Anyone starting to look in Tulum usually begins with a vague idea: “I want to invest.”
But a 45-square-meter apartment, a studio, and an entire building are three different purchases,
with three different budgets, three types of buyer, and three ways to make or lose
money. We measured it with the one thing that doesn’t lie: our real inventory.
What’s listed, counted today
We read the listings in our database on October 23, 2026. Of the 79 properties
in Spanish, 34 are classified by type as “in Tulum”:
- 19 apartments
- 5 studios
- 3 penthouses
- 3 buildings
- 4 houses or villas
There are also other listings in the area with no property type tagged, which are not included in this count.
We converted peso prices to dollars at 17.897 MXN per USD, the exchange rate we used in
our previous articles; these are our own calculations based on list prices, not market
values.
The apartment: the most common format and the easiest to compare
Of the 19 apartments, 18 show a price. They range from about $106,000 to $280,000
and the median is $159,800. Their size runs from 45 to 177
square meters, with a median of 71.
When a listing shows both price and size (16 of the 19), the price per square meter
comes out between about $1,160 and $3,020, with a median of $2,190. That
spread is the important part: two apartments with the same total price can
cost twice as much per square meter. Before comparing, divide.
It’s the format for those who want to get in without committing a fortune and with a
clear exit: there are plenty of buyers and tenants for this size.
The studio: the cheapest way in, but not the cheapest per square meter
The 5 listed studios range from $89,400 to $149,000, with a
median of about $95,000, and measure between 34 and 50 square meters. It’s the lowest
entry ticket in the entire inventory.
Here’s the detail the price tag hides: per square meter, the studio comes out
more expensive than the apartment. Its median is about $2,300
per square meter, versus $2,190 for the apartment, and the range goes up to
$3,550. You pay less overall, but each square meter costs the same or more. It’s a purchase driven by
budget, not unit price, and that’s fine as long as you’re clear about it.
An example with real listings: a 34-square-meter studio at $89,400 works out to about
$2,635 per square meter; another of 47.6 square meters at $90,000 works out to about $1,890. Almost the same total price,
and the second gives you 14 more square meters. Without dividing, the two listings look identical.
The penthouse: paying for the rooftop, not the square meters
The 3 penthouses range from $199,000 to $495,000, with a median of
$275,000 and between 119 and 266 square meters. Per square meter they come out cheaper than studios: a median
of about $1,860. They give you more space for every dollar, but with three listings the sample is
small and it’s not wise to draw a rule from it.
The entire building: a different kind of purchase
Here the logic changes. The 3 buildings cost about $475,000, $754,000 and
$990,000, with sizes of 484, 649 and 1,300 square meters. Per square meter, between
about $760 and $1,160: nearly half the price of an apartment.
But a building is not a big apartment. Whoever buys one isn’t buying a place to live in or to rent out for a few
months: they’re buying a business with units to operate.
It has to be managed, maintained, filled and, where applicable, taken through condominium
or land-use permits. The per-square-meter figure includes none of that, and it’s largely
why it comes out low. If you’re not ready to operate it, it’s not your format.
Houses and villas
The 4 listings in this group cover a wide range: from about $199,000 up to $899,000.
With so few listings, and so different from one another, we won’t give medians: each one
should be looked at on its own.
What people search for isn’t what’s for sale
This is the finding that surprised us most. In our site’s Search Console, from July 23 to October 21, 2026, searches containing the word “Tulum” add up to 64
queries and 303 impressions, with zero clicks. Not one of those 64 includes
“apartment,” “studio,” “building,” “house” or “penthouse.”
In other words: people who come to Tulum from Google almost never search by property
type, and yet the entire inventory is organized by type. There are two possible
readings and we don’t know which is right with such a small sample: either people decide on the format
after seeing the options, or they decide on other criteria (area, budget,
delivery date) and the type gets settled at the end. Either way, you should
arrive at the property type with the numbers worked out, not just a label.
How to choose among the three
- Start from the total money, not the type. With about $100,000, the
inventory offers studios. With $150,000 to $250,000, apartments come into play. From $475,000
up, we’re talking about buildings. - Always divide by square meter. A list price without a size compares
nothing. - Ask who operates it. Apartments and studios usually come with condominium
management. A whole building is operated by you, or you hire someone. - Check the paperwork before the photos. Registered deed, lien-free
status, property tax up to date, and condominium regime. It’s the step that saves the most money. - Set aside 5% to 8% of the value for closing costs on top of the
price, as a guideline; the exact amount depends on the transaction. - Decide how much time you want to dedicate to it. An apartment is bought and
left in the hands of a property manager; a building is a full-time job, with
tenants, maintenance and accounts. Choosing the format means choosing how much of your week it will
take up.
If you’re going to invest, do it with the numbers in front of you
The figures in this article are list prices from our inventory, not promises of
returns. None of them guarantees rental income or appreciation, and each listing has its own conditions.
What’s useful is what you can do with them: compare using the same yardstick and go into the
conversation with your own numbers.
If you’d like to see the real listings in your budget range, with the size, the price
per square meter, and what’s still left to review on each one, write to us and we’ll
send them to you.
Data from the inversionesdemexico.com inventory read on October 23, 2026, and from
Google Search Console (July 23 to October 21, 2026). Converted at 17.897 pesos per
dollar. Prices are list prices and may change; closing costs are approximate.
#TulumDespierta #DespiertaTulum
Versión en español: Departamento, estudio o edificio entero: qué se vende de verdad en Tulum · Versão em português: Apartamento, estúdio ou prédio inteiro: o que realmente vende em Tulum · Version française: Appartement, studio ou immeuble entier : ce qui se vend vraiment à Tulum
