As a Canadian planning your retirement, choosing that perfect place to finally get away from the cold Canadian winters is an important part of this planning. Yucatan Real Estate presents many excellent options, with warm weather all year round, quick, easy access back to Canada and some of the world's best beachfront properties. On the Yucatan Peninsula, Merida Real Estate is a unique option, as a colonial metropolitan city, blending a perfect mix of Mexico's rich traditions, modern life, and beachfront luxury in the nearby community of Progreso. In both Merida and Progreso, a variety of styles of Mexico Homes can be found, for both those who love a more traditional colonial style, or those who prefer a contemporary style on the beachfront. In any case, with the current strength of the Canadian dollar, these beautiful homes are currently even more appealing for Canadians planning for their retirement.
One of the advantages for retiring in Yucatan's capital Merida and the nearby Progreso is the rare combination of Mexico's colonial beauty and very nearby modern beachfront luxury. In both locations, Yucatan real estate is available for excellent prices – both compared to other Mexico options and to Canadian properties. While many tourism and retirement locations on the Caribbean coast of the Yucatan Peninsula – Cancun, etc. - have seen prices rise drastically due to high popularity vacations, Merida and the nearby Yucatan beachfront have seen steadier prices, still much more affordable. In Merida, for example, a small, but beautiful 18th century home, with a traditional courtyard can be found for around $150,000 US! If you still have several years of planning for your retirement you may also consider a Yucatan beachfront property to build on, or with a fixer upper; some can be found for as low as $70,000 US. In most Mexico real estate locations, these kind of prices are unheard of. Of course, the prices go up from here, and excellent homes can be found for any budget and lifestyle.
It is also worth comparing these prices to Canada. In Canada, prices have been rising steadily; since the recession seems to have turned around in Canada a few months ago, high competition among young buyers has driven prices up even further, making the average home price in Canada around $350,000 – cold winters and snow included. As mentioned above, properties much less expensive than this are available here in Yucatan. While the ones mentioned above are entirely worthwhile, for the $320,000 US of an "average" house in Canada, you can buy either a very comfortable, highly luxurious home in the Historic Centre of Merida, or a huge, contemporary style home directly on the beachfront. So what would you prefer for this price, an average home at 25 below zero, or luxury at 25 above?
Another factor to consider with regards to Yucatan homes for retirement is the current high which the Canadian dollar is experiencing. Not that long ago, in 2003, the Canadian dollar was up and down around .65 US, where it had been for a while. Since then it moved up, very briefly passing the US dollar, and dropping back to about .80 US during the recession. Since the recession has seemed to be turning around in Canada for the last few months, the dollar has risen back to about .95 US, where it appears to be steady. Let's say you have $250,000 CDN available for a retirement property. 6 years ago this would have got you a property in the Merida area worth about $160,000 US – as we've seen, this is a realistic option here. Let's say you're still looking at $250,000 CDN; you could either step up a level in size, or have a choice of more homes, and spend about $235,000 US, or you could buy that same property you could afford before for about $175,000 CDN and save an additional $75,000 dollars for your retirement budget. On top of this, a number of properties are still being offered at the same recession based price reductions of one year ago, meaning further savings.
Living in Merida, these savings go a long way. Day to day items are considerably cheaper; health care includes "state of the art" facilities, and is available at much more affordable prices than in the U.S., without the long waiting lines of Canada.
While prices haven't been driven up by a large influx of tourists, in Merida and the Yucatan coast there are many English speaking residents from Canada, the U.S. and other countries. Libraries, movies, exhibitions are almost always bilingual. Being an established, multi-faceted city, Merida has many museums, and cultural events, such as orchestra music and art shows, as well as anything else you might want to do in a city. In the surrounding area of Yucatan, there are many, many pyramid ruins, and beautiful, natural locations to visit. An, with the strong Canadian dollar, all of this is, again, available at less of an expense to you, to help make your retirement budget more comfortable.
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