A Brief History of Real Estate in Merida, Yucatan

When people think of buying real estate in the Yucatan Peninsula, they often concentrate solely on resort areas like Cancun, Playa del Carmen and the Riviera Maya, while overlooking other parts of the region. Many of these alternatives might be perfect for you, and can offer some quality of life benefits you may not have considered. Merida, the capital of the state of Yucatan, is one such region.
What makes this area attractive as a property investment opportunity for you? Keith Heitke, a New York City transplant and owner of Hacienda Mexico Real Estate in Merida, gave us his take on the Yucatan. “This is a real city,” he said, “with a symphony, private and public schools, good infrastructure, and most of all, a wonderful sense of history, often lacking in the beach resorts of our beautiful peninsula.”
The area’s market of buyers consists mostly of Americans, Canadians and Europeans, but it is a developing market, and one that holds real promise. According to Heitke, “if people find us here, they usually are either totally set on coming here to live, or are convinced quickly once they look around. These people don’t rely normally on selling anything in their home state (to finance their purchases); they’ve allocated monies for this move. So I see it as a steady incline of buyers, that is, until it is really on the map, at which time it will be a big jump in interest in our area.”
Returns on investment are varied, and Heitke has seen returns for his clients varying anywhere from twenty to two hundred percent. “A good friend of mine bought a ruin in the right place for 30k, cleaned out the junk, watered the small yard, and sold it for 90k.” Not all sales net 200 percent, and few properties can be found for 30k, but you can still find gems in the area. And many of them have a three hundred year head start over their cousins to the east in Quintana Roo.
The area has no shortage of older homes, and many are historic properties. Many of them are located in the centro, or city center, of Merida. “I love Centro and its old houses,” said Heitke. “I live there and give the Merida English Library House and Garden Tour there each Wednesday from October through March, and there are some great houses in neighborhoods very near the center.”
Some of these older properties are more well-preserved than others. You’ll find beautiful vintage residences that have been brought back to their original splendor, others that have been adapted to modern life, and yet others that are just begging for some TLC. These properties have good bones and architectural treasures like beamed ceilings, moldings and mosaic floors. Some of them have been forgotten for years, and with some time, love and money, they can be the right real estate investment choice.
Merida has existed since the Spanish came to the area in the 16th Century. Walking down the streets of central Merida, in the city square by the Cathedral, you can feel its history. It has the conveniences of being the state’s capital, yet it retains a certain old-world charm. Visit it once, and you just might put down roots in a new or antique place of your own.