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In a recent issue of the Economist, features an article entitled “Open for Business” regarding Mexico, and how it is managing to stay “open” whereas other countries are talking about building walls and taking apart existing trade deals. Britain is considering withdrawing from the European Untion, the EU is overwhelmed with a refugee problem, a U.S. presidential candidate talks of building a wall between the U.S. and Mexico, and Brazil seems to be closing its doors, rather than opening them.

Here’s some highlights from the article, starting with the good news…

• Mexico…continues to carry a torch for globalisation. President Enrique Peña Nieto’s administration boasts about the country’s 44 trade deals, more than any other country, and its 11 reform initiatives.
• The World Bank calculates that Mexico is one of the most open large economies in the world: exports plus imports are equivalent to 66% of GDP, compared with 26% for Brazil and 42% for China.
• Mexico is now one of the world’s top 15 manufacturing economies and one of its top five car producers. The output of the ten largest car plants rose from 1.1m vehicles in 1994 to 2.9m in 2012.
• The Boston Consulting Group finds in a survey that its people take a positive view of the future: 77% of Mexicans say they are optimistic, and only 6% that they are very pessimistic. Mexicans see the likes of Donald Trump as being cut from the same cloth as the old-fashioned Latin American strongmen who ruined the region through protectionism and gesture politics.

However…

1. Mexico is one of the world’s most unequal societies. Perhaps half of Mexicans are still poor and parochial, beset by crime and corruption, and poorly served by schools and banks.
2. The economy is hobbled by a long tail of inefficient firms: the McKinsey Global Institute, a think-tank, points out that, though the productivity of Mexico’s globalised companies has risen by 5.8% a year since 1999, the productivity of small, traditional firms has fallen by 6.5% a year.
3. Poorer regions, especially in the south, are mired in the past, too far from the American border to benefit from the manufacturing boom.
4. These problems have held back the economy’s growth rate to a disappointing 2-3% over the past 30 years. They have also supplied the drugs cartels (which benefit from globalisation in their own, malign way) with an endless supply of young recruits.

Read more here.

Puerto Vallarta: Everything You Need or Want To Know, is the name of a Facebook group that has over 6,000 members and provides information with regards to just that; everything you may want or need to know about living in Puerto Vallarta. If you are new to Vallarta, planning on moving here, or already are here and want to help others out, you may find this Facebook group interesting. Click on the link above and then throw out a question regarding really anything concerning living in Vallarta and you’ve got potentially 6,000 people who could provide an answer for you. Also potentially very useful are a number of documents under Files that hold recommendations from members for things such as plumbers, handymen, property managers, appliance repairs, etc. 

When it comes to buying real estate, you can either purchase something that already exists, a re-sale or “pre-existing” property, or you can purchase a “pre-sale” property, something that does not yet exist, that is or will be in the construction phase and at closing is not yet completely finished. The differences are important when it comes to buying real estate. With a re-sale at closing you will be obtaining the title (either in your name or to be held in a trust “fideicomiso”), while with a pre-sale you are often closing before title is available, and that has some inherent risks which every buyer should be fully aware of. Local real estate lawyer David Connell has an article on this site that discusses the general types of “pre-sale” projects that exist, what you should negotiate for if you are making an offer on a pre-sale property, what happens if the developer disappears and no one is on the project to complete the project, and most importantly, what are the chances of that happening and how you can reduce that risk and protect yourself. The article is worth reviewing if you are considering purchasing a pre-sale property.

A favorite past time for many in Puerto Vallarta and Riviera Nayarit is golf and there are a number of courses in the area, although not all are available to the public. There are three courses (Marina Vallarta two courses at Vista Vallarta) in Puerto Vallarta while in Riviera Nayarit there are seven: Punta Mita (2), Vidanta (2), Paradise Village, Flamingos, and Litibú. The courses of Punta Mita, however, are private, so there are actually only eight open to the public, with limited play available at Vidanta because of demand during the high season.

If you want to golf regularly, a good option is to consider joining a club and becoming a member. Most clubs offer two types; a full member where 100% of the green fees are included, or a “sport” or “social” membership which costs less but involves still paying a portion (usually 50%) of the green fee when you play.

Interestingly, even though we are in Mexico and nearly everything is charged in the national currency of pesos, some golf courses around the bay still charge in U.S. dollars. With the recent devaluation of the Canadian and Mexican currencies, this has made golf substantially more expensive for these golfers than it was a few years ago.

PUERTO VALLARTA

Marina Vallarta Golf Club

(322) 221-0073 ext. 133

The golf course at Marina Vallarta is a challenging one, perhaps the most challenging of all the courses in the area. Fairways are narrow and there are plenty of water hazards throughout the course, including crocodiles! The have a new membership category called “Social” and it involves an annual fee of US$835.00 including taxes, which allows you 50% off posted rates and 25% off the posted rates at their sister courses at Vista Vallarta. Other benefits include:

• Access to dining and lounge areas
• 25% off food and beverages
• Unlimited use of the driving range
• Free bag storage
• Free day-locked (when available)

Green fee rates for 2016 are US$139.00 until 1PM and US$111.00 thereafter, (twilight) plus IVA tax. 

If you want to go for the full 10-year membership it will cost you just over US$4,000 upfront with annual dues (including the cart), of nearly US$5,800.00, with taxes included. You’ve got to pay a lot of golf to get your money back on these amounts, a little difficult if you are only here six months of the year.

Vista Vallarta Golf

(322) 290-0030

There are two golf courses at Vista Vallarta by Jack Nicklaus and Tom Weiskopf, but they do not offer a special membership package for those who may be here just a few months out of the year, only full-year memberships.

• Golf Rates – Prime Time: (7 a.m.-1p.m.) $209
• Twilight (1 p.m.): $155
• Super Twilight (3 p.m.): $111
• Replay (same day, same course): $113

NAYARIT

Paradise Village Golf & Country Club

(322) 226-8191

Over in Nuevo Vallarta is the El Tigre golf course inside the gates of Paradise Village. The also, offer a reduced package for locals called the “Sport” membership. It costs $1,740.00 per year also gives you 50% off posted green fee rates. Other benefits include:

• Access to the El Tigre Sports and Racquet Club
• Access to the Golf Clubhouse and restaurant facilities
• Access to the Beach Club
• Access to the Jacuzzi, saunas, etc., at the Hacienda Spa with 10% off spa treatments
• 10% off food and beverages

Flamingos Golf

(329) 296-5006

Flamingos offers reasonable priced golf and they do so in pesos. They offer a number of very flexible program: you can pay buy the day, buy a package rounds or purchase a six-month membership. The local daily rate is actually a very good one, at $1,290.00 pesos. Other rates are:

• Daylight rate: $2,538.00
• Twilight rate: $1,290.00
• Local rate: $1,290.00 (must show IFE or Immigration card)
• 5 Round Package: $5,655.00 (1 month)
• 10 Round Package: $10,295 (2 months)
• 20 Rounds Package: $18,850.00 (3 months)
• Gold Player Unlimited Membership: $40,600.00 (6 months)

Vidanta Golf Club

(322) 176-1458

There are two great courses at Vidanta in Nuevo Vallarta, a Greg Norman and a Jack Nicklaus. As well, there is a 10-hole, par three walking course that is planned for the near future. During high season, however, tee times are often reserved for guests and owners only of Vidanta so it can be difficult to get tee times. Your odds are better during the off season, if you are in town. It should be noted that Vidanta has an excellent golf academy with twin and putting analysis, lessons, club fitting and actual on-the-course lessons available. Contact Vidanta directly for more information.

• Jack Nicklaus Rates: $150 plus Caddy Fee ($57 plus tip per group)
• Greg Norman Rates: $175 plus Caddy Fee ($57 plus tip per group)

Vidanta Summer Local Membership Plan

Vidanta has a summer membership plan for locals that costs $5,000 Pesos Per Month (Plus IVA) or $15,000 Pesos from April 1st to November 1st (Plus IVA) Caddy Fee Not Included in these fees. Because the resort is so busy during high season, these are the only dates they can offer access to locals.

• One Month or Season Long (Until 11/1/16)
• Add Spouse for 50% Off the Same Program Cost
• Unlimited Jr. Plan (15 Under/Walking Only) $1500 Month/$5,000 Season
• Proof of Local Residence Needed (Driver’s License, Electricity Bill, etc)
• Unlimited Daily Golf
• Choose From 36 Holes- The Nicklaus or The Norman Course
• Unlimited Range Access
• Unlimited Golf Car Fees
• 10% off Bar Car Purchases
• Free Initial Hour Swing Analysis from the Vidanta Golf Academy
• Vidanta Golf Members will Receive 25% off Any Lesson Package
• Access to the Vidanta Golf Academy Video Library
• Long Game, Short Game, Wedge Play, and Trouble Shot Notebooks
• Follow-up Swing Analysis via the V1 App with Tom Stickney, Director of the Vidanta Golf Academies & Golf Magazine Top 100 Instructor
• Vidanta Summer Golf Members Receive Advanced Bookings Privileges
• Preferred Tee-Times Blocked for Vidanta Summer Golf Members Only
• Taylor Made, Titlelist, or Callaway Rental Clubs Offered at 50% Off

Litibú Golf Club

(329) 298-4091

This is a government-owned course that is inside the gates of the tourism development in Litibu. They don’t offer memberships but do have packages of green fees. Purchasing between 10-19 green fees offers a 30% discount. Between 20-49 a 35% discount and 50 or more a 40% discount. Regular fees are $1,600 pesos prime time and $1,200 pesos for Twilight (after 2PM). The discounted rates include a golf cart.

PRIVATE COURSES

Punta Mita

Punta Mita has two great golf courses by Jack Nicklaus, but playing there is reserved for property owners or hotel guests.

Conclusion

The best day rate is at Flamingos, followed by Litibú, which unfortunately are quite a ways away for people in Vallarta, and especially South Shore golfers. For them, their best bet may be Marina Vallarta, which also offers discounts to play at the Vista Vallarta courses. An advantage regarding the green fee packages is you can share them with your spouse, family and friend, purchasing more and getting further discounts. Whereas at Marina Vallarta the membership is per person only.

For more information about golf in Vallarta and Riviera Nayarit, visit this page.

MLSVallarta.com, which has provided Multiple Listing Service (MLS) to the Puerto Vallarta and Riviera Regions since 1988 and is recognised as perhaps the top website regarding information about local real estate, recently rebranded itself to accommodate for a new direction the company is undergoing. At the beginning of this year MLSVallarta partnered with the marketing and IT company Play Us Design to take over certain aspects of the operations of the MLS service and to assist with this new campaign.

Working together they have come up with a new “look & feel” for the website, a new color scheme and logo, to accentuate the friendliness of using the website and MLS service, and, to differentiate it from other similar MLS systems operating in the region.

To assist with the changes a new character is being introduced named “iLi” who will help guide users through the system so they can easily search for properties and developments, explore the many popular real estate communities around the Bay of Banderas, keep up-to-date with new, blog posts and the any articles regards g buying and selling real estate in Mexico.

MLSVallarta is fully bilingual (English & Spanish), however coming soon it will also be able to allow users to search for properties in the currency they prefer, be it U.S. or Canadian Dollars, or Pesos. And that’s just the of many new features to be added to the system.

The biggest changes, however, are taking place behind the scenes. The 25 year-old database is being overhauled and when complete it will function much faster and allow for many new features to be easily implemented. The administrative side of the system, where members add/change/update listings, is being rebuilt and will be ready to showcase in the next couple of months.

In the meantime, take the opportunity to meet iLi and explore the new and improved MLS service for the local real estate market, at MLSVallarta.com.

“America is aging. As the Baby Boom begins to enter retirement years, new challenges are arising with significant implications for both borrowers and lenders. In particular, given the impact of aging on memory and other cognitive skills, there is a need to consider the implication for financial decisions made by older individuals. By the time individuals are arriving into traditional retirement ages, when many important financial decisions are made, cognitive skills are already in decline as part of normal cognitive aging.”

So begins a recent study by the Mortgage Bankers Association entitled Cognition and the Housing Behavior of Older Americans, which was drawn from interviews with approximately 25,000 Americans in 2012 and is a sample representative of 43 million individuals 65 and older.

We are living longer, and the retirement period of retirement today has been extended, once a period traditionally seen for slowing down, taking on fewer responsibilities, no longer challenged by work, only by, so it is suggested, by play. But not continuing to be challenged can lead to a loss of cognition skills. Memory and cognition seem to hold on relatively stable into our 70s, but then decline fairly rapidly thereafter. Likewise, the incidence of memory disease rises steadily with age. By age 90, the study reports, about 20 percent of us will suffer from memory disease, which will lead to difficulty in managing money. And as increased longevity pushes financial decisions to later ages, any way that cognition can be improved and/or its natural decline forestalled, are welcome.

“If, as the adage goes, 85 is the new 65, then 85-year olds will be faced with many financial decisions that 65-year olds once made, but now with lower cognitive acuity. Finally, with population aging, each year there are just more older individuals. So, greater cognitive burdens are be placed on greater portions of adult America.”

The study reports that “cognitive skills are seen as critical determinants of financial outcomes and economic well-being over the life course. Cognitive psychologists often divide skills into those involving fluid intelligence and those involving crystallized intelligence. The former are thinking skills: executive function, abstract reasoning, and memory. These peak in the teenage years and then slowly depreciate with age. As individuals age through their early and mid-adult lives, the decline in fluid intelligence is offset by rising crystallized intelligence, which can be characterized as knowing skills, accumulated from formal and information education, training, and life experiences. These rise with age until individuals hit their 50’s and then decline. So, by the time individuals are arriving into traditional retirement ages, when many important financial decisions are made, cognitive skills are already in decline as part of normal cognitive aging.”

Many who own property in Vallarta also have a home in their place of principal residence as well. This means twice of everything to take care of, and that can be demanding, especially financially. We want to ensure we are making the best decisions regarding our homes, which for many are the largest assets they own.

What can one do? One method we should all implement that the study recommends is the “use it or lose it” approach, in which more stimulating environments help to preserve, and perhaps enhance, cognitive acuity. By keeping active, both mentally and physically, any number of ways. Perhaps continuing to work part-time, writing that book you’ve always wanted to do, or becoming an expert in some field. Which, in this age of the Internet, is not difficult to do.

But that isn’t enough, as the study notes. As we get near 80 we all should have someone we have confidence in, younger than us, that we can discuss our financial matters with. In the best circumstance, a son or daughter, or a past, close business associate. Many may have been working with a financial advisor over the years, problem is they are aging right along with us so change may need to be made. But we shouldn’t go into our later years concerned about our finances, making a bad decision, because of what we inevitably cannot avoid.

As the high season in Puerto Vallarta begins to taper down, so, for the most part, does the peak period for the real estate market. Looking back over this past season many realtors have commented that it did not live up to their expectations – they did not meet their numbers of the previous season in 2014-15. There were a few that did well, some exceptionally, but for the most part, they were a minority.

So what happened?

1. Whenever an election takes place, especially an American presidential election, people tend to hold off making any large purchases such as real estate. They are distracted, concerned, and want to see it settled and who will be the next president before making any big decisions. This election has been on the minds of many Americans, especially one which has so far proven to be quite controversial.
2. For Canadians and Mexicans, their ability to buy has been hampered by the fact that real estate is sold in the Vallarta region in U.S. dollars. And in 2015 both the Canadian and Mexican currencies suffered large losses when compared to the USD. It meant in many cases that real estate was 50% more expensive for them than it was a couple of years ago, even though prices (in USD) hadn’t really appreciated very much, if at all. I cover this more in this article.
3. And the rental trend continues, with many choosing to rent over buying. There is a large inventory and variety of properties to choose from, at what have been reasonable rates.

So what can we expect looking forward?

1. The U.S. election will be over and settled by the end of this year. This will allow people to once again to begin thinking seriously about where they’d like a second- or retirement home. People who were interested this past year didn’t stop wanting to buy, their buying decision was just delayed.
2. Both the Canadian and Mexican currencies have bounced back some. Whether this will continue is uncertain, but if at least if they remained more consistent with the USD that would bring more confidence into the marketplace.
3. On any downturn in the Vallarta real estate market, recovery is usually led first by an interest in rentals. Slowly these renters turn into buyers as they realise they want a place of their own, with spend more time, or perhaps move full time to Puerto Vallarta. Perhaps we’ll see that shift beginning to appear next year.
4. Another trend that realtors mention is buyers saying they are tired of the uncertainty and fluctuations of the stock markets. That it seems to be due for a correction and they’d rather take some of their investments out and move them into real estate. And there certainly are some very good deals and pricing right now in the market for those wishing to diversify and/or reallocate.
5. What is taking place in Europe regarding migrants and terrorism attacks is horrible, and it will, unfortunately, influence people’s decisions regarding travel and real estate purchasing. Their unfortunate loss could be Mexico’s gain.

So although 2105 didn’t meet up to everyone’s hopes, many are of the opinion that the 2015/16 season will be much better, even topping 2014.