Mexico Resort Real Estate Update from The Settlement Company - Part 2
 John K. Glaab - settlement-co.com
October 06, 2010
The Mexico Tourism Board Joins Global Sustainable Tourism Council
Source: Mexico Tourism Board
The Mexico Tourism Board announced today it has joined The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), an international partnership dedicated to promoting sustainable tourism practices around the world. Founded in partnership by the World Tourism Organization, the United Nations Environment Programme, UN Foundation, Rainforest Alliance, Sabre/Travelocity and others, the GSTC is open to any member of the travel and tourism industries.
"The Mexico Tourism Board has joined the GSTC with a desire to create a common understanding of what sustainable tourism is so that travelers can break through the clutter and make informed decisions," said Alfonso Sumano, Regional Director for the Americas, Mexico Tourism Board.
"With more than 18 million acres of ecological preserves and one of the most diverse natural offerings of any country on the planet, sustainable tourism has long been a priority for Mexico. As part of this global partnership, we’re increasing our dedication to helping make sure businesses thrive and travelers can continue to have special experiences, for generations to come."
"We are pleased that the Mexico Tourism Board is joining in our efforts. The tourism industry is growing and we have a responsibility to that growth is done in a responsible way," said Erika Harms, Executive Director of the GSTC. "We look forward to working with the Mexico Tourism Board to help implement and explain sustainable tourism so that it becomes as ubiquitous as travel itself."
UNESCO Recognition
In recognition of Mexico’s diverse ecological offering, the United Nations Educational, Science and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recently incorporated three additional Natural Protected Areas in Mexico into its worldwide network of biosphere reserves.
The additions include Nahá-Metzabok in Chiapas; Islas Marías, Nayarit, and Los Volcanes (Estados de México, Puebla, Tlaxcala y Morelos) and bring Mexico’s total of protected areas to 40 – third in the world and first in Latin America.
The GSTC is made up of members of the tourism and travel industry, including UN agencies, tour operators, travel companies, individual hotels and government tourism councils.
Over the next three years, the GSTC will work with the members in each region to promote sustainable tourism principles, as well as encourage the adoption of the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria. As part of the initiative, each member is committing to promote the GSTC to its customers, vendors and peers.
Sustainability principles refer to the environmental, economic and socio-cultural aspects of tourism development, and a suitable balance must be established between these three dimensions to guarantee long-term sustainability. For more information about the GSTC, please visit gstcouncil.org.
The Mexico Tourism Board (MTB) brings together the resources of federal and state governments, municipalities and private companies to promote Mexico’s tourism attractions and destinations internationally. Created in 1999, the MTB functions as an executive agency of Mexico’s Tourism Secretariat, with autonomous management and the broad participation of the private sector. The MTB has offices throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America.
Villa Group Plans Expansion with Luxury Resort in Baja California
By Laura Del Rosso
The Villa Group, one of Mexico's largest privately owned hotel groups, is building Villa del Palmar Loreto, a $60 million luxury resort with 171 villas outside the Baja California town of Loreto.
The hotel, expected to open its first phase in January, 2011, will have rooms with views of the Sea of Cortez, a spa and fitness center, tennis courts, swimming pools, several restaurants and luxury services, according to the company.
Three restaurants will include an oceanfront restaurant, a sushi and seafood venue and an international buffet for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Villa del Palmar will be the first property in Villa Group's 1,800-acre development named Danzante Bay, which is being built on a five-year timeline. Plans calls for seven resort hotels, 240 home sites, additional restaurants and a Rees Jones golf course.
Loreto is about midway down the Sea of Cortez side of the Baja Peninsula, an area long popular with nature lovers and fishermen. Five secluded islands - Coronado, Del Carmen, Danzante, Montserrate and Santa Catalina - off Loreto's coast are protected as part of Loreto Bay National Marine Park, home to 900 species of fish.
Danzante Bay is being built about 20 minutes from downtown Loreto and the Loreto airport. The Villa Group already operates a property in the town of Loreto, the Hotel Santa Fe, a 118-room hotel featuring colonial design.
A City Within a City
A mega project is underway in Morelia, the state capital of Michoacan. According to developer Francisco Medina, the commercial component at Altozana, will be the largest in Latin America. The commercial area will include a convention center and four hotels, department stores and a modern state of the art health club, called Club Altozano, that includes an Olympic size swimming pool.
Twenty thousand homes are scheduled to be constructed. More than 3,000 have already been sold. There is an outdoor theatre seating 10,000 with a view of the city. It will be used for artistic, music and cultural events. Five hundred trees have been planted at the development.
Businesses in places such as Mexico City and Guadalajara are being invited to locate their head offices at Altozano. Plans for promotion to the United States and Canada are on hold, pending the end of the Global Economic Crisis.
Mexico’s President, Felipe Calderon, inaugurated the mega project on September 29th. While in the city, the Mexican president also participated in events celebrating the 245th Anniversary of the death of Morelos, who was a hero in Mexico’s struggle for independence.
Morelia has become known as "Latin America’s Illuminated City." This is due to the nightly lighting of its XVIth Century buildings, such as the majestic cathedral and its many historic monuments.
Settlement Company Team on the Road
The Settlement Company team was on the road early, in the third quarter of 2010. Off to Zihuatanejo were Linda Neil, lead attorney; Claudia Mendez from La Paz; and Alicia Parra, Executive Closing Officer from San Jose del Cabo. The company is supervising the development of contracts and deeds, as well as the closings (transfers of title) for a Canadian company that is converting one of the city’s oldest hotels into condominiums. Sales are reported brisk.
Meanwhile, John Glaab was off to the nation’s capital. He attended the first "Mixer" of MRE - Mexico Real Estate - a social networking blog. The group met for cocktails and toured a home that belonged to a well known Mexican corporate attorney, now deceased.
The seven bedroom, five car garage, home with two offices, a large garden and a swimming pool, is located in the Jardines de Pedregal section of DF. The selling price is $1 million USD. John told us, "It is a steal at that price."
Existing-home sales rose in August, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR)
Existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, increased 7.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.13 million in August from an upwardly revised 3.84 million in July, but remain 19.0 percent below the 5.10 million-unit pace in August 2009.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said home sales still remain subpar. "The housing market is trying to recover on its own power without the home buyer tax credit. Despite very attractive affordability conditions, a housing market recovery will likely be slow and gradual because of lingering economic uncertainty," Yun said.
Yun added, "Home values have shown stabilizing trends over the past year, even as the economy shed millions of jobs, because of the home buyer tax credit stimulus. Now that the economy is adding some jobs, the housing market needs to steadily improve and eventually stand on its own."
NAR President, Vicki Cox Golder, owner of Vicki L. Cox & Associates in Tucson, Arizona, said consumers have been getting mixed signals about the housing market.
"People understand the good affordability conditions with stable home prices in most areas, but they’re concerned about the economy and speculation on Wall Street," she said. "We need to stick with the facts about the long-term value of home ownership and avoid unrealistic assessments. Tight credit and slow short sales are ongoing problems – expediting short sales will help the market to recover more quickly."
Total housing inventory at the end of August slipped 0.6 percent to 3.98 million existing homes available for sale, which represents an 11.6-month supply at the current sales pace, down from a 12.5-month supply in July.
Existing-home sales for September will be released October 25. The next Pending Home Sales Index is scheduled for October 4; release times are 10 am EDT.
 John Glaab has been a member of NAR's International Section for over a decade. He has earned the Certified International Property Specialist designation and is a founding member of AMPI Los Cabos. He spends half the year in La Paz, Baja California Sur and the other half in Uruapan, Michoacan. For further information, contact John at John.Glaab(at)settlement-co.com. |
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