About the beauty of Mazatlán, the land of the deer

   There is a unique city in the #1 retirement destination for Americans and Canadians according to the International Living Magazine (http://www.internationalliving.com/internal_components/further_resources/09_01_07_retirement ), is a very special city for several reasons: It combines the beauty of a beach destination with the enchantment of thousands of years of history visible on its old constructions in the historic district. Also, this city enjoys the largest boardwalk in all of México, where every afternoon, all kind of people from many nationalities gather to enjoy it by jogging, skating, taking pictures of the amazing sunsets, doing yoga, getting a beer on an oceanfront bar, or a coffee with a friend, exercising in a gym while looking at the ocean, or just walking all over it while getting caressed by the sea breeze that never stops, giving us a very pure and healthy air to breath all year long. This city also enjoys the highest functional natural lighthouse in the world, adored by exercise lovers, who go day and night to bask the breathtaking views from the top with the unbeatable satisfaction of exercising. In this city, originally founded by Europeans to take advantage of the dock natural facilities, most of the population is tourist oriented, especially on tourist areas; most of the people speaks good English and will be glad to help if you have any question or need assistance, that´s why, according to recent stats 95% of tourist come back, it’s understandable that they like the warmth of this people, who always show an smile to visitors. This city, other than combining beach attractions with history, also combines the conveniences of five stars resorts with all the benefits granted by a big city (almost 500,000 inhabitants) that was here quite before the tourists discover it, having the fishing and the main commercial activity. You can still have a very nice living for only about $1000 USD a month, cheap medicines and health services at a fraction of what they are back home, beachfront hotels for as cheap as $30 USD a night, insurances lower than up north, everything you have at home for entertainment and a little more: horseback riding, beach tours, parachuting, movie theaters, lots of cultural events, whale watching, snorkeling, kayaking, nature tours, casinos, fishing, hunting…well the list may take a while to be finished, do you want to keep reading or coming to discover by yourself?

     So, this city was called “The Pearl of the Pacific” for several reasons: it has an excellent location, pretty close of the Tropic of Cancer, what means the best weather in the world, just like Cabo and Hawaii but a lot more affordable. Also, as a symbolic meaning, “The pearl of the Pacific” is a hidden treasure that not many people know about, what makes it even more enjoyable.

     This hidden treasure, this beach destination with city facilities and a lot of history, this unbeatable place to enjoy is called Mazatlán.

     I came here 9 years ago planning to stay just a couple of months and… it was love at first sight!, after being in half of the states of my gorgeous country and lived in several places, I think I have found my place to stay, I never had this lifestyle before, and that’s why I decided to share it and promote it. Hope you have the chance to come soon, believe me: you won’t regret.

E360’s Second Home Trend Report, surveys existing second home buyers on the preferences of timing, attributes, location, and pricing of an additional second home purchase.

Of those 45% indicating that they are in the market for a second home, Mexico is the top international destination with more than half of the total interest.  E360’s Global Research Analyst, Chad Martin said “although only half of our respondents believe now is a good time to buy, it is impressive that there is a strong second home contingent looking at a market like Mexico.”

More impressively, of the remaining 54% who indicated that now would not be a good time to buy 79% indicated that they would be likely or very likely to purchase in the next 2 years.  Martin says “this is a strong indication that demand will continue to grow over the next two years and will strengthen the second home market”.

As consistent with current market trends, lifestyle and vacation attributes are the leading motivator at 46% for second home buyers with investment purposes coming in next at around 41%.  Second home purchases for the purpose of retirement ranked 3rd at just over 11%.

The desire for a second home geared for vacation purposes is not a surprising finding. Martin said “this is a consistent trend with the preferred attributes of the buyer being water views and proximity to water or mountain activities.”  Lake and ocean views combined for an overwhelming majority of the preferred attributes surveyed with mountain views coming second.

Martin adds “While spa and medical facilities have exhibited recent high growth rate forecasts in recent studies respondents did not translate that growth into the high motivation for a second home purchases. Green based second homes did not show the high appeal translating into a purchase motivation. Golf has not clearly shown itself as primary appealing attribute as it translates to real estate buyers when compared to other second home attributes.”

Although most respondents indicated they would be looking in International markets for a second home, nearly 49% of purchasers will be looking domestically.  “although most of these buyers plan to wait 1-2 years, this is great news for the US Second Home market.  Over the next few years we anticipate that the second home market in the US that are focused 100-1000 miles from highly populated areas will see an increase in demand.”

According to the study, 40% are looking at areas 500-1000 miles away and nearly 30% are looking from 100-500 miles away from their homes.  The numbers over 1000 miles dropped significantly to 11%.  This supports the trend that of those interested in a domestic or Mexico second home market, nearly 39% of buyers are looking in rural areas throughout the US.

Of the same second home buyers looking at a US purchase, 49% are looking for a single family home and 60% preferred a smaller 2-bed, 2-bath floor plan.

These respondents are interested in the $200,000 to $400,000 price range and 60% are not interested in receiving financing for the purchase.

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