From edgy and chic to eco-friendly and remote, Baja bustles with quality, high-end home projects from just across the border to Land's End
by Skip Knowles
BIG TIME BAJA
You"re not fooling anyone with that "wise investment" speech.
Sure, there are all kinds of practical rationalizations for owning a second home in Baja. Sound money management reasons. Dollars go further in Mexico, for one. Predictable appreciation in a finite commodity, for another: they ain"t making anymore paradisiacal waterfront. Tax incentives are strong, corporate America is now investing with confidence in Mexico and transportation is ever-improving.
Great stuff. Hey, the climate down there could arguably extend your lifespan. But we know the real reasons you want it, even if they are less tangible. Palm trees and romance, tequila and limes, that tropical ambience and Latin mystique that even country music singers have tried to exploit ... and blue, blue, 85-degree water.
Still, for norte americanos, Mexico has always been thought of with an asterik. A place with amazing beaches, lush gardens, beautiful settings, and a sultry climate, but with plenty of question marks: Is this area safe, is that area clean enough, can you drink the water, can you drive the roads at night, et al.
Fortunately, that is changing fast, from a streamlined process for purchasing land to a more Western-style land-buying experience in terms of professional, responsive real estate companies and better financing options. In other words, in a broader sense, much of coastal Mexico and particularly Baja are becoming, to put it simply, really nice places.
What"s not changing is what brings us here in the first place-that familiar, intoxicating south-of-the-border ambience-it"s just safer, more accessible, and a lot more high-end. And if you don"t like the current offerings, just wait a few days. From Cabo north to Loreto Bay, west to Ensenada and back east to Rocky Point"s burgeoning communities, the Baja Peninsula is enjoying a wave of high-end home building like North America has never seen.
Golf communities are major draws for non-golfers and golfers alike, because of the clubhouse culture and safe, communal feel, and the guarantee of large, open spaces. On the west side of the Baja, vast tracts of untouched land are being turned into vacation-home destinations. Baja"s wild west side has been largely untouched, giving developers room to do it right.
"The majority of the land holds on that side are such large tracts," says Bob Gaudet of Diamante, a luxury resort community with Phil Mickelson and Davis Love III golf courses under development. "We"re excited about the west side. It"s a 12 mile corridor, an uninterrupted clean, unspoiled land mass, and the government is interested in making it an efficient tourist corridor-safe, visually attractive-all those things that are critical to well-done projects. Diamante is doing a very low-density resort community, allowing it to become a regarded spot."
Mexico is shifting toward the kind of inventory seen elsewhere in golf and high-end communities.
"When you go to Hawaii or Scottsdale there"s a bigger scale of consumer opportunity, different styles of courses and communities, and in Mexico that is starting to happen," Gaudet says. "It"s becoming situated for the maximum positive experience."
Baja offers a collision of laidback fishing-village culture with powerful international flavor, all set in a landscape that is different from nearly anywhere, with its combinations of desert and ocean and mountains, interspersed with seaside villages. For better or worse, the manana theory (translation: "tomorrow," denoting the fact that traditional Mexican culture is not driven by the pressures of what needs to be done) has been largely cast aside because of international collaborations with developers, says Gaudet. But the positive aspects of the manana theory-the low key, low stress vibe-is as strong as ever.
"It"s efficient now but the beach lifestyle atmosphere remains. It"s a softer approach, but the expectations should be high because great properties are being produced," Gaudet says.
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BIG TIME BAJA Cont...
Among them, Punta Ballena near the classic Land"s End area of Baja, which gets rave rankings from most travel magazines for its overlook of humpback whale wintering grounds. Within Punta Ballena, Esperanza has already brought notoriety as a 56-room resort with enormous indoor spaces that feel as large and open as the coves they overlook. Homesites in Las Residencias start at close to a half million, while Las Villas run $2.7 million to $7 million.
Nearby Palmilla, four miles outside San Jose del Cabo, is situated on one of the prettiest bays in the area and is well established, home to no less than 10 first-rate communities with everything from quarter-acre fairway homesites to sprawling 4,500-square-foot seaside villas upwards of $10 million. Also near Cabo (about 20 minutes away), Querencia has some of the finest views in all of Baja and consistently ranks at the top in international golf magazines as a world-class wonder, with restaurants, spa, beach club, pools, and incredible panoramic views from nearly every hole on the golf course.
"The addition of a full-service beach club and a second golf course added to an already full menu of amenities, spectrum of real estate options and Fazio golf absolutely solidify our market position as the premier private community and club in all of Los Cabos," says Andre Boersma, general manager.
Five miles from Cabo San Lucas and stretched out along the Sea of Cortez lies the 1,800-acre Cabo Del Sol, with eight communities quickly gaining reputation as one of the premier golf destinations in North America (with both Jack Nicklaus and Tom Weiskopf courses). Fairway homesites start as low as $150,000 here, with single-family homes soaring upwards of $8 million. Where else can you watch whales breach while you sip coffee from your own private balcony?
Puerto Los Cabos similarly offers a strong double threat to tempt golfers with a Greg Norman course and a Jack Nicklaus Design course, both with views of the Sea of Cortez. The new fractional option here, Mision la Serena, overlooks 7 acres of beach club area with spa, concierge, custom rooftop barbecue pits and an entry point of $100,000. That kind of dough won"t get you much at El Dorado in the Cabo Real part of Cabo"s tourist corridor. This Discovery Land Company project sells lots for $3 million to $14 million, and condos range to $10 million (for the penthouse, most are $2 million to $4 million). The exclusive Jack Nicklaus course club is limited to 350 members.
Also at 1,850 acres, Cabo Pacifica is a definitive Cabo lifestyle resort community. Located at Land"s End, the promontory that defines Cabo to the world, Cabo Pacifica is a lush oasis where a fine line is drawn between the respective endeavors of golf and whale watching, though the place is still defined by enthusiasts as some of the best marlin fishing on earth. Stone arcades, cobble courtyards and two-story villas with up to six rooms (5,700 square feet) aim to exhibit every imaginable luxury.
Speaking of "whales," Donald Trump"s latest is making huge waves on the northwest coast near Ensenada, holding the one-day sales record for Mexico at $122 million. Priced from the $200,000s to nearly $3 million, 188 suites of the first phase were sold the first day at this burgeoning luxury location 30 minutes south of San Diego. Spendy? Not really. In San Diego, that"s a bargain for anything approaching luxury.
Far from all the California hype is serene Loreto Bay, midway up the east coast of Baja on the western shores of the Sea of Cortez. Sustained development and natural beauty are central to this gorgeous location at the foot of the Sierra de La Giganta Mountains, where the ecosystem, conservation and social commitments are as much an emphasis as the natural beauty.
To the north at the top of the Sea of Cortez lies Las Palomas, one of the largest and closest opportunities for U.S. investors. Las Palomas has 2,000 homes and condos coming on line soon with 12 restaurants, a 42,000-square-foot spa and fractionals starting as low as $90,000 and homes to $2.1 million. Puerto Penasca in the Rocky Point area is also seeing great sudden strides in its luxury community offerings on the northern Sea of Cortez, not far from Arizona.
Midway between San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas, Chileno Bay stretches across 2.5 miles of some of the best coastland in the Cabo region, and was formerly home to famous Hotel Cabo San Lucas. Two Tom Fazio golf courses, two restaurants and a private marina and yacht club will make this one a contender.
Ulterior motives aside, second home investment in Baja can only be called a smart move on most fronts, and with the awareness and sensitivity modern developers bring with regards to respect for regional surroundings and culture, the great choices far outweigh the mediocre.
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