Huatulco Real Estate: What to Know Before You Buy in 2026

Huatulco real estate is spread along a string of bays on Oaxaca's Pacific coast, in the municipality of Santa María Huatulco. Foreigners buy through a bank trust (fideicomiso), because the whole resort lies inside Mexico's coastal restricted zone. Budget for an acquisition tax of 2.5% to 4.75% of the value plus a 10% municipal surcharge, and an annual property tax of 0.5% of the cadastral value.

What sets Huatulco apart from other Mexican beach towns is planning. FONATUR, the federal tourism agency, laid it out in the 1980s, and a national park now protects a large stretch of land and sea. Below: how the resort is organized, how you get there, the main areas, the closing math, and what to check before hurricane season.

Where Huatulco is and how it's laid out

Huatulco sits on the Oaxaca coast, about four to five hours by road from Oaxaca City on the Barranca Larga–Ventanilla highway and federal Highway 200. The municipality had 50,862 residents in the 2020 census, up 31.7% from 2010.

FONATUR expropriated about 21,000 hectares in 1984 and started building La Crucecita, the service town, and the airport in 1985. The resort is usually described as nine bays, from Conejos in the east through Tangolunda, Chahué and Santa Cruz, then Órgano, Maguey, Cacaluta, Chachacual and San Agustín to the west.

Parque Nacional Huatulco was decreed on July 24, 1998. It covers 11,890.98 hectares: 6,374.98 of land and 5,516 of sea. Building inside the park is restricted, which limits development along a large part of this coastline.

One recent change matters to buyers. FONATUR handed water, sewage, roads and waste collection to the State of Oaxaca and the municipality on January 1, 2024, and a state trust now manages them, according to local press. Ask how that transition has gone in the development you're considering.

Getting there

Bahías de Huatulco International Airport (HUX) is operated by ASUR. It handled about 802,000 passengers in 2025, as reported.

• From the US: American Eagle flies seasonally from Dallas/Fort Worth. Schedule data shows it restarting on November 2, 2026; check with American before you book.
• From Canada: seasonal WestJet and Air Canada flights.
• Within Mexico: Mexico City (Aeroméxico, Viva, Volaris), Felipe Ángeles airport and Monterrey (Viva), and Guadalajara and Puebla (Volaris).

The US State Department rates Oaxaca at Level 2 and lists no travel restrictions for Huatulco.

Huatulco real estate by area

The asking prices below come from a small, undated set of listings that were already marked sold. Read them as a rough frame, not a price guide. Across Huatulco, studios were listed from about US$145,000.

Conejos

The bay at the eastern end of the resort. Residencial Conejos is here; from Vasto's BB Residential, three beaches are within walking distance. Beyond Conejos, beach villas in La Bocana were listed at US$2.2 to 2.4 million.

Tangolunda

The bay where the resort's large hotels stand. Its beach was reported as Blue Flag certified in 2025.

Chahué and Santa Cruz

Chahué sits between Tangolunda and Santa Cruz; a three-bedroom penthouse there was listed at US$894,000. Santa Cruz is the bay next to La Crucecita, and two-bedroom condos there were listed at US$279,000 to $385,000. Both beaches were reported as Blue Flag certified in 2025.

La Crucecita

The service town, with about 19,000 residents: markets, banks, schools and everyday shops. Living here means walking to errands and driving to the beach.

The western bays and Salchi

West of Santa Cruz there is less development, and much of that coast lies within or near the national park. Farther along, Salchi bay is about 25 minutes from the airport, and it's where Benditas Villas de Salchi is being built. Here, road conditions, water supply and distance to services matter more than in the central bays.

Buying in Huatulco: trust, taxes and fees

The trust. A Mexican bank holds title for you as beneficiary, for up to 50 years, renewable. The SRE permit costs MXN 21,650 in 2026. Bank setup typically runs USD 1,500 to 3,000 including that permit, and the annual bank fee typically USD 500 to 2,000, depending on the bank. Name substitute beneficiaries when you set it up. Our fideicomiso guide explains each step.

The acquisition tax. Santa María Huatulco's 2026 income law sets these brackets, and read literally, the bracket rate applies to the whole value. A 10% municipal surcharge applies on top.

The base is the highest of the declared value, the fiscal value and a municipal appraisal, and payment is due within 30 days. At the October 19, 2026 exchange rate (18.4253), a US$340,000 home is about MXN 6.26 million, which puts it in the 4.5% bracket: about MXN 310,000, or US$16,800, with the surcharge. Confirm with your notary how the surcharge is applied at closing. The full list of closing costs is in our guide to the cost of buying property in Mexico.

Financing. Banamex lists Huatulco among the markets where it lends to foreigners, but only to permanent residents with income in Mexico, and it lowers the maximum loan on vacation homes. A US citizen living in the US can borrow against a US home, or use a cross-border dollar loan, which in October 2026 asked for at least 35% down.

Two Huatulco-specific rules. If the property borders the federal beach zone, you must show that its federal-zone fees are paid. And when FONATUR itself is the seller, the tax is calculated on the contract price.

Ongoing costs:

• Predial: 0.5% of the fiscal value, with 15% off if you pay the year in January, 10% in February and 5% in March. The 10% surcharge applies unless the home is the owner's own residence.
• Water: in the tourist zone, the minimum monthly charge for a "tourist home" is MXN 451.64 for up to 40 m³.
• Registry: recording a transfer or a trust in Oaxaca costs MXN 1,642.34.
• Rentals: Oaxaca's lodging tax on houses and apartments is 5% since January 2026.

Hurricane season and climate

The Eastern Pacific hurricane season runs from May 15 to November 30. Huatulco gets about 1,350 mm of rain a year, 94% of it between May and October; September is the wettest month, and December through March usually see less than 10 mm a month. The mean temperature is 26.6 °C.

Storms do reach this coast. Hurricane Agatha came ashore as a Category 2 near La Redonda, Oaxaca, on May 30, 2022. Hurricane Erick made landfall as a Category 3 farther west, beyond Puerto Escondido, on June 19, 2025. When you visit a property, ask how it fared in both, look at drainage and the slope behind it, check windows and roofing, and get an insurance quote before you sign.

What to check before you buy

1. Title. The chain of ownership back to FONATUR, recorded in the Registro Público, plus a current no-liens certificate.
2. The trust. Which bank, its setup and annual fees, and your substitute beneficiaries.
3. Beachfront. Federal-zone fees paid up to date.
4. The condominium. Monthly fees, the reserve fund and the rules on rentals.
5. Water. The tariff category, cistern size and how supply holds up in the dry season.
6. Services. Who maintains the road, lighting and drainage since FONATUR's handover.
7. Pre-construction. Permits, delivery date, payment schedule and where deposits are held. Our guide to buying pre-construction property in Mexico goes deeper.
8. Receipts. Predial and water paid to date.

The steps after that, from offer to deed, are the same anywhere in Mexico; see how to buy property in Mexico as an American.

Vasto has two projects in Huatulco. BB Residential is eight residences in Residencial Conejos, 112 to 224 m², from US$340,000 to US$568,251, with seven of eight available and three beaches within walking distance. Benditas Villas de Salchi is 19 villas on Salchi bay, 25 minutes from the airport, designed by Anonimous, with 73% of the land kept as native landscape and prices from US$1,000,000. We can walk you through the trust and the closing for either one.

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. Confirm your case with a Mexican notary and a tax advisor.