Quote from @John Carbone:
Quote from @Mike Lambert:
@John Carbone
You tell us that Mexico GDP per capita is 3 times that of Belize and there's a huge difference between $18,000 and $5,000 and, a little further, you tell us that finally they're in the same boat because Mexico's poverty rate grew by 44% last year. That latest statistic is totally useless in your comparison because you don't tell us 1) what the poverty rate is in Mexico and Belize and 2) what the increase in poverty in Belize was over last year.
Regarding the increase in poverty rate in Mexico last year, I don't know if it's 44% but I know it has increased. 44% looks like a lot but it's entirely possible because it's due to Covid, which you could have figured out. Basically, over the last few years, a lot of Mexicans have left the poverty line and were therefore slightly above it so Covid pushed them back into it. As you probably know Mexico was affected by Covid because of the decrease in tourism and the poorer people were more affected, like in the US and anywhere else.
I have to command you for doing research before giving opinions but if you want to argue with people who are taking action and know the subject inside and out, my advice to make sure your research is more in-depth before making certain affirmations. In doing so, you would have figured out that linking the average income in Mexico with the short-term rental rates makes absolutely no sense. This is because those who rent the short-term rentals are the foreigners and the Mexican wealthy and middle class people. It's kind of obvious when you think about it, isn't it? So, the average income of these are the Mexican is much higher than $18,000. That's the whole "secret" about short-term rentals in Mexico. Unless you have a bad deal, you can make way more net income by $ of property value.
You actually should care about the next 30 years if you take 30-year mortgages. But yes, like you, I'm not overthinking the next 30 years. Didn't you figure out I was just illustrating the fact that the Mexican economy is not insignificant.
I hope that this "conversation" is useful to you and others. And, maybe, little by little, you might start to understand why some people invest in real estate in Mexico when maybe you didn't see the point at the beginning.
Mexicos poverty rate is 44 percent of the whole population, as I initially mentioned (not a 44 percent increase in a year due to Covid). It’s around 10 percent in the USA. Belize isn’t much worse than Mexico. In a previous post you said Mexico did great during Covid because of no restrictions. I pointed out the income of the “middle class” because you seem to be touting a growing middle class there as if those people will be contributing to the real estate market in a positive way (ie, renting units). it seems you are now saying that the whole model in Mexico is around international travel and the Mexican elite, which is what I was saying about five posts prior and you were refuting.
I lived in Mexico pre-COVID, during COVID, and post-COVID. Mexico was stricter than even the most strict states in the US. Mask mandates, temperature checks, only one family member could go into the grocery store at a time, shoe sanitation at the entrance of most buildings and stores, naval forces blocking access to the beach so crowds couldn't enter. With that said, Mexico remained open to tourism when other countries didn't. As restrictions lifted in the US, many Americans visited Mexico. The last two 'high seasons' have remained high with tourism continuing past April, the typical end of high season. Not only did Mexican nationals travel more after restrictions lifted, so did other Northern Americans.
The middle class in Mexico is significant. There are a lot of Mexican nationals that travel to beach/resort towns during Easter and Independence Day. In fact, many hotels and short-term rentals are booked by Mexican nationals. Upper class Mexicans also have second homes in these resort towns and visit regularly.
