“I have $230,000, what should I buy in Tulum?” is the most honest question we get, because it comes with a number instead of a fantasy. Here is our answer, based on our catalog as open on October 15, 2026, and on the criteria we would use if the money were ours.
Of the 30 Tulum properties with a published price and currency, the median is 180,860 USD. With 230,000 you can get into 22 of them: more than seven out of ten.
What fits in the budget
From lowest to highest price, with the published floor area. Peso prices are converted to dollars at 18.46 MXN/USD, the exchange rate on October 15, 2026:
- 86,654 USD — Eterna 401, 33.92 m²
- 90,000 USD — Muuk 310, 47.56 m²
- 91,257 USD — Aldea Savia
- 92,070 USD — Erena 109, 49.65 m²
- 100,193 USD — Noil Foresta Estudio, 45 m²
- 102,847 USD — Blue Luxury 202B, 49 m²
- 119,149 USD — Bohemian La Veleta, 106 m²
- 125,000 USD — Adora 401, 45.27 m²
- 132,688 USD — Selva Madre 05, 63.56 m²
- 132,688 USD — Ney 4, 63 m²
- 149,000 USD — Naia Uhm D202, 51 m²
- 149,000 USD — Lik Tulum C 503, 42 m²
- 151,639 USD — Eterna 201, 70.91 m²
- 160,000 USD — Omara 306, 113.9 m²
- 162,720 USD — Xaana, 62.17 m²
- 199,000 USD — BIT Casa 2, 151.2 m²
- 199,000 USD — Amaka PH 302, 160 m²
- 203,095 USD — Nequén Tulum 304, 73.6 m²
- 215,000 USD — Nequén Kukulkán 426, 71.2 m²
- 216,093 USD — Aldea Savia D35, 134 m²
- 220,000 USD — Sanctuary Tulum 203, 96.06 m²
- 220,000 USD — Paramar Ve 102, 125 m²
By area, those 22 listings break down as follows: Other areas of Tulum 8, La Veleta 6, Región 15 4, Aldea Zamá 3, Zona Kukulkán 1.
What the price per square meter tells you
Among the listings with a published floor area, the one with the lowest price per square meter is Bohemian La Veleta, at about 1,124 USD per m², and the highest is Lik Tulum C 503, at about 3,548 USD per m². The largest unit that fits the budget is Amaka PH 302, with 160 m² at 199,000 USD.
Put plainly: the same money buys either a compact studio in a central location or a spacious apartment farther out. Neither is “better”; they serve different purposes.
How we would choose based on your goal
If your goal is nightly rentals: what matters is being within walking distance of what tourists are looking for. We would prioritize the Aldea Zamá and La Veleta listings, even if they offer less floor area.
If your goal is to preserve wealth: more square meters per dollar. Here the larger listings carry the most weight, even if they are farther from the center.
If your goal is to use it yourself for part of the year: choose the unit that doesn’t force you to rely on rental income to pay for it.
These are our own criteria, not a measured result. We have no occupancy or actual rental data for these units, and we won’t make any up.
Three tiers within the 230,000
The budget is not a single block: it has three tiers, and the floor area changes a lot from one to the next.
- Up to 120,000 USD: 7 listings, with a median floor area of 48.3 m². These are studios and small apartments. The entry price is the lowest in the catalog.
- From 120,000 to 170,000 USD: 8 listings, with a median floor area of 62.6 m². This is the middle tier of the catalog.
- From 170,000 to 230,000 USD: 7 listings, with a median floor area of 125 m². This is where large apartments, houses and penthouses begin.
The useful takeaway is the floor area: going from the first tier to the third multiplies it by more than two and a half. Before stretching your budget, ask yourself whether those extra square meters will be used or rented, because the meters that aren’t rented still have to be maintained and paid for.
The exchange rate buys, too
Part of the catalog is priced in pesos. At 18.46 pesos to the dollar, a 3,750,000-peso apartment is worth about 203,000 dollars; if the peso moves by 5%, that same listing changes by about 10,000 dollars without the developer lifting a finger. It is neither a minor risk nor a sure opportunity: it is a variable you have to watch on the day you sign, not the day you visit.
Pre-sale or delivered: another filter
Among the 22 there are pre-sale units and others that are ready to move into. The difference is not in the list price, but in when you start paying for everything else: maintenance, furnishing and the wait with no rental income. If this topic interests you, we have two related reads:
Tulum areas ranked by real yield
and
what 150,000 USD buys.
What falls just outside
8 Tulum listings with a published price exceed 230,000 dollars. The closest is Tao Tulum G106, at 235,000 USD: only 5,000 dollars above the cap. If that is your case, it is worth asking whether the developer negotiates or whether there is an equivalent unit lower down.
What to add to the price
The published price is not what leaves your account. Before deciding, ask in writing for: closing costs, transfer taxes, fees, furniture if the unit is delivered unfurnished, and the monthly maintenance fee. Each listing is calculated differently and the figures vary from one development to another; that is why we don’t give a round percentage here.
Before you reserve, three checks
- That the seller can show the property title or, in a pre-sale, the contract with the payment schedule and the delivery date in writing.
- That the price and floor area you were given match what is published.
- That payment goes to an account in the name of the developer or the seller, never a different person.
If you would like the full table of all 22 with a link to each listing and our recommendation for your case, write to us and we will send it to you.
#TulumDespierta #DespiertaTulum
Own catalog of inversionesdemexico.com read on October 15, 2026: 79 properties published in Spanish, 47 in Tulum, 30 with an explicit price and currency. Peso-to-dollar conversion at 18.46 MXN/USD (October 15, 2026). Prices change; these are the ones as of that date. Recommendations by goal are editorial judgment, not a yield calculation.
Versión en español: Qué compraría hoy en Tulum con 230.000 USD · Versão em português: O que eu compraria hoje em Tulum com US$ 230 mil · Version française: Tulum : que acheter aujourd’hui avec 230 000 USD ?
