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Downtown Tulum Real Estate for Sale
The town itself. Twelve of our 14 listings here are finished, five are resales, and the median asking price is $474,450 USD.
Downtown
The draw
- The only part of Tulum where you can do a week's errands on foot
- Twelve of 14 listings already built
- Five resales, the highest proportion of any area
What you get
- 14 properties, median $474,450 USD
- From $110,000 USD, median size 2,800 sq ft
- Three and four bedroom villas on their own plots
On the doorstep
- Antojitos La Chiapaneca, El Camello Jr, Burrito Amor
- Chedraui, banks, pharmacies and the market
- Quiet pockets at Riviera Tulum and Tulix
Getting around
- ADO terminal and Tren Maya station
- Beach ten minutes by car
- Airport about 30 minutes
House Yaxche, a four bedroom canopy compound in Region 15
Downtown Tulum real estate is the original town, and it is the part of Tulum that works like a place people live rather than a place people visit. Twelve of our 14 live listings here are already built, and five of them are resales, the highest resale proportion of any area we cover.
What it is like
Downtown runs along Avenida Tulum, the stretch of Highway 307 that passes through the town, with a grid of numbered avenues either side of it. This is where the supermarkets are, and the banks, the pharmacies, the hardware stores, the ADO bus terminal and the Tren Maya station. It is the only part of Tulum where you can do a week's errands on foot.
The food is the other reason people choose it, and it is not the beach road version. Antojitos La Chiapaneca for tacos al pastor in the evening, El Camello Jr for ceviche at lunch, Burrito Amor, La Hoja, and a long list of small kitchens on the side streets that never appear in a guide. Prices are a fraction of the hotel zone.
Away from the main avenue the character changes quickly. Riviera Tulum, Tulix and the streets around them are quiet residential pockets of walled villas with pools and rooftops, five minutes from the noise and completely separate from it.
Getting around
The beach is about ten minutes by car or twenty by bike. Aldea Zama is five minutes. The airport is around thirty. The Tren Maya station puts Valladolid, Merida and Cancun within reach without driving, which is a genuine change from a few years ago.
What is for sale
Eleven houses, two penthouses and one condo. Twelve are finished and two are pre-construction. The median size is 2,800 sq ft (260 m²) and the median asking price is $474,450 USD, running from $110,000 USD for a one bedroom penthouse with a private rooftop to $995,000 USD for a turnkey four bedroom villa.
Three and four bedroom villas dominate. This is the part of Tulum where a family house on its own plot is still a normal purchase rather than an exceptional one.
Who it suits
Full time residents first. If you are actually going to live in Tulum, downtown is where the practical life is, and the price difference against Aldea Zama for the same number of bedrooms is substantial.
It also suits a buyer who wants to see what they are buying. With twelve of fourteen finished and five of them resales, you can walk the house, walk the street and price it against something that has already sold. Very little else in Tulum offers that.
And it suits a long term rental operator. Downtown fills with people who work in Tulum rather than with people visiting it, which is a steadier proposition than a nightly let, if a less glamorous one.
What to watch
Avenida Tulum is a highway running through a town, and it carries the traffic you would expect. A property within a block of it will hear that, day and night. Two streets back is a different experience entirely, so the specific address matters more here than in any other part of Tulum.
Services are municipal and generally reliable, but the town has grown fast and drainage in particular varies street by street. Ask what happens on the road outside in heavy rain.
It is not polished, and it is not trying to be. If your picture of Tulum is the beach road, downtown will read as an ordinary Mexican town, because that is what it is.
The figures on this page are asking prices from our own current listings. They are not closed transactions and they are not comparables.
Downtown
Search our current listings in this area, with photography, prices, sizes and full detail on every property.
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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 Tulum 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 Tulum 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.
Tulum real estate agents estimate the average annual ROI to be between 6% and 10%. This depends upon location, amenities, rental rates and design. Our team of experts at Tulum Land & Property focus on finding properties that generate 10% to 20% ROI per year.
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). Buyers are able to repay their monthly loan payments with rental income from their vacation rental. During the high season in Tulum, a two-bedroom apartment can rent for up to $500 USD per night and villas can command over $1,000 USD per night. Financing in Mexico is typically 8%-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.
Tulum is safe. Recent data shows that the crime index is in fact lower in Tulum than in major cities of the United States, such as Miami (see here). Occasional violent incidents usually do not involve foreigners and tourists, but are rather restricted to disputes between cartels. As for every destination prized by tourists, the usual precautions do apply in Tulum when it comes to irregular activities and behaviour. Many tips are available on forums for first-time travellers to Mexico on how to avoid scams and theft (example here).
Many of the condos and villas sold in Tulum come with amenities, depending on the location. Usual amenities include: pool, spa, rooftop, fitness and yoga centre, co-working space, etc.
Still have questions?
Schedule a call with our team of investment analysts to get the answers you need and make informed decisions.
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