Playa Las Tortugas Real Estate

The Playa Las Tortugas real estate market consists of 17 villas and 10 undeveloped lots. All villas and lots are contained within the Playa Las Tortugas homeowners association which maintains the gardens, utilities, security, internet, water, waste, and other services. The homes are well-spaced with a large portion of the land set aside as gardens. The original developers adopted a generous setback from the beach, which enhances the quality of the Playa Las Tortugas experience. The thoughtful zoning includes “view corridors” to protect an ocean view for each home.

Active Listings

While some websites will list other houses for sale, they are often deep in contract and simply waiting for the paperwork to process with the various Mexican government agencies. The following houses are actively for sale in Playa Las Tortugas:

• Las Palmas

  A charming 2 bedroom, 2 1/2 bedroom home. It has ocean views and has been taken great care of by the current owners. It is not waterfront, but you can certainly hear the waves crashing and the beach is just a short stroll through the beautiful gardens. We have toured this house and loved it. The housekeeper said whenever the owners visit they spend most of their time tending to the house, and it shows. It is listed at US$364,000. For more information and photos visit this real estate website.

• Casa Linda

  One of the more grand homes in Playa Las Tortugas. Casa Linda is situated beachfront. It is one of the larger homes with 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. It has a striking, yet classic design. It is listed at US$695,000. For more information and photos visit this real estate website.

• Casa Coco

  The newest construction in Playa Las Tortugas, Casa Coco is a 2 bedroom 2 bath home set just behind the beachfront homes. It is listed for US$760,000 on this real estate website but for US$580,000 on this real estate website. I have to believe the $580,000 price is the correct one.

History

The Playa Las Tortugas property was originally purchased in 1999. After an initial set of villas was constructed, there has been a very gradual pace of building. Generally speaking, a new house is constructed every 3-4 years. Several of the undeveloped lots situated closer to the beach are held by current homeowners to protect their ocean views. Other lots in the back of Playa Las Tortugas near the estuary are held by other individuals for investment purposes or perhaps to build a home at some point.

General Layout

The entire community is situated on the beach with no roads between the homes and Playa Las Tortugas beach. The community was created within a working coconut plantation, which continues to provide a very modest income to the homeowners. The only building in the area that is not part of the homeowners association is the neighboring Platanitos Turtle Camp, to which the homeowners association provides some financial support. The turtle camp provides a fun and educational service to owners and their guests with a nightly release of baby turtles. To the north and east of the community is a 1,100-acre undeveloped estuary that wraps around Playa Las Tortugas. To the south is five miles of largely undeveloped beach, with the coconut plantation running along the entire length of the shore. Our rough estimate is that there are 250,000 coconut trees, but that is from counting the trees in a small area and explapolating that to the entire length of the plantation. Inland from the beach on the other side of the coconut trees is several thousand acres planted with mangos or sorghum, and much is just grass for grazing cows and horses.

Estuary Point

Just to the north of the development is a 7-acre plot of land situated on the corner with the ocean on one side and the estuary wrapping around on two sides. It is not part of the Playa Las Tortugas HOA, though the access road runs through the PLT property. Locals frequently use this spot for picnics, a jumping-off point for surfing Punta Custodio, or by fishermen who use nets to catch baitfish. In the past, there were rumors of a surf camp being located here, but it never materialized. It is a bit of a vulnerable spot given it has water on 3 sides. The sands on the beach will often shift, taking out coconut trees and the water will occasionally wash through parts of the land here.

Stalled Development by the Front Gate

The neighboring property to the south underwent a brief period of development that included the construction of underground culverts and cobblestone roads. But this effort was abandoned. It is difficult to find information on who owns the properties to the south. You will see older real estate sales signs in various places, many often severely worn by the weather, but that’s about it. The lots were marked off and a few were sold. Surprisingly, the lore goes that many years ago a few buyers arrived at the annual Playa Las Tortugas HOA meeting who were under the impression they were part of Playa Las Tortugas. They even had marketing materials showing the Playa Las Tortugas houses, as though that’s what prospective buyers were buying into. Sadly, they went away disappointed.

Punta El Custodio

The peninsula to the north, on the other side of the estuary, is called Punta El Custodio. It has 14 upscale villas, generally similar to Playa Las Tortugas. It is a gated development that is not far from the small, rustic, local beach of Playa Platanitos. It doesn’t have access to the beach access like Playa Las Tortugas, but the views from the point are amazing and the homes are well-situated among rocks and large trees. There isn’t a bridge linking Playa Las Tortugas to Punta Custodio, so you have to wade across at low tide or swim it during slack tide, to be safe.