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Bacalar Real Estate for Sale
A Pueblo Mágico on the Lagoon of Seven Colors, two and a half hours south of Tulum, at the stage Tulum passed years ago. What is for sale here is mostly new build, bought from the developer before it is finished.
Bacalar
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Bacalar is a Pueblo Mágico on the Laguna de Bacalar in southern Quintana Roo, about two and a half hours south of Tulum. What is for sale here is mostly new build: apartments and penthouses in small projects near the lagoon, sold by their developers before completion, and the occasional parcel of lagoon front land.
What it is like
The lagoon is the reason anyone comes. It runs about forty two kilometres long and takes its name, the Lagoon of Seven Colours, from the way the water shifts between pale turquoise and deep blue over a white limestone bed. It holds living stromatolites, among the oldest life forms on earth, which is why boat traffic and motor use are regulated.
The town itself is small and slow, built around a seventeenth century fort above the water. There are cenotes along the lagoon, including the Cenote Azul and the Cenote Negro, and the pace is closer to what Tulum was fifteen years ago than to what Tulum is now.
The Tren Maya has a station here, which is the single biggest change to Bacalar's accessibility in its history and the reason it appears in more conversations than it used to.
What is for sale
Four projects account for most of what we sell here. Blue Water, one to three bedroom apartments and lock offs 400 meters from the lagoon, some with plunge pools, from $232,000 USD. Yutori, a wellness led building of twenty residences with lake views, from $200,000 USD. Aldea Mayab, apartments and penthouses in eight small towers on the lagoon shore, from $310,000 USD to $989,000 USD, where the first towers are already built and lived in and the rest are due in December 2027. And Aldea Kalan, its neighbor on the shore, with garden apartments and penthouses due in December 2028. The median asking price is $406,000 USD.
And COBAS 389, a lagoon front development parcel of 29,880 sq ft at $600,000 USD. The apartment prices are the developers' own price lists, set in pesos and converted at 17 to the dollar, so the dollar figure moves with the rate.
Who it suits
Early buyers with a long horizon who want to be in a market the way early Tulum buyers were, and can wait for a building to be finished. Developers, for the parcel. Bacalar is at a stage Tulum passed through some years ago, and the argument for it is the same argument, with the same uncertainty attached.
It suits anyone wanting a small hotel or a low density project on water, which is what most of the interest here is for.
What to watch
The lagoon is ecologically fragile and increasingly protected. Development on and near the shoreline is subject to environmental regulation, and there has been real local and federal scrutiny of projects that ignored it. Establish what is permitted on a specific parcel before you value it, with documents rather than assurances.
Ejido history is a live issue throughout Quintana Roo and particularly on land that has not been developed before. Have the chain of title verified by your own lawyer.
Services should not be assumed. Confirm what power, water and road access physically reach the boundary today.
For the apartments, get the delivery date in writing and see what stands on the site today, not only the renderings.
The figures on this page are asking prices from our own current listings. They are not closed transactions and they are not comparables.
Quick facts
Beach
No sea beach: the lagoon shore is the waterfront here. The nearest Caribbean beach is Mahahual, about 1 h 30 by car
Town centre
Bacalar centro a short drive from the lagoon projects; Chetumal about 40 min; Tulum about 2 h 30 (215 km)
Condo prices
Apartments $200,000 to $480,000 USD asking; penthouses to $989,000 USD. Priced in pesos
Lot prices
Lagoon front parcel of 2,776 m² at $600,000 USD asking. Zoning and the environmental permit set what land is worth
Land tenure
Fideicomiso for foreign buyers: Bacalar is inside the restricted zone. Check title and any ejido history on undeveloped land
HOA fees
Set by each building once it is running; ask the developer for the estimate before you sign
Short-term rentals
Building rules decide; state registration, lodging tax and 16% IVA apply
Infrastructure
Tren Maya station; CFE power and CAPA water in town; Aldea Mayab and Aldea Kalan treat their own wastewater. On land, confirm what reaches the boundary
Who this area suits
Bacalar suits the buyer who comes for the water. The lagoon is the reason to be here, and the people who buy well in Bacalar are the ones who would keep coming back to it whether or not they owned anything.
It suits a buyer with a long horizon. Most of what is for sale here is being built now, so buying means choosing a developer, reading a delivery date and a payment schedule, and waiting. In return you choose the unit, the floor and the view from the plans, and pay in stages. It suits anyone who wants a small, quiet town on the water, with a Tren Maya station, a hospital with an emergency room, and Chetumal forty minutes away for everything else. And it suits developers and hoteliers looking at lagoon land, provided they treat the environmental permit as the deciding question rather than the zoning.
It is a poor fit for three kinds of buyer. If you need a finished home you can move into or let next season, the choice here is thin and most of what is offered is still going up. If you want to fly in for a long weekend, Bacalar is about four hours from Cancún airport and two and a half from Tulum; Chetumal's airport is closer but much smaller. And if you want the sea, Bacalar is a lagoon town, not a beach town: the nearest Caribbean sand is at Mahahual, about an hour and a half away.
Bacalar is a place to buy slowly, with documents rather than assurances.
Deciding between Bacalar and Tulum? Our Tulum vs Bacalar guide sets the two side by side, including the drive and what it means that most of what is for sale here is still being built.
Rental and market data
Data as of September 2026. Asking figures are from our own live listings on 23 September 2026.
What the market is. Bacalar has never had much of a condominium market, and few houses come up for sale. What is coming to market now is new building: small apartment projects near the lagoon, sold by their developers from plans. The delivery dates published so far run to December 2027 for the remaining towers at Aldea Mayab, where the first towers are already built and lived in, and December 2028 for the Venado phase at Aldea Kalan.
Median asking price $408,000 USD across all types.
Apartments $200,000 to $480,000 USD, median $376,500.
Penthouses $235,000 to $989,000 USD, median $507,500.
By size of home. Studios and one bedrooms from $200,000 USD; two bedrooms from $292,000, median $406,000; three bedrooms from $423,000, median $495,000.
Asking price per square foot, apartments and penthouses about $254 USD, or about $2,730 per m², measured on the total area the developers quote, terraces and roof decks included.
Lagoon front land. A 2,776 m² parcel with 25 meters of frontage and tourism zoning is asking $600,000 USD, about $216 per m².
Prices are set in pesos. Every project we sell here prices in Mexican pesos and the peso figure governs the contract. The dollar figures on this page are converted at 17 pesos to the dollar, as the developers quote them, and move with the rate.
Short term rental market. AirDNA counts 514 active short term rentals in Bacalar, with 46% average occupancy at an average daily rate of $159 USD over the twelve months to August 2026. The president of the Bacalar Hotel and Restaurant Association put local hotel occupancy below 30 percent in August 2026. Both are market figures and say nothing about a particular building, and we do not publish a rental projection of our own.
These are asking prices. They are not closed transactions and they are not comparables.
Where it is
Nearby areas
Tulum, about two and a half hours north on the 307: the market Bacalar is most often weighed against, with its own international airport, a wide choice of finished homes and a higher median asking price.
Sian Ka'an, on the road north toward Tulum: titled parcels inside and beside the UNESCO biosphere reserve, for buyers who want nature on this scale and are prepared to build.
Chetumal and Mahahual. Chetumal, the state capital forty minutes south, is where the airport, the larger hospitals and the big shops are. Mahahual, about an hour and a half east, is the nearest Caribbean beach.
Bacalar
The draw
- Apartments and penthouses beside the Lagoon of Seven Colours
- A Pueblo Magico at the stage Tulum passed years ago
- A Tren Maya station has changed its accessibility
What you get
- New build apartments and penthouses, bought from plans
- Median $406,000 USD, from $200,000 USD
- A 29,880 sq ft lagoon front parcel at $600,000 USD
On the doorstep
- Forty two kilometres of turquoise lagoon
- Cenote Azul and Cenote Negro
- A seventeenth century fort above the water
Getting around
- Tren Maya station
- About two and a half hours south of Tulum
- Chetumal and its airport about 40 minutes south
COBAS 389 | Lagoon Front Development Land in Bacalar
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How far is Bacalar from Tulum and from an airport?
About 215 km and two and a half hours by road from Tulum, straight down Highway 307 through Felipe Carrillo Puerto. Chetumal and its airport are about forty minutes south, and Cancún International is roughly four hours north. The Tren Maya stops at Bacalar, and a shuttle timed to the trains takes about ten minutes into town. For most owners flying in from the United States or Canada, the realistic route is a flight to Cancún or Tulum and then the road or the train, so plan on a travel day at each end.
What did the recent lagoon permit decision say, and what does it mean if I buy?
In August 2026 Mexico's environment ministry, Semarnat, refused the environmental impact assessment for a hotel planned on the lagoon shore on Bulevar Costero. The site sat in a management unit that the regional ecological plan classes as compatible with intensive hotel tourism, and the developer had offered mains sewage, municipal water and municipal waste collection. It was refused anyway.
The lesson for a buyer is that on this lagoon the zoning is where your enquiry starts, not where it ends. The environmental authorization decides whether a lagoon front project can be built. If you are buying land to build on, make that authorization, or a realistic route to it, part of your due diligence before you commit. If you are buying an apartment from plans, ask the developer for the project's environmental authorization and have your own lawyer read it. One refusal does not mean Bacalar is closed to building: other assessments have been granted and the town has hotels operating today. We covered the decision in full in What Bacalar's Latest Lagoon Decision Tells You Before You Buy There.
What rules apply on the lagoon itself?
Bacalar is governed as a body of water first. Sunscreen is banned in the lagoon, motorized boats are not allowed on Wednesdays so the water can recover, and new navigation rules put implementation and oversight with the Port Authority under the Secretariat of the Navy. The reason is the stromatolites along parts of the shore, among the oldest living structures on earth, and the shallow limestone bed that gives the water its color. For an owner, a dock or a boat comes with rules, and kayaks and paddleboards are the kind of use the lagoon is set up for.
Is there finished property for sale in Bacalar?
Some, but not much, and it comes up rarely. Bacalar has never had a large condominium market and few houses are for sale at any one time. Most of what is offered to buyers today is new building: small apartment projects near the lagoon, sold from plans with a published delivery date. Some of it is further along than "off plan" suggests. At Aldea Mayab the first towers are built and lived in and a furnished showroom apartment can be walked through, with the remaining towers due in December 2027. If you want something finished, tell us what you are looking for and we will tell you straight what is available.
What should I check before buying off plan in Bacalar?
Five things, in writing. The delivery date, and what the contract says happens if it slips. The project's environmental authorization and its municipal construction license. The payment schedule, and whether payments follow construction stages or only dates. What stands on the site today, which you or someone you trust should see in person, not in renderings. And the currency: developers here price in pesos and the contract runs in pesos, so the dollar cost of each payment moves with the exchange rate. Have your own lawyer, not the developer's, read the contract and the title before you pay a deposit.
Can a foreigner own property in Bacalar?
Yes, through a fideicomiso, a Mexican bank trust. Bacalar is inside Mexico's restricted zone, the band within 50 km of the coast and 100 km of an international border, and it is close to both the Caribbean coast and the border with Belize. The bank holds the title in trust and you are the beneficiary, with the rights of an owner: to live in the property, rent it, sell it and leave it to your heirs. The trust runs for 50 years and is renewable. On land that has never been built on, have your lawyer check the chain of title for any ejido history, which is a live issue across Quintana Roo.
Can I rent my Bacalar property short term?
Yes, subject to the building's own rules, which you should read before you buy. Running a short term rental in Quintana Roo means registering with the state tourism registry, charging the state lodging tax and paying 16% IVA on furnished short stays; your property manager should handle all three. On demand, AirDNA counts 514 active short term rentals in Bacalar, averaging 46% occupancy at $159 USD a night over the twelve months to August 2026, while the president of the Bacalar Hotel and Restaurant Association put local hotel occupancy below 30 percent in August 2026. Those are market figures and say nothing about a particular building. We do not publish a rental projection of our own.
Frequently Asked Questions
Find answers to the most common questions about our properties, services, and buying process. If you need more help, feel free to reach out to us
Yes. Foreigners can own property in Mexico via a “fideicomiso”: a trust with a Mexican bank facilitated by a notary. The bank acts as a trustee and follows instructions from the property owner. Via this arrangement, foreigners can have all rights to use, occupy, lease, build, improve, and sell their property. On average, it takes 60 to 90 days to complete a property purchase. Tulum Land & Property works closely with a trusted team of lawyers and notaries who ensure that all legal processes proceed smoothly. Another way of owning property in Mexico is by creating a Mexican corporation. This is recommended when investors plan to own several properties.
Most pre-construction properties require a refundable deposit of $5,000 USD to secure the unit. Our properties are in high demand so this deposit secures the unit while contracts are drafted. Typically buyers make a down payment of 30% but larger down payments lead to larger discounts. The rest of the payments are made according to negotiable payment plans spreading the cost over the construction time, allowing investors to enjoy better liquidity before delivery.
It depends on the property, the street, how it is furnished and how it is run, so we do not quote a single return figure for any market. Where we hold published short term rental data for an area, such as AirDNA's occupancy and nightly rate figures, it appears in the market data on that area's page, attributed to its source. Where a seller or developer supplies figures for a specific home, we tell you whose figures they are and suggest you verify them independently.
For foreigners investing in Mexico, the best way to obtain finance is to do so at home. In the US, you may take a Home Equity Loan or Home Equity Line of Credit (click here). Many pre-construction developments also offer payment plans that spread the cost over the construction period. Financing in Mexico is typically 8% to 9% plus fees and involves a lengthy process.
Closing costs are typically 7% of the property value. This includes the acquisition tax, recordation fee, certificate of no liens, municipal appraisal, legal and closing fees, and public notary fees. The yearly property tax in Mexico is typically 0.1% of the property value. HOA fees typically start from $2.5 USD per square meter per month depending on the amenities included. The cost of furniture and appliances must also be considered in your budget. Our team of experts can help you understand these costs, schedule a call with us to get started (click here).
To ensure a property has a clear title, conduct a title search through a reputable notary or legal professional. This process verifies that the seller has legal ownership and that there are no liens or encumbrances on the property. Working with experienced local professionals can help navigate this process.
Our markets are generally safe places to visit and to live. On Numbeo, whose crime index is built from residents' and visitors' own reports, Tulum currently scores lower than many large US cities, Miami among them. Like any busy tourist destination the region has occasional serious incidents, and these rarely involve visitors or residents going about their day. The usual travel precautions apply, as they would anywhere popular with visitors, and forums for first time travellers to Mexico carry plenty of practical advice on avoiding scams and petty theft.
Many of the condos and villas we sell come with amenities, depending on the location. Usual amenities include: pool, spa, rooftop, fitness and yoga centre, co-working space, etc.
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Tulum, about two and a half hours north on the 307: the market Bacalar is most often weighed against, with its own international airport, a wide choice of finished homes and a higher median asking price.
Sian Ka'an, on the road north toward Tulum: titled parcels inside and beside the UNESCO biosphere reserve, for buyers who want nature on this scale and are prepared to build.
Chetumal and Mahahual. Chetumal, the state capital forty minutes south, is where the airport, the larger hospitals and the big shops are. Mahahual, about an hour and a half east, is the nearest Caribbean beach.