The Opportunity:

Mexico is the latest South American country to see rising tourism and increased levels of interest from international property investors and analysts. Of course some areas have long been popular with American investors and holiday home buyers and are now at risk from over-supply. But new areas are springing up, where low property prices, rising tourism, and developing infrastructure aided in part by new property developments, are creating areas with massive growth potential.

One such area is Yucatan, which has a massive tourism market because of its gorgeous beaches, and its being home to some of the most important Mayan archaeological sites like Edzna and Calakmul, its historic importance means it is also protected from over-development.

Places of beauty with warm climates, great beaches, an abundance of tourist attractions and strict controls on over-development, are always great investment opportunities, especially when they begin being noticed by international tourists and tourism starts rising. Because demand will continually increase for resale properties, which will cause continued house price growth in the area, this will become even more true when new development stops. Rental yields will probably start at around 5-6%, but will increase as tourism and demand increases.

As is normal with emerging markets like Mexico, off-plan developments will likely be priced substantially below what the completed units will be worth, and therefore an opportunity is presented for immediate gain.

Flamingo Lakes Unique Opportunity

An opportunity exists for investors to participate alongside leisure-resort developers by investing in, and benefiting from, the relatively high returns generated by increasing land values during resort development. Specifically, this investment relates to the infrastructure stage of development of the Flamingo Lakes Golf and Country Club on the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. This second economic growth phase of development is where land normally experiences an increase in monetary value due to the installation of the infrastructure, but where much of the development risk has already been removed because the resort developer has completed the planning phase, obtained permits and secured offers of bank funding.

The infrastructure phase is traditionally a stage of wealth creation exclusively shared by the resort developers and banks. But Flamingo Lakes offers an alternative early-stage funding strategy that meets the needs of resort developers while creating an opportunity for investors.

It is normally only once the first two stages are completed that high-net-worth investors might be invited to invest in leisure resort developments, usually in the form of a discount for purchasing off-plan. However, in investing in the earlier infrastructure phase, the expectation of an investor would generally be "buy to flip", making an exit prior to the build-out phase.

The Property

Flamingo Lakes will be a gated resort consisting of 2,400 villas on private plots and 400 apartments, over an area of 2,350 acres incorporating an 840-acre private nature reserve.. Intended facilities include:

• Golf courses by John Jacobs Golf Associates: 18 hole championship and 9 hole.
• Tennis academy
• Resort restaurants
• Private nature reserve
• Beach clubhouse
• Spa
• Marina with mooring facilities
• Tropical beach
• Equestrian centre, other sports facilities and more

The Location:

Yucatan has already proved itself an economic success with the development of Cancun from a small fishing village of 500 residents in 1974 to a tourist destination that today has capacity for a million residents and visitors. Three hours drive from Cancun and 30 miles from the Gulf Coast, is the town of Merida, the regional capital of Yucatan. The "Paris of the West", it has the lowest crime rate per capita in all of Mexico. The region is vibrant, safe and easily accessible. Merida is about 40-minutes drive from Flamingo Lakes.