Get all the data you need about the real estate market in Puerto Vallarta
SUMMARY
Yes, Puerto Vallarta is still a good idea for a rental property, but only when the rent works at today's purchase price. We would not buy a weak-yield condo and hope another appreciation boom fixes the deal later.
The condo market is much less forgiving than it was a few years ago. Active condominium inventory across the wider market rose from roughly 800 units in 2020 to more than 3,200 in 2025, while sales slowed and average days on market stretched to about nine months.
The newest data is a little more encouraging: active condo inventory is now down 15.4% year over year and new listings have dropped sharply. That suggests the post-boom supply buildup is starting to clear, but resale liquidity is still weak enough that investors should care about the exit from day one.
Tourism is no longer giving owners a free tailwind. Airport traffic through the first seven months of 2026 was down 12.6%, international traffic fell 19.3%, and first-half hotel occupancy also came in below the prior year.
Airbnb demand is still substantial, but hosts are filling nights partly by giving up pricing power. AirDNA shows 57% occupancy and a US$175 average daily rate, while RevPAR is down 11.1% and ADR is down 18.4% year over year.
The headline short-term rental revenue number needs context. Average trailing annual revenue of about US$31,400 equals roughly 7.9% of the current median condo sale price before expenses, but that falls to about 5.2% at a US$600,000 purchase price and 4.5% at US$700,000.
Long-term rentals are more competitive than Puerto Vallarta's vacation-rental reputation suggests. Current neighborhood models put stronger one-bedroom deals around a 7% net yield in Versalles and the mid-5% range in several central areas, with less exposure to tourism swings and nightly-rate competition.
The best pure-income neighborhoods are often one step removed from the postcard locations. Versalles, Las Glorias, Centro and 5 de Diciembre generally give investors more rent for each peso invested than Amapas, Conchas Chinas or other premium view-driven areas.
Smaller units also look more capital-efficient. Across several neighborhoods, one-bedroom apartments repeatedly produce higher gross yields than two-bedrooms because the second bedroom raises the acquisition price faster than it raises conventional rent.
The practical conclusion is simple: buy Puerto Vallarta for cash flow, not for a story about future appreciation. A well-priced central unit with believable net income can still be a good investment; an expensive condo producing only 3.5% to 4.5% net is much harder to defend unless personal use is part of the return.
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Why is Puerto Vallarta rental property harder to buy well today?
Puerto Vallarta rental property can still be a good investment today, but buyers now have to make the income work because the post-pandemic appreciation boom is no longer doing the heavy lifting for them.
The market has changed quite a lot since the years when foreign demand, scarce listings and rapidly rising prices made almost any well-located condo look clever in hindsight.
Teseo Data Lab, working with AMPI Riviera Nayarit, estimates that active condominium inventory across the wider Puerto Vallarta metropolitan market grew from roughly 800 units in 2020 to 3,211 in 2025, with around 3,500 projected for 2026. Its measure of potential demand grew by only about 38% over roughly the same period. Supply expanded close to nine times faster.
The latest FlexMLS numbers show that the adjustment has entered a new phase. Coldwell Banker La Costa's review of July 2026 data found active condo inventory down 15.4% year over year to 2,801 units. So supply is finally coming down.
Buyers have slowed down too.
There were 601 condo closings through July, compared with 800 over the same period a year earlier, a 24.9% decline. Average days on market reached 278, up 13.5%.
Prices have been much more stubborn. The year-to-date median condo sale price was about US$396,240, up 7.8%, even while transactions fell.
Puerto Vallarta now has fewer sales, long selling times and plenty of choice, while sellers have generally resisted a broad price collapse. For rental investors, paying the wrong price can therefore leave us with both a mediocre yield and a slow exit.
| Puerto Vallarta condo indicator | Earlier comparison | Latest reading | Change | What we learn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active condos, long-run Teseo series | ~800 in 2020 | 3,211 in 2025 | ~+301% | Supply exploded during the boom |
| Potential-demand base | 2020 baseline | ~38% higher | ~+38% | Demand grew far more slowly |
| Active FlexMLS condo listings | ~3,311 implied one year earlier | 2,801 | -15.4% | Excess supply has started shrinking |
| Condo closings, YTD | 800 | 601 | -24.9% | Buyers are still moving slowly |
| Average days on market | ~245 days | 278 days | +13.5% | Selling requires patience |
| YTD median sale price | ~US$367,600 implied | US$396,240 | +7.8% | Prices have held up better than sales |
Is Puerto Vallarta tourism getting weak enough to hurt rental property?
Puerto Vallarta tourism is clearly softer right now, especially international air traffic, and we would already factor that slowdown into any vacation-rental purchase.
Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico reported 3.806 million passengers through Puerto Vallarta airport during the first seven months of 2026, down from 4.356 million over the same period in 2025. That is roughly 550,000 fewer passengers, a 12.6% drop.
The international side looks worse. International traffic fell from about 2.551 million passengers to 2.059 million, down 19.3%. Domestic traffic slipped just 3.2%.
July did not show an obvious turnaround. Total traffic was down 12.1% from a year earlier, and international passengers fell almost 30%.
Hotels have felt some of the same pressure. DATATUR figures reported for the first half of 2026 put Puerto Vallarta hotel occupancy at 69.38%, compared with 75.41% during the same period a year earlier.
Five of the first six months were weaker year over year. March was exceptionally poor, dropping from 81.2% occupancy to 59.1%, although unusual local circumstances make that month a bad standalone benchmark. June was the exception, rising from 62.4% to 68.2%.
More than 3.8 million airport passengers in seven months is still a huge visitor base, so Puerto Vallarta clearly has plenty of tourism demand. But buyers can no longer sensibly underwrite 70% Airbnb occupancy and ever-higher nightly rates as though tourism only moves in one direction.
Get fresh and reliable data on the Puerto Vallarta property market
Versalles went from a quiet grid of local streets to a wall of new towers in five years, and the rents never followed. Where asking prices sit furthest from what places really earn and resell for.
Are Puerto Vallarta Airbnbs still making enough money to justify condo prices?
Puerto Vallarta Airbnbs are still generating serious revenue today, but average vacation-rental income only looks compelling against condo prices when the purchase price stays disciplined.
AirDNA's latest completed Puerto Vallarta dataset covers activity through July 2026. It tracks 6,496 active short-term rental listings with average occupancy of 57%, an average daily rate of US$175 and average trailing annual revenue of about US$31,400.
RevPAR, which combines occupancy and nightly pricing, sits around US$100 and is down 11.1% year over year.
Average daily rates are down even more, by 18.4%, while occupancy increased 14%. Hosts have recently been better at filling available nights than defending pricing.
There is one figure we would treat carefully: average annual revenue per active listing is up 62.8%. That looks spectacular until we notice that AirDNA's active-listing count fell 49.8% year over year. When the composition of the listing pool changes that dramatically, average revenue can rise because many intermittent or poorly performing listings disappear from the measured active supply.
Now compare that US$31,400 annual revenue with property prices.
Recent FlexMLS data puts the year-to-date median condo sale price across the broader Puerto Vallarta-Riviera Nayarit market around US$396,240. The datasets are not matched property for property, but the ratio gives us a useful order-of-magnitude test: US$31,400 equals about 7.9% of US$396,240 before expenses.
At US$500,000, the same revenue becomes 6.3%.
At US$600,000, it falls to 5.2%.
At US$700,000, we are down to 4.5%.
The owner may still pay condominium fees, utilities, internet, insurance, repairs, furniture replacement, cleaning costs not fully passed to guests, platform expenses, taxes and management.
That makes a US$600,000 condo producing US$30,000 to US$35,000 in bookings pretty ordinary as a pure investment. We would rather estimate believable net income first and let that number determine the maximum price we can pay.
| Puerto Vallarta short-term rental metric | Current reading | YoY change | Our read |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active listings | 6,496 | -49.8% | Large change in measured active supply |
| Occupancy | 57% | +14.0% | Available nights are filling reasonably well |
| Average daily rate | US$175 | -18.4% | Hosts have lost pricing power |
| RevPAR | US$100 | -11.1% | Revenue efficiency has weakened |
| Annual revenue/listing | US$31,400 | +62.8% | Strong headline, distorted by listing-pool changes |
| AirDNA Market Score | 72/100 | — | Viable STR market with real competition |
Is a long-term rental better than Airbnb in Puerto Vallarta today?
Long-term rentals currently make more sense than many buyers expect in Puerto Vallarta, especially in central neighborhoods where residents and seasonal tenants can support good rents without depending on weekly tourism.
TheLatinvestor's current apartment dataset, updated during 2026, puts a one-bedroom in Versalles around MXN 2.64 million with furnished rent around MXN 21,000 per month. Its model gives that unit a 9.5% gross yield and roughly 7.1% net.
A Las Glorias one-bedroom around MXN 3.26 million renting for MXN 22,000 produces about 8.1% gross and 5.9% net.
Centro comes out close to 8% gross and 5.8% net for a modeled one-bedroom.
Zona Romántica also reaches roughly 8% gross on a one-bedroom in the same dataset, though the estimated net return drops to about 5.5% because the purchase price is much higher.
Long-term rents have their own recent support too. Propiedades.com's Versalles rental tracker, updated in August 2026, puts the area's average apartment asking rent around MXN 19,675, up 14.1% from February 2025.
Airbnb can beat a conventional lease when the apartment is exceptional, winter rates are strong and the owner manages revenue well. Long-term renting is easier to defend when we want steadier cash flow, fewer turnovers and less exposure to tourism swings.
| Area | Modeled 1BR purchase price | Furnished monthly rent | Gross yield | Modeled net yield |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Versalles | MXN 2.64M | MXN 21,000 | 9.5% | 7.1% |
| Las Glorias | MXN 3.26M | MXN 22,000 | 8.1% | 5.9% |
| Centro | MXN 3.75M | MXN 25,000 | 8.0% | 5.8% |
| Zona Romántica | MXN 5.10M | MXN 34,000 | 8.0% | 5.5% |
| 5 de Diciembre | MXN 3.73M | MXN 23,000 | 7.4% | 5.3% |
| Marina Vallarta | MXN 4.75M | MXN 28,000 | 7.1% | 5.0% |
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Where do Puerto Vallarta rental yields look best right now?
Puerto Vallarta's best rental yields currently sit more often in central, practical neighborhoods such as Versalles and Las Glorias than in the city's most expensive ocean-view districts.
Versalles is the clearest example.
TheLatinvestor's apartment model gives its one-bedroom segment around 9.5% gross and 7.1% net. A modeled two-bedroom around MXN 3.89 million renting for about MXN 28,000 a month produces roughly 8.6% gross and 6.4% net.
The neighborhood also works outside a spreadsheet. It sits close to the Hotel Zone, major roads, supermarkets, hospitals, restaurants and other parts of everyday Puerto Vallarta, which gives it a broader tenant base than a purely tourist district.
Las Glorias has a similar advantage at slightly weaker yields. Centro and 5 de Diciembre add strong walkability without forcing investors to pay full Zona Romántica prices.
Marina Vallarta occupies a different place in the market. Current modeled yields are closer to 5% net on smaller units, but the neighborhood attracts long-stay foreigners, retirees, boat owners, tourists and residents who value the marina, golf course and airport access.
The pattern is pretty consistent: Puerto Vallarta's best pure-income properties are often one step removed from its most obvious postcard locations.
Is Zona Romántica still worth buying for rental income?
Zona Romántica is still worth buying for rental income, but we would only pay its premium for a unit that can genuinely exploit the neighborhood's walkability and tourist demand.
Few Puerto Vallarta locations are easier to rent to visitors. Los Muertos Beach, restaurants, bars, galleries, cafés and the Malecón are all accessible on foot from much of the area.
The long-term rental numbers are respectable too. TheLatinvestor models a one-bedroom around MXN 5.10 million with furnished monthly rent around MXN 34,000, producing approximately 8% gross and 5.5% net.
A two-bedroom around MXN 7.51 million with rent near MXN 46,000 gives roughly 7.4% gross and 5.1% net.
Those returns are decent, although Versalles and several cheaper central neighborhoods currently offer more income for each peso invested.
Short-term rentals can close some of that gap. A well-reviewed unit with a rooftop pool, elevator, good view and quiet bedroom can charge much more during peak season than an ordinary long-term lease.
Building choice is therefore critical. A mediocre floor plan, street noise, a weak HOA or restrictive rental rules can wipe out much of the location premium.
For a pure cash-flow investor, we'd want either an unusually good unit or a price that reflects today's slower property market.
The most overpriced zones and projects in Puerto Vallarta right now
Versalles went from a quiet grid of local streets to a wall of new towers in five years, and the rents never followed. Where asking prices sit furthest from what places really earn and resell for.
Are Amapas and Conchas Chinas too expensive for rental investors?
Amapas and Conchas Chinas are too expensive for many investors whose main goal is rental yield, because rents generally have not kept pace with the premium buyers pay for views, space and prestige.
Amapas shows the problem clearly.
The current apartment model puts a one-bedroom around MXN 6.44 million with monthly rent of about MXN 36,000. That produces roughly 6.7% gross and 4.6% modeled net.
Its two-bedroom example costs about MXN 9.48 million and rents for MXN 50,000, leaving roughly 4.3% net.
Conchas Chinas runs weaker again. A modeled two-bedroom around MXN 10.5 million with MXN 52,000 monthly rent produces approximately 5.9% gross and 4% net.
Altavista can fall below that. A one-bedroom example around MXN 5.73 million renting for MXN 25,000 works out to roughly 5.2% gross and 3.7% net.
A buyer may value the view, terrace, privacy and personal use enough to accept those returns. For a pure income investor, though, a 3.5% to 4.5% modeled net yield leaves too much riding on future appreciation unless the purchase price is unusually good.
| Area | Example | Purchase price | Monthly rent | Gross yield | Modeled net yield |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amapas | 1BR | MXN 6.44M | MXN 36,000 | 6.7% | 4.6% |
| Amapas | 2BR | MXN 9.48M | MXN 50,000 | 6.3% | 4.3% |
| Conchas Chinas | 1BR | MXN 7.14M | MXN 36,000 | 6.1% | 4.1% |
| Conchas Chinas | 2BR | MXN 10.50M | MXN 52,000 | 5.9% | 4.0% |
| Altavista | 1BR | MXN 5.73M | MXN 25,000 | 5.2% | 3.7% |
| Altavista | 2BR | MXN 8.42M | MXN 34,000 | 4.8% | 3.4% |
Are there too many Puerto Vallarta condos to sell easily later?
Puerto Vallarta still has enough condo supply to make resale slow, even though the newest data suggests the oversupply is finally shrinking.
The longer-term change remains striking.
Teseo Data Lab estimates active condos around 800 in 2020, 1,000 in 2021, 1,200 in 2022, 1,500 in 2023, 2,000 in 2024 and 3,211 in 2025.
A rough comparison with transactions makes the shift clearer. Teseo estimates around 2,800 annual transactions in 2023, when active condo inventory was roughly 1,500. By 2025 it estimates around 2,400 transactions against 3,211 active condos.
Using those figures as a rough inventory-to-annual-sales ratio, available supply went from the equivalent of about 6.4 months of yearly sales in 2023 to around 16 months in 2025. It is only an approximation because Teseo's active inventory is not a formal MLS months-of-supply calculation, but the direction is obvious.
The latest FlexMLS reading is more encouraging. As seen above, active condo inventory has now dropped 15.4% year over year, while new condo listings were down 59%.
Resale is still slow. Average condo days on market reached 278 in July, roughly nine months.
Some properties move much faster, particularly those with obvious advantages such as exceptional walkability, strong rental history, efficient layouts or irreplaceable views.
Generic investor condos face a harder exit. If a resale unit competes with dozens of similar apartments while nearby developers offer new finishes, payment plans and incentives, the owner has very little pricing power.
We would therefore price resale liquidity into the purchase from day one rather than chase a slightly higher yield in a property that may be painful to exit.
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Should you buy a one-bedroom or two-bedroom rental in Puerto Vallarta?
A one-bedroom condo is currently the safer default for Puerto Vallarta rental investors because smaller units repeatedly produce more rent for each peso invested.
Versalles gives us a good example.
A modeled one-bedroom costs around MXN 2.64 million and rents for MXN 21,000 per month, producing about 9.5% gross.
The two-bedroom costs around MXN 3.89 million and rents for MXN 28,000, producing roughly 8.6%.
Las Glorias shows a similar pattern, with the one-bedroom model around 8.1% gross and the two-bedroom around 7.5%.
Centro comes out near 8% versus roughly 7.4%.
Marina Vallarta sits around 7.1% for the one-bedroom and 6.7% for the two-bedroom.
Adding a second bedroom raises the purchase price substantially, while monthly rent usually rises by a smaller percentage.
Two-bedrooms become more compelling when family or group demand pushes vacation-rental nightly rates much higher, but we would want proof from comparable bookings in the exact building before paying the extra capital.
For investors without a specific operating strategy, the one-bedroom remains the safer default.
Can future price growth rescue a weak Puerto Vallarta rental yield?
We would not buy a weak-yield Puerto Vallarta rental today and expect appreciation to rescue it, because recent price data is far too mixed for that strategy.
Teseo Data Lab estimates the average transaction price across its broader market series rising from around US$280,000 in 2020 to US$320,000 in 2021, US$380,000 in 2022 and US$415,000 in 2023.
After that, the trajectory became much less clean. Its dataset places the average around US$387,000 in 2024 and US$325,000 in 2025, with roughly US$335,000 projected for 2026.
Those figures are heavily influenced by the mix of properties sold, so they should not be read as a precise citywide change in individual home values.
Fresh sales data shows the same ambiguity.
Coldwell Banker La Costa's July FlexMLS review found the year-to-date median condo sale price up 7.8%, yet the median price for July alone was down 8.1% year over year.
A separate Bay-wide analysis covering 1,340 residential closings over the 12 months through July found the median sale price up 8.3%, while price per square meter slipped 1.8%.
Larger or more expensive properties can therefore lift the headline median even when buyers are paying slightly less for a comparable amount of space.
Puerto Vallarta may become much more expensive over another five or ten years, but we would keep future appreciation outside the core rental thesis. A 3.5% yielding condo that only works after assuming strong annual price growth is a weak income investment today.
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Can foreign investors legally rent out Puerto Vallarta property?
Foreign investors can legally buy and earn rental income from residential property in Puerto Vallarta through Mexico's fideicomiso system, so the coastal ownership structure does not prevent a normal rental strategy.
Puerto Vallarta falls inside Mexico's restricted zone because it lies within 50 kilometers of the coast.
Mexico's Constitution prevents foreigners from directly acquiring residential land there in the same form as Mexican individuals. The established solution is a bank trust, called a fideicomiso.
The Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores currently states that these trusts can be authorized for up to 50 years. The foreign buyer becomes the beneficiary while a Mexican bank serves as trustee.
More importantly for investors, Mexico's Foreign Investment Law defines the permitted use and enjoyment of restricted-zone property broadly enough to include income and returns generated from operating the property.
There are costs. SRE's current 2026 fee for permission to constitute a restricted-zone fideicomiso is MXN 10,510, before the bank's own setup and ongoing trust fees.
The bigger due-diligence issue usually sits at the building level. A legally owned condo can still be a terrible Airbnb purchase if the condominium regime restricts short stays. HOA fees can also vary dramatically between a simple older building and a development running elevators, security, infinity pools, gyms and large common areas.
Title, liens, condominium rules, unpaid HOA balances and the exact trust documentation all need checking before closing.
How much of a Puerto Vallarta rental yield disappears after expenses?
Puerto Vallarta operating costs can easily knock several percentage points off an attractive gross rental yield, which is why we care much more about net income than the rent figure advertised by an agent.
Take a one-bedroom earning MXN 25,000 per month.
Its annual gross rent is MXN 300,000.
If the apartment costs MXN 4 million, the gross yield looks excellent at 7.5%.
Add condominium fees, maintenance, insurance, property-management expenses where applicable, accounting, occasional vacancy and replacements inside the unit, and a reasonable net figure can quickly fall into the 5% to 6% range.
Short-term rentals add electricity, internet, turnovers, linens, furniture, appliances, guest support and heavier wear.
Mexican taxes also need to be modeled properly. SAT treats lodging income generated through digital platforms as taxable activity, with specific ISR withholding rules for accommodation and IVA treatment applying to lodging services.
The final burden varies with ownership structure, tax residence, deductions and the way income is collected, so there is no honest single tax percentage that works for every foreign owner.
HOA fees deserve particular scrutiny in Puerto Vallarta because many of the buildings most attractive to Airbnb guests are also expensive to run.
We would ask for actual HOA statements, recent utility bills, management terms and real rental statements before believing a seller's projected return. A brochure saying "8% ROI" tells us very little unless we know which expenses were deducted.
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What Puerto Vallarta rental property would we actually buy now?
We would currently target a well-priced one-bedroom or compact two-bedroom in Versalles, Las Glorias, Centro, 5 de Diciembre or a carefully selected Zona Romántica building, and we would walk away quickly if the net yield only works after optimistic assumptions.
Versalles would be our first place to look for long-term income. Current modeled one-bedroom yields are among the strongest in the city, while the neighborhood has enough restaurants, services and centrality to attract tenants for reasons that go beyond tourism.
Las Glorias gives us a similar idea with slightly weaker numbers.
Centro and 5 de Diciembre become attractive when walkability matters, especially for furnished medium-term rentals.
Zona Romántica deserves a premium when the unit can turn its location into higher short-term revenue. We care much less about the neighborhood name when the condo itself is noisy, dark or stuck in a building with restrictive rules.
Marina Vallarta would suit a buyer willing to trade some yield for a deeper lifestyle and long-stay tenant base.
We would be much stricter in Amapas and Conchas Chinas. Beautiful views do not compensate a cash-flow investor for a 4% net return unless the purchase price is unusually good.
If a property can realistically generate MXN 300,000 a year after normal operating expenses, paying MXN 4 million gives us a 7.5% net yield.
At MXN 5 million, it becomes 6%.
At MXN 6 million, 5%.
At MXN 7.5 million, only 4%.
That calculation is especially useful in Puerto Vallarta now because long selling times give patient buyers permission to say no.
| Investment goal | Areas we would check first | Why | What could kill the deal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strong long-term cash flow | Versalles | High rent relative to entry price | Overpaying for new construction |
| Central value | Las Glorias | Practical location and solid yields | Weak building quality |
| Walkable furnished rental | Centro / 5 de Diciembre | Broad medium- and long-stay demand | Noise, parking or older-building issues |
| Vacation rental | Selected Zona Romántica | Walkability and tourist demand | Premium purchase price or rental restrictions |
| Lower-volatility lifestyle rental | Marina Vallarta | Deep tenant base and strong infrastructure | HOA costs and lower yield |
| Luxury + personal use | Amapas / Conchas Chinas | Views and prestige | Poor rent-to-price ratio |
Is rental property worth buying in Puerto Vallarta today?
Yes, Puerto Vallarta rental property is still worth buying today, but we would buy for cash flow at the right price rather than bet on another easy property boom.
Long-term apartment data still shows modeled net yields around 7% in the best Versalles examples and around the mid-5% range in several central neighborhoods. Puerto Vallarta also supports one of Mexico's deepest vacation-rental markets, with thousands of active listings and average short-term rental revenue around US$31,400 in AirDNA's latest completed dataset.
The weaker evidence is equally clear.
International airport traffic is sharply below last year's level. Hotel occupancy has softened. Airbnb nightly rates and RevPAR have both declined. Condo sales remain well below last year's pace, and the average unit now spends roughly nine months on the market.
Active condo inventory and new listings are finally dropping, which suggests the worst of the post-boom inventory buildup may already be behind the market.
For long-term income, Versalles and other central value neighborhoods currently look stronger than the expensive hillsides.
For Airbnb, Zona Romántica and selected central tourist locations can still work, although weaker pricing power means the exact unit and acquisition price matter much more than they did a few years ago.
Luxury areas such as Amapas and Conchas Chinas make more sense when personal enjoyment is part of the return. Their rent-to-price ratios are simply too weak for us to rank them among Puerto Vallarta's best pure rental investments.
Our judgment is clear: Puerto Vallarta remains worth buying when today's rent already justifies today's price. Future appreciation should be treated as upside rather than as the reason the deal works.
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OUR METHODOLOGY
This analysis asks whether Puerto Vallarta is still a good idea for a rental property by breaking the investment case into the parts that actually determine whether the numbers work: property supply and resale liquidity, tourism demand, short-term rental performance, long-term rental economics, neighborhood-level yields, operating costs, and the legal framework for foreign owners.
We prioritized recent evidence that could materially change an investment decision, while using longer historical series where they helped distinguish a short-term movement from a structural shift. Condo transaction volumes were read alongside active inventory and days on market rather than in isolation.
Tourism flows and hotel occupancy were compared with Airbnb occupancy, average daily rates and RevPAR. Rental income was then tested against current acquisition prices, because a strong rent figure means much less when the purchase price has already absorbed most of the return.
Where indicators appeared to conflict, we looked at what each one was actually measuring. A rising median sale price can coexist with weaker pricing per square meter if the mix of properties sold changes. Higher Airbnb occupancy can also coexist with weaker rental economics when nightly rates and RevPAR are falling.
Some datasets cover slightly different geographic areas or property populations, so we used those comparisons directionally when they were not exact property-for-property matches. The goal was not to manufacture one universal Puerto Vallarta yield, but to see whether multiple independent datasets pointed toward the same investment conclusion.
For neighborhood comparisons, we focused on the income generated for the capital required rather than on popularity, prestige or headline rents. That is why central areas such as Versalles and Las Glorias can rank better for pure income than more expensive view-driven areas such as Amapas and Conchas Chinas.
For short-term rentals, we treated AirDNA's annual revenue figure cautiously because the measured active-listing pool changed sharply year over year. Occupancy, ADR and RevPAR were therefore important cross-checks rather than secondary statistics.
Operating costs were treated as part of the investment case, not as an afterthought. HOA charges, utilities, maintenance, management, vacancy, insurance, furniture replacement and taxes can remove several percentage points from a gross yield, especially in amenity-heavy vacation-rental buildings.
We also treated future appreciation as upside rather than part of the base case. The final judgment is built primarily on income that can reasonably be supported now, the price required to obtain that income, the likely operating costs, the depth of tenant or guest demand, and the difficulty of eventually reselling the property.
Key market sources include AMPI Riviera Nayarit and Teseo Data Lab on condo inventory and demand, Teseo Data Lab's Puerto Vallarta / Riviera Nayarit market outlook, Teseo's year-end 2025 market report, Coldwell Banker La Costa's July 2026 FlexMLS analysis, AirDNA's Puerto Vallarta short-term rental dashboard, TheLatinvestor's neighborhood apartment price, rent and yield models, and Propiedades.com's Versalles rental tracker.
Tourism and legal sources include Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico's official passenger releases, DataTur's hotel-occupancy data, DataTur's aviation data, the Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores on restricted-zone fideicomisos, SRE's current fideicomiso permit fees, the Mexican Constitution, the Foreign Investment Law, its implementing regulation, SAT's ISR rules for technological platforms, SAT's platform-tax guidance, and Jalisco's Civil Code provisions relevant to condominium ownership.
Everything a foreign buyer should know before buying in Puerto Vallarta
The pack also covers how far below asking to go, which fees to refuse, and what a brochure is not telling you.
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