San Miguel De Allende is Mexico’s best city for adventurers, culture critics, and vacationers. In fact, it has been named the World’s Best Small City five times by Condé Nast Traveler magazine! However, there’s something more interesting than the ancient stone walls and colorful residential spaces—combined with aesthetic shops, spas and over 550 restaurants of San Miguel De Allende—that make it worth the time and consideration of real estate investors.
San Miguel De Allende has experienced an increase in real estate investment confidence in the last few years. The city has been progressing compared to other Mexican cities, mainly thanks to its tourism industry. The growing real estate market in San Miguel has attracted overseas—especially North American expats—and local investors for several reasons.
While the city is at the heart of the thriving tourism industry, it is home to American retirees and younger expats in search of premium business locations and luxury estates for recreational and rental purposes, all at a fraction of U.S. prices. The strong buying power of the small population combined with the rapid influx of tourists from America and neighboring countries has facilitated a sudden surge in real estate market demands.
For many, San Miguel De Allende is a peaceful retreat and escape from the cacophony of the incessant noise of life stateside. Others find the historical and natural legacy of the city—preserved flawlessly by the tourism and heritage conservation departments—awe-inspiring. As it is evident that individuals in their 20s and 30s are immigrating to this vibrant city of Mexico, the demand in the housing market is touching new ceilings.
Currently, San Miguel de Allende has over 170,000 inhabitants, and foreign community representatives in the city suggest that nearly 15-20% of the inhabitants are foreigners. With exponential growth spurred by post-pandemic lifestyle changes, San Miguel is attracting real estate developers and builders as well. The ongoing construction of golf courses, malls, and other interesting places such as cafes, shops, restaurants, and premier hotels like the upcoming Waldorf-Astoria, is upgrading the city’s attractiveness.
As Mexico’s #2 Realtor nationwide and premier Broker for the Warren Buffett-led brand Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, Greg Gunter has also experienced increasing demands in the San Miguel housing markets, mainly from foreigners and people with a background in property investments. Gunter, a 12-year veteran of real estate dealings, claims that the ongoing construction projects at the outskirts of San Miguel De Allende are boosting local engagement and driving business success.
With younger families finding haven in this UNESCO World Heritage City—Gunter’s last clients were 37-year-old Dutch parents of two young children—there are also increasing demands for state-of-the-art offices and prime corporate properties. However, what fuels the flourishing real estate market of San Miguel De Allende is the ongoing efforts to preserve the naturally and historically significant sites – at present, 64 blocks highlighted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, UNESCO, which has named the city’s core a World Heritage Site.
Top realtors in Mexico, including Greg Gunter, indicate that rampant luxury hotel development, renovation, and acquisition by internationally-admired developers is another reason behind the progressive real estate market in San Miguel De Allende.
Broker Gunter—an architect and MBA who opened Mexico’s first and flagship office for Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices in 2020—has garnered an unmatched reputation for acquiring the most picturesque and awe-inspiring properties for private investors, including the city’s record-breaking Starchitect home by Ricardo Legorreta, a $6.995MM estate. He believes that the nomination of San Miguel De Allende by UNESCO as a world heritage site and its rising popularity among American tourists are leading to the inevitable and exponential growth of the real estate market. Today, the historical landscape of San Miguel holds some of the most awe-inspiring properties acquired by property investors as vacation and Golden-Years homes!