- Foreign buyers
- Built with local realtors
- Updated this quarter
Here's 99% of what you need to know before buying in Puerto Vallarta.
The 12 documents we wish we had before buying in Puerto Vallarta. What each zone costs, what it earns on Airbnb, how fast it sells again. Plus the things nobody writes down: how far below asking to go, which fees to refuse, and what a brochure is not telling you.
The 12 documents to make a good real estate investment in Puerto Vallarta in 2026
Almost everything here is quoted to you in dollars, at a price a Mexican buyer would not be given. Most of these documents exist to close that gap. They are put together with realtors, notaría staff and owners we work with around the bay.
Questions
Do you list your sources?
Yes, on every table. Each one says where the figures came from and the month they were collected: the public property registry, published notaría fee schedules, listing histories we track ourselves, condo accounts shared with us by owners, and what the agents we work with on both sides of the bay are seeing week to week. Anything that is an estimate rather than a recorded number is labelled as one.
Can a foreigner actually own property here?
Yes, but not the way you would at home. Puerto Vallarta sits inside the coastal strip where foreigners hold property through a bank trust rather than in their own name. It is routine and it is safe, it just costs money to set up and every year afterwards. Document 07 covers what it adds to your bill and how it works when you sell.
How long are the documents?
One to four pages each. They are tables and checklists rather than reports, so any one of them takes about ten minutes to read.
Which areas do you cover?
Eighteen zones: Amapas, Conchas Chinas, Zona Romántica, El Centro, Cinco de Diciembre, Versalles, Fluvial, Marina Vallarta, Pitillal, Mismaloya, Nuevo Vallarta, Bucerías, La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, Punta de Mita, Sayulita and a few more. Jalisco and Nayarit are both in there, which matters, because the taxes and the land history are not the same on the two sides of the bay. If you need somewhere or a specific development that is not in there, write to us and we will put it together for you at no extra cost.
I have a question about my own situation.
Ask us. If the answer is in the research we already have, we will send it. If it needs a call to someone in that zone or a look at a specific building, we will do that too and come back to you, at no extra cost.
Is $49 a lot for a set of documents?
You are about to spend a few hundred thousand dollars on a property, in a country whose paperwork you did not grow up with. The wrong building, a developer who never delivers, fees you were not supposed to pay: there are plenty of ways this gets expensive. We have done the homework so that you do not have to.
What format are they in?
PDF, so you can read them on your phone, tablet or computer.
When do I get them?
Straight after payment. The download link appears on screen and a copy arrives by email.
How often are they updated?
Every quarter. Our contacts on the bay re-check the numbers before each release, so the version you download today is the one updated this quarter.
I have another question.
Ask us on the contact page and we will get back to you.
Three packs
The first pack has 4 documents, the second has 6, and the third has all 12 of our Puerto Vallarta research.
All the data and information in these documents was checked this year with agents, notaría staff and owners working around Banderas Bay.