estate in general has proven to be an excellent investment, and actually better than the Stock Market over the long term. Real estate in Mexico is really a safe haven for real estate investors, more so than in the US. The recent drop in values of real estate in the US and Mexico makes now an excellent time to invest in real estate. I tell potential buyers looking for a mortgage in Mexico that they can choose to invest in the US, but unless it will be their primary residence, it isn't a good place to put their money because prices are going to be very slow to increase in the US -there is a huge inventory in the market, and many foreclosures are yet to be put into the market, which will likely depress prices even further. If people are looking to pick up a property in the US for cheap and rent it out - guess what? Everyone else has the same idea and the rental market will not be strong and rents will be low. If people want to buy a great primary residence to live in for not much money, then the US is a good place to buy a home.

The real estate market in Playa del Carmen Mexico is still very viable, and although prices are the lowest they have been in the last 5-8 years, the bottom of the market hasn't fallen out. There are no massive foreclosure problems in Mexico. Interest rates are at an all-time low in Mexico (as low as 5.25%) and values are going to appreciate much faster than in the US since there is still a huge pent-up demand of baby boomers looking to make their retirement nest-egg go as far as possible. This is even more true now that retirement assets have dropped in value - again. Mexico is still an inexpensive place to live- once people have their real estate purchased. Warren Buffet and J. Paul Getty (as well as other wealth investors) share an identical strategy that when everyone is selling, it is a good time to buy and pick up exceptional deals. This is true of Mexico right now. Investors are fed-up with the stock market and will want to put their money into a safe investment - and for many, a place they can use and enjoy as the value of their real estate goes up. Investing today is not so much about how much return you can make on your capital investment, but it is more about protecting the investment you have so that it doesn't lose value. We can honestly tell potential buyers that a dollar invested in Mexico isn't going to disappear like it can in the Stock Market.

 One final thought that I want to leave all of you with - it is currently my favorite quotation and has been attributed to Jimi Hendrix.

"WHEN THE POWER OF LOVE OVERCOMES THE LOVE OF POWER, WE WILL ALL KNOW PEACE"

Hopefully the politicians can put aside their "love of power" to bring the US economy, and day-to-day living conditions in the US back to the great country the US has always been. When we as individuals once again begin to work together for the benefit of everyone and not special interests, our individual effort will have a beneficial and far-reaching impact on untold numbers of our fellow human beings throughout the world. The work we are about in the real estate industry in Mexico is a great vehicle to make a positive difference in many people's lives. Make this a fantastic month!

By our friend Doug Jones, President of Mortgages in Mexico