CHICAGO and PLAYA DEL CARMEN, MEXICO, Jan. 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Christie’s International Real Estate, the global leader in luxury real estate, is expanding to the Mexican Caribbean and Yucatan Peninsula through a new agreement with leading local brokerage firm, Mexico Real Estate Group. To highlight its new affiliation with Christie’s International Real Estate, the brokerage is also changing its name to Christie’s International Real Estate Mexico Luxury Properties.
The firm will serve the states of Quintana Roo and Yucatan, including the booming resort and second-home destinations of Playa del Carmen, Cancun, Puerto Aventuras and Tulum. Later this year, the Playa del Carmen-based firm also plans to expand its existing operations in Merida, a burgeoning luxury market known for its colonial architecture and proximity to Mayan ruins, with the opening of a new office.
Founded in 2005 by Jason Waller, Christie’s International Real Estate Mexico Luxury Properties has grown from a solo endeavor into a thriving organization of 16 multilingual agents. Today, the company is led by Waller, his wife and co-owner Leah Campbell, chief operating officer Matthew Mathieson, and Elizabeth Gregg of Elimar Properties.
The firm is a fixture in the Yucatan Peninsula’s high-end residential market, which, according to Waller, is starting to come into its own, joining more established luxury locations in Mexico like Los Cabos and Puerto Vallarta. Waller notes that the vast majority of his clients hail from the United States, followed by Canada. Primary feeder markets include cold-weather cities like New York, Chicago, Montreal and Toronto, as well as southern cities like Charlotte, Atlanta and Dallas, which can access Cancun or Tulum’s new international airport with direct flights in about three hours. The region is also increasingly popular among Europeans. International homebuyers are drawn by the ease of ownership; modern infrastructure; and very low real estate taxes.
Luxury homes start at under $1 million but can exceed $10 million for the most exclusive oceanfront estates, and developers are consistently unveiling new projects to meet surging demand.
“The luxury market is very strong right now. There is more demand for million-dollar homes than there is for studio and one-bedroom condos,” notes Waller.
His firm’s current inventory includes a $3.85 million beachfront home in Puerto Aventuras with a pool and gym, a $2.9 million home on the beach in Tulum, and a $1.8 million four-bedroom condo located in a golf course community in Playacar.
Meanwhile, major infrastructure projects are also a boon to regional tourism and real estate. Tulum’s new Felipe Carrillo Puerto International Airport received its first international flight less than a year ago, greatly enhancing accessibility to the southern Riviera Maya. Previously, reaching Tulum from the Cancun airport required a two-hour drive. Also last year, the 967-mile Maya Train began operations. The train connects the Yucatan Peninsula’s archeological sites, colonial cities and popular beach resorts. Both projects will have a significant, positive long-term effect on the luxury real estate market, notes Waller, which is one of the main reasons his firm sought the Christie’s International Real Estate connection.
As the exclusive affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate in the Mexican Caribbean and Yucatan Peninsula, the brokerage will gain access to world-class marketing, international visibility for listings, and a connection to the iconic Christie’s auction house, for the referral of art and luxury goods.
Christie’s International Real Estate was also recently acquired by Compass (NYSE: COMP), the largest residential brokerage firm in the US by sales volume. Compass’ network of more than 34,000 US real estate agents offers another potentially rich referral pipeline for international brokers such as Christie’s International Real Estate Mexico Luxury Properties.
“We have been in this market for a long time and have built the most professional international team. But Christie’s International Real Estate will help us take our brand recognition to the next level and really highlight our expertise in luxury real estate,” says Waller.
“With their long track record of success and dedication to providing clients with white-glove service, Jason and his powerhouse team are the ideal partners to bring Christie’s International Real Estate’s world-class marketing and global network to buyers and sellers in the Mexican Caribbean and the Yucatan Peninsula,” says Kevin Van Eck, president of affiliate strategy, Christie’s International Real Estate.
Christie’s International Real Estate Mexico Luxury Properties continues Christie’s International Real Estate’s recent Caribbean expansion. The brand now serves more than 18 destinations in the Caribbean and features new affiliates in Aruba, Curacao, Barbados, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.
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About Christie’s International Real Estate
Christie’s International Real Estate has successfully marketed high-value real estate around the world for more than 30 years. Through its invitation-only Affiliate network spanning nearly 50 countries and territories, Christie’s International Real Estate offers incomparable services to a global clientele at the luxury end of the residential property market. Christie’s International Real Estate operates as a distinct luxury brand under the ownership of Compass, the largest residential real estate brokerage in the United States by sales volume. Founded in 2012 and based in New York City, Compass provides an end-to-end platform that empowers residential real estate agents to deliver exceptional service to seller and buyer clients. For more information, please visit www.compass.com.
- Jason Waller and Leah Campbell