Paradise For Sale

Buying a piece of paradise: A Mexican penthouse brings a $1.2 million price tag and tropical wows

Editor's Note: Houston, the surrounding areas and beyond are loaded with must-have houses for sale in all shapes, sizes and price ranges. In this continuing series, CultureMap snoops through some of the best and gives you the lowdown on what's hot on the market.

Are you ready to pack your bags? A luxurious penthouse in the planned residential resort community of Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico, is ready to whisk adventurous home buyers away with open-air architecture, sweeping beachfront views and tropical charm.

The price to stop being a tourist and become an owner of a piece of paradise? A cool $1.2 million.

At least, you can always dream about it.

About Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico
Located a scenic 15-minute drive from Puerto Vallarta's international airport, Nuevo Vallarta is home to luxury villas, condos and estates, many with canals leading to private docking piers. The marina development features a 3,000-slip, state-of-the-art facility. Many malls, stores and eateries in the area are popular for day and evening excursions.

The white sand not only attracts sun worshippers and beachcombers, but endangered Caguama turtles as well.

The white sand not only attracts sun worshippers and beachcombers, but endangered Caguama turtles as well, who lay their eggs each winter on the beaches of Nuevo Vallarta.

Walk through
Winding down Nuevo Vallarta's boulevards lined with palm trees and exotic vegetation, owners turn into the drive at 1143 Nayarit nearby The Grand Mayan Nuevo Vallarta. Residents of the mid-rise have assigned parking, so it's time to leave the car — and worries — behind and head up to the penthouse.

A dramatic two-story-tall entry seamlessly becomes the main room, where ocean breezes from the back terrace flow throughout the first floor. Dining is always al fresco here, with designer all-weather dining table and chairs located on the oversized balcony. The panoramic view from this vantage point seems endless, and below, a private pool and sandy beaches await.

Back inside, the chef's kitchen opens to the lofty great room. The master bedroom is tucked away on the first floor, complete with private access to a secluded sitting area on the terrace. Tropical wood, exposed wood beams, locally sourced stones and tiled floors found throughout the penthouse find balance with the contemporary architecture. A modern stairwell takes visitors upstairs to a formal living room and casual dining room, and a catwalk connects one end of the second floor of the house to the other.

In addition to the master bedroom, the penthouse includes three other bedrooms with full en suite baths and a full bath off the great room. An working elevator is available, as are an exercise room and large outdoor whirlpool tub for soaking under the stars.

Step outside
Ah, Mexico.

Square footage: 4,801

Asking price: $1.2 million

Listing agent: Colleen Phalen, John Daugherty, Realtors

Here's 1143 Nayarit, street front.

On the Market 1143 Nayarit Nuevo Vallarta Mexico March 2014

Photo by © Ruben Hidalgo

Here's 1143 Nayarit, street front.

unspecified

rent report

New report reveals how many Texans are paying too much for rent

Photo by Francesca Tosolini on Unsplash

undefined

Millions of Texas renters, both current residents and new arrivals, suffer from wallet whiplash.

A new report from the Texas Affiliation of Affordable Housing Providers shows 45 percent of the state’s renters spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing. Renters occupy more than 4.2 million Texas households, representing nearly half of the state’s residents.

Worse yet, 81 percent of extremely low-income households in Texas spend more than 50 percent of their income on housing, the report says. For that income group, Texas has a shortage of 864,000 affordable homes.

Thirty percent is the standard financial benchmark for spending too much income on rent, while 50 percent puts a renter in the “severely cost-burdened” bucket.

“To sustain growth and secure future prosperity, Texas will need more than 320,000 additional affordable homes [rented and owned] to address workforce housing affordability and meet the demands of a growing population,” says the report.

“Today, the state is creating thousands of new jobs,” the report adds, “but housing supply has not kept pace with demand, driving up housing costs and constraining continued economic growth.”

Not surprisingly, people who live in or move to three of Texas’ biggest metro areas get hit with the state’s highest apartment rental rates. Here’s Apartments.com’s list of the 10 most expensive places for renters in Texas, based on apartments whose average size ranges from 713 square feet in Austin to 771 square feet in Plano:

1. Frisco — $1,477 per month
2. Plano — $1,461 per month
3. Austin — $1,417 per month
4. Dallas — $1,413 per month
5. McKinney — $1,363 per month
6. Grand Prairie — $1,327 per month
7. Irving — $1,318 per month
8. Garland — $1,237 per month
9. Fort Worth — $1,217 per month
10. Houston — $1,183 per month

San Antonio boasts some of the lowest average rent among Texas’ 10 most affordable markets: $1,075 per month. Mesquite, a Dallas-Fort Worth suburb, also fits into that category, with average monthly rent of $1,052.

Earlier this month, Gov. Greg Abbott announced more than $114 million in grants to help develop or rehabilitate properties, providing more than 4,400 affordable rental units.

“As our state grows, we must ensure that Texans have access to the affordable housing they need to thrive,” Abbott says.

rent prices report apartments