By Suzan Haskins

International Living / Mexico: Mexico’s Sister Islands of Cozumel and Isla Mujeres - Different Stages of Maturity

Part 1: Cozumel

Cozumel is growing fast – it may be your last chance to buy before prices skyrocket.

When I first set eyes on her, ten years ago, she was quietly beautiful, gentle and naïve. Today, she is shamefully brash, showy and even garish in her maturity.

I couldn’t help making this analogy as I recently visited the island of Cozumel, just off Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. Ten years ago, when I first visited Cozumel as a newly certified scuba diver, I fell in love with the island for its beautiful white-sand beaches, its crystal-clear Caribbean waters and its languid, laid-back lifestyle. Its reefs teemed with aquatic life, diving there was like being in an overstuffed aquarium of unimaginably colorful sea critters. Then, everything changed.................

Like a young woman making a bad choice of partners, Cozumel got in bed with the cruise ship industry. Sure, cruise ships were visiting Cozumel when I first went there 10 years ago, but only at the rate of one per week. Today, there are 11-13 ships docked off the island on any given day. With upwards of 2,500 passengers per ship that makes for a lot of wide-eyed tourists with video cameras.

Don’t get me wrong; cruise ships have their place in tourism…I just wish it weren’t on my island. To their credit, the cruise ship companies have built their own shopping centers at both of the island’s cruise ship docks - one on the southern edge of San Miguel, the island’s town proper, and the other a few miles further south from there. This keeps all the cruise ship passengers busy at Señor Frogs, the Hard Rock Café, the many identical souvenir shops or one of the astounding numbers of Diamonds International shops.

More than one person who lives on the island told me that the cruise ships are drastically changing the face of Cozumel. Because the passengers stay primarily in their designated shopping areas - and because of the influx of all-inclusive resorts - many of the people of Cozumel who once benefited from tourism are losing their livelihoods. Cruise passengers are told to avoid the center of town…that it is dangerous. Nothing could be further from the truth, but unfortunately today, Cozumel has lost the charm that she held for me in the past.

Having said that, I will still return to Cozumel. The waters there still offer world-class diving. If you stay in town, you can dine at charming locally owned restaurants that offer the fresh catch of the day or a steak cooked just the way you like it. Further south, the Chankanaab Lagoon marine park is a fine place to spend the day snorkeling or sunning. And the island’s windward side remains thankfully undeveloped - a spectacular 5 km-long (3.1 miles) stretch of fine white sand where you can sun, swim and surf in complete solitude.

Cozumel Fast Facts: What, where how?

Cozumel was a sacred place to the Mayas who called it “Ah-Cuzamil Peten” or the “Island of the Swallows,” Mayan women would travel there to pay tribute to the moon goddess, Ixchel, and seek her divine intervention in matters of love and fertility. Later, Cozumel became an important port and a haunt for pirates.

Today, besides being a cruise ship port, Cozumel is known for its world-class diving. Jacques Cousteau called it one of the world’s five best dive spots. On a bad day, visibility is 20 meters (70 ft.); on a clear day you can see forever…up to 60 meters (200 ft.). Hosting an annual international billfish tournament every April and May, Cozumel is also known as one of the world’s finest salt fishing areas.

Cozumel is Mexico’s largest inhabited island, at 64 km (40 miles) long and 14 km (8.7 miles) wide. Just 19 km (12 miles) off the northeast coast of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, it is in the state of Quintana Roo. It is just a 60-minute ferry-ride due east from Playa del Carmen, about 50 km (30 miles) south of Cancun. You can get there by flying to Cancun or by flying directly to Cozumel on airlines including Continental, Mexicana, US Airways, and charters: Funjet and MLT.

Cozumel has two full-service hospitals, a Red Cross unit and a decompression chamber. All hotels have doctors on call 24 hours a day.

What about living there?

Yes, I think Cozumel could be a quite pleasant place to live - and I met more than a few people who agree.

Even though the island has grown up a little too quickly for some, and American influences are everywhere, “there are things here that are still incredibly affordable,” Debbie Morningstar of Cozumel Living Real Estate Company told me. “For instance, I can get both a manicures and pedicure for just $15…and the manicurist comes to my house. Maid service is still just $10/day.”

So what about property prices? Like nearly everywhere else in the world, Cozumel has been affected by the events of September 11, 2001. The island’s past two tourism high seasons have been disappointingly poor. The tourists who did visit tended to opt for the discounted packages offered by cruise ships and all-inclusive resorts. Real estate prices dropped accordingly, especially condos and other vacation-rental and investment-type properties.

In popular Corpus Christi, houses are new and modern.

Nancy Edwards, Debbie’s boss and the owner of Cozumel Living, showed me a representative sample of property on offer in the most desirable areas of the island:

• Just off Airport Boulevard on the island’s northwest side, luxury condos on the beach of more than 280 sq. m. (3,000 sq. ft.) with 4 bedrooms and 4 ½ baths - and with a view of the ocean from every room, including the Jacuzzi in the master bath - are selling for $485,000-$525,000.
• Another condo complex we looked at in this area - directly on the beach - was priced at $149,000 for a 1-bedroom, 2-bath unit and $249,000 for a 2-bedroom, 3-bath corner unit. These rent for $100-$140/night during high season.
• A 3-bedroom, 2-½ bath townhouse with walkout access to the beach is on offer for $365,000. It rents for $1,800/week. The largest townhouse in this complex rents for $2,700/week.
• Also on the north end of the island, in the Country Club area, Casa Blanca offers condos with views of both the ocean and the island’s new golf course. A furnished 1-bedroom unit on the ground floor is $108,000, a 2-bedroom, 2-bath unit on the top floor in the corner is $150,000, and the 2-bedroom, 2-bath penthouse is going for $155,000. While these could rent as vacation rentals for around $100/night, they normally rent as long-term rentals. This building does not have a pool.
• Near the Chankanaab marine park, new 3-bedroom condos are going for $220,000.

Note: if you buy one of the above, you can expect your monthly association dues to be approximately $1.50/sq. m. (14¢/sq. ft.) This covers things like water, sewage, garbage pickup, outside insurance building coverage, outside common area electricity charges, elevator maintenance (if there is one), pool maintenance, gardening, on-grounds maintenance person’s salary, security, etc.

On the mid-southern edge of San Miguel is the most popular ‘in-town’ residential district, Corpus Christi. This is not beachfront property so most homes here have swimming pools and lovely covered patios for enjoying the tropical weather. Nancy showed me several attractive and reasonably priced homes in this neighborhood:

• · A brand-new 3-bedroom, 3-bath 230 sq. m. (2,500 sq. ft.) home with a pool for $160,000. Nancy says that your electricity costs for a house this size will set you back $150-$200/month, if you run the air conditioning and $60/month if you don’t.
• · A delightful Mexican hacienda-style U-shaped home set around a pool for $300,000.
• · Also in Corpus Christi, a small island-style (1-story) fixer-upper house is on offer for $75,000.

Just as we were going to press, Nancy sent me an email telling me about a house called Casa Club. She describes it as a nice 2-bedroom, 2-bath furnished home in Corpus Christi. It is listed for $150,000 but the owner is very anxious to sell and is willing to negotiate. Nancy’s guess is that he may take up to $30,000 less.

My favorite house on Cozumel? It was not in any of these ‘most-desirable’ neighborhoods, but on Avenida 70, just on the east side of Corpus Christi. Called Casa Lena and dubbed ‘island house’ by the agents at Cozumel Living, it is just that…a charming little island house. With a wall and a gate that opens to a nice-sized yard and covered parking area with room to park two cars, the house itself is 185 sq. m. (2,000 sq ft.). Inside, Mexican tile keeps the floors cool throughout and wooden beams add a nice touch to the open living space, kitchen and office area. Upstairs, two bedrooms are separated by a large bathroom complete with a whirlpool tub. The home features a palapa-style roof that would rustle with the breeze as you sleep at night. The price for this home - completely furnished - is a negotiable $145,000. At press time, this house had been sold - for $140,000.

Even further east of Casa Lena ‘railroad car’ homes, so dubbed by Kelley Morgan of Paradise Properties, can be purchased for $50,000 to $80,000. She calls them railroad car homes because they are long and narrow…to fit on long and narrow lots. This area, from Avenida 50 on, is the new hot spot for affordable homes, Kelley contends.

Like Nancy, Kelley says that although property prices on the island are largely dependent on the US economy, they have been appreciating steadily despite a leveling out in the past two years.

Church of Corpus Christi on Cozumel.

Want to buy a lot and build your own home? It certainly can be done, but available lots aren’t as plentiful as they once were.

In desirable Corpus Christi, lots that are available of approximately 12 m. x 18 m. (40 ft. x 60 ft.) are going for approximately $162/sq. m. ($15/sq. ft.) - $35,000.00.

In Mariposa Estates, on the southwest part of the island, lots of 2 to 2-½ hectares (4-5 acres) are being sold for $50,000. The lots are across the road and about 100 m. (about 330 ft.) from a very nice beach. This is a “special permission” project, which means that while foreigners can normally own properties of up to 5,000 sq. m. (approx. 54,000 sq. ft.) in a restricted zone (31 miles from a coastline…see the sidebar for more details), the government has eased those rules for this project.

On this property, you can build a home of up to 10 rooms per lot, but covenants require that you must spend a minimum of $250,000 on construction. The island’s director of Ecology and Urban Development must approve your building plans. You will also incur a monthly association fee (as much as $150/mo.) and additional costs for things like front gate security and common area maintenance. This is a brand new housing development with electric poles and some roads already in place and others in the works. Telephone, satellite TV and high-speed Internet access are available.

The cost of construction …

According to Architect and Builder Francisco Diaz Allen, who has built many homes on Cozumel, you can expect to pay, on average, $540/sq. m. ($50/sq. ft.) to build a home. For extremely high-end construction…expensive fixtures, special window treatments, etc…you might expect price increases of 15-25%.

Francisco, a Cozumel native, says he has seen property prices appreciate overall in recent years yet construction costs have remained relatively stable, especially because the peso has lost some ground against the dollar. He has also seen environmental regulations and building codes become more stringent on the island, and he thinks that’s a good thing, as it will add to overall property values.

He echoed Nancy Edward’s comments that properties nearest the beaches are appreciating fastest, followed by those in the Corpus Christi neighborhood.

In our next article, we’ll focus on Isla Mujeres. For more information about buying property or investing in Mexico, visit our web site: www.MexicoInsider.com.

Editor’s Note: The above story is an excerpt from an article International Living’s Suzan Haskins wrote for a publication called Island Properties Report. This part of the story focuses on Cozumel. In the next issue of Playa Maya news, you can read the rest of the story…about Isla Mujeres…

Suzan Haskins and Dan Prescher write about living in Mexico – with a focus on real estate and investment opportunities – for International Living magazine and for their subscription-based web site, www.MexicoInsider.com.

For more information about how to buy property in Mexico, or for Suzan and Dan’s recommended local real estate and other resources, email them at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

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