Great find, that was a very interesting read. But I think there are a few things that guy has/had working against him - as far as the challenges for making faster progress.
First, as with any business, there's always the supply/demand equation. There's a lot out there competing (supply) with the high end that he's going for - and from a pure quantity or volume perspective, "high end" has a much smaller market (demand).
Second, given the real estate and global financial crisis of 2008/2009, it's no wonder something like what he has in La Paz pretty much came to a halt. In fact, the Escalera Nautica project that was a significant driver for projects like this one in La Paz had also come to a screeching halt with the world economic crisis. Notice... that sort of situation doesn't occur with every market cycle, so there's no reason to think during the next US market downturn - or Mexican or Chinese or whatever - is going to have an impact anything like what happened in the 2008/9. The market IS very much international, and therefore not affected so critically by any one country going through economic cycle turbulence. And heck, there are always economic cycles, but does that stop people from investing in real estate, or from retiring, or from just... living, vacationing? Nope, they still have to live and die and try to enjoy life along the way.
What Jan's putting together here with Cielo Mar is NOT targeting luxury buyers only, with a minimum price of $1M+. Sure, there will be those who will see the lot prices as very attractive, probably buy 2, 6 or 8 lots together and make a nice little resort estate out of it. But with an oceanfront lot price of $300K and as low as a third of that for other lots when "the development is well underway," and a price of $300K for a 2500 sq ft home - that's very affordable luxury for a much larger piece of the market. And with 6 months or so before the master plan is complete, and the series of reservation offers... there's still a lot of opportunity for word to get out to the general public who can buy much cheaper - up to potentially a hundred or more lots, depending on how the 2nd and 3rd offers are done.
Third, Cielo Mar will be much more attractive for just about everything a buyer could want, just based on the climate. Cielo Mar at the Bay of El Rosario has a much more attractive climate all throughout the year. La Paz is just too hot to be that attractive for "living" there. Like Cabo, a nice place to vacation, but not very attractive for the majority due to the high temperatures and humidity for long periods.
Just take a look at El Rosario compared to two of the most desirable locations on the planet, based on the climate: San Diego and Malaga, Spain (Andalusia... Costa del Sol). And notice where the average temperature of La Paz shows on the chart. For everything that is said about the attractiveness of San Diego and Malaga due to the moderate temperatures year-round, El Rosario is even MORE moderate and consistent, and the average temperature fits nicely between that of San Diego and Malaga.
Now add to this the fact that the Escalera Nautica project survived and in fact is reinvigorated, and the Mexican government has been actively supporting the development of Baja. A damn good time to be doing everything that Jan's doing with the business - Ag AND Cielo Mar.
Take note - the chart shows averages. So, about 5 months out of the year, La Paz see temperatures above 80 degrees 50% of the time, including weeks on end of high 90's and low 100's. La Paz is actually even 5 degrees warmer than Cabo San Lucas during the summer months - that may not seem like a lot, but it's the "average"... and El Rosario's summer temperatures are much more desirable than that of Cabo. Think about it - a very comfortable place to live YEAR-ROUND with many attractions (and built-in amenities), and it's centrally located on the peninsula... ANYTHING you may want to do will be accessible, even if you decide to partake in some festivities in Cabo down south or Tijuana or San Diego up north for a weekend.
First, as with any business, there's always the supply/demand equation. There's a lot out there competing (supply) with the high end that he's going for - and from a pure quantity or volume perspective, "high end" has a much smaller market (demand).
Second, given the real estate and global financial crisis of 2008/2009, it's no wonder something like what he has in La Paz pretty much came to a halt. In fact, the Escalera Nautica project that was a significant driver for projects like this one in La Paz had also come to a screeching halt with the world economic crisis. Notice... that sort of situation doesn't occur with every market cycle, so there's no reason to think during the next US market downturn - or Mexican or Chinese or whatever - is going to have an impact anything like what happened in the 2008/9. The market IS very much international, and therefore not affected so critically by any one country going through economic cycle turbulence. And heck, there are always economic cycles, but does that stop people from investing in real estate, or from retiring, or from just... living, vacationing? Nope, they still have to live and die and try to enjoy life along the way.
What Jan's putting together here with Cielo Mar is NOT targeting luxury buyers only, with a minimum price of $1M+. Sure, there will be those who will see the lot prices as very attractive, probably buy 2, 6 or 8 lots together and make a nice little resort estate out of it. But with an oceanfront lot price of $300K and as low as a third of that for other lots when "the development is well underway," and a price of $300K for a 2500 sq ft home - that's very affordable luxury for a much larger piece of the market. And with 6 months or so before the master plan is complete, and the series of reservation offers... there's still a lot of opportunity for word to get out to the general public who can buy much cheaper - up to potentially a hundred or more lots, depending on how the 2nd and 3rd offers are done.
Third, Cielo Mar will be much more attractive for just about everything a buyer could want, just based on the climate. Cielo Mar at the Bay of El Rosario has a much more attractive climate all throughout the year. La Paz is just too hot to be that attractive for "living" there. Like Cabo, a nice place to vacation, but not very attractive for the majority due to the high temperatures and humidity for long periods.
Just take a look at El Rosario compared to two of the most desirable locations on the planet, based on the climate: San Diego and Malaga, Spain (Andalusia... Costa del Sol). And notice where the average temperature of La Paz shows on the chart. For everything that is said about the attractiveness of San Diego and Malaga due to the moderate temperatures year-round, El Rosario is even MORE moderate and consistent, and the average temperature fits nicely between that of San Diego and Malaga.
Now add to this the fact that the Escalera Nautica project survived and in fact is reinvigorated, and the Mexican government has been actively supporting the development of Baja. A damn good time to be doing everything that Jan's doing with the business - Ag AND Cielo Mar.
Take note - the chart shows averages. So, about 5 months out of the year, La Paz see temperatures above 80 degrees 50% of the time, including weeks on end of high 90's and low 100's. La Paz is actually even 5 degrees warmer than Cabo San Lucas during the summer months - that may not seem like a lot, but it's the "average"... and El Rosario's summer temperatures are much more desirable than that of Cabo. Think about it - a very comfortable place to live YEAR-ROUND with many attractions (and built-in amenities), and it's centrally located on the peninsula... ANYTHING you may want to do will be accessible, even if you decide to partake in some festivities in Cabo down south or Tijuana or San Diego up north for a weekend.
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