Maya Train Influx Doubles Housing Rents in Chetumal

Chetumal, Quintana Roo — The arrival of some 2,000 out-of-town workers for the Maya Train project has pushed housing rents in the state capital to double their previous levels, according to project supervisors and local real estate agents.

Since 2022, approximately 2,000 people have moved to Chetumal and surrounding areas to work on the rail project, taking jobs as laborers, technicians, supervisors and managers. The influx has created a surge in demand for rental housing.

In neighborhoods near the city’s airport, such as Tumbencuxtal, Jardines, Lagunitas and Forjadores, a two-bedroom home with a bathroom, dining room and kitchen that once rented for about 4,000 pesos a month now costs more than 10,000 pesos, officials with the project’s supervision staff said.

In more distant neighborhoods, including Caribe, Payo Obispo, Proterritorio and Américas, houses and apartments that rented for 2,500 pesos a month now go for at least 5,000 pesos, according to the Mexican Association of Real Estate Professionals (AMPI).

Workers began arriving in 2022, when clearing work started at the site where the Chetumal station is being built next to the international airport, as well as at the maintenance workshop on the grounds of the former Expoferia fair.