Baja California Development and Real Estate trends 2008
Monday, June 23rd, 2008Here is a list of trends we perceive to be taking place in the Baja California Sur real estate market. Information is gathered through interviews with real estate agents and developers, then compiled and reviewed for trends. Each year, interestingly enough, brings new trends, which perhaps shouldn’t be surprising considering the activity Baja California Sur has experienced since 2002. What follows are the trends we consider to be the most prominent and important for 2008 - 2009.
US Real Estate Turn down – How Does This Affect Baja California Sur? What seems to be on the mind of everyone I’ve talked to is how the slow down north of the border will influence our local market. Many areas of the United States have been affected by a fall-out in key real estate markets, triggered by the abuse of sub-prime and other adjustable-rate mortgages. Borrowers either bought or refinanced homes with sub-prime loans that offered artificially low introductory rates. Now facing re-pricing, borrowers are experiencing their payments doubling or are having to pay off large balloon payments, just as their home’s value is declining.
So how is that affecting Baja California Sur’s market? First, Baja California Sur’s real estate market has been driven primarily as “cash-only” – mortgage financing has yet to become really popular or necessary for many purchasers. Most realtors we spoke to said that less than 10% of their sales involve financing, except for new product developments, which may offer short-term financing. So, Baja California Sur doesn’t have to worry about a sub-prime meltdown; it doesn’t exist here.
Also, the people caught up in this sub-prime meltdown got there because they couldn’t afford the terms of a regular mortgage or even the down payment. This has never been, nor will it be any time soon, the profile of the typical Baja California Sur home buyer. Americans who have the money to buy a second home still have that money – this turn in the market has not affected them to any great extent.


