Tulum’s Rent Crisis Pushes Out Locals

Tulum, Mexico — The dream of moving to Tulum to work and live near the sea has become, for many, a costly illusion. Over the last five years, the average price of rentals in the municipality has skyrocketed by up to 200%, turning the city into one of the most expensive destinations in Quintana Roo in which to live.

What once cost between 5,000 and 8,000 pesos now easily exceeds 15,000 or 20,000, even in working-class neighborhoods. A townhouse in La Veleta, for example, with three bedrooms, a pool, and a rooftop, is currently offered for 35,000 pesos per month, while an unfurnished apartment in the same area costs 8,000 pesos. In contrast, in Aldea Tulum, a two-bedroom rental with basic amenities remains at 7,500 pesos, but only because it includes internet and maintenance.

“A worker who earns between 8,000 and 12,000 pesos a month cannot sustain a dignified rent in Tulum. If they’re lucky, they share a room or live far from the center,” explained Javier Montes, a real estate broker with more than a decade in the sector.

According to him, tourist demand and the arrival of foreigners with high purchasing power have distorted the market: “The problem is that the value of the land and the rents are calculated in dollars, but the salaries remain in pesos.”

Montes recalls that in 2020 there were apartments in the central zone for 5,000 pesos, but that today it is almost impossible to find anything similar for less than 10,000. “Local people or hospitality workers are moving to irregular settlements because there are no affordable formal options,” he warns.

The price surge has caused an estimated 2,500 families to currently live in the 14 irregular settlements of Tulum, according to municipal authorities’ estimates. In those settlements, rents vary between 3,000 and 5,000 pesos per month, and even palapas for 2,500 pesos, although many homes lack basic services like drainage or public lighting.