Read this page inEnglishEspañolFrançais
Beachfront Property
for Sale in Cozumel
Here beachfront is almost never sand: it is coral ironshore with a ladder into the water, and that changes the price and daily life. These are the buildings that really sit on the water, what they cost per square foot, and why a presale on this island is a different conversation.
North Hotel Zone · Playa San Juan · San Miguel · Chankanaab · Costa del Sol · San Francisco · Palancar
What beachfront in Cozumel
is really like
Cozumel is twenty minutes by ferry from Playa del Carmen and nothing like it. There are five things we say before showing a single unit, because all five change the decision.
Rock, not sand
Almost the whole west coast is coral rock, what locals call ironshore, with ladders down into the water. Real sand is scarce and that is why it moves the price: Playa San Juan and the north, where Las Brisas is the only condominium on that coast with its own sand beach, and in the south Playa San Francisco and Palancar. Anyone coming from Playa del Carmen needs to know this on day one, not on the day of the showing.
Leeward: almost no sargassum
The island’s whole residential coast faces the mainland, which means it is sheltered. So sargassum arrives at a fraction of what Playa del Carmen or Tulum get. It is Cozumel’s strongest argument against the coast across the channel, and unlike almost everything else, it does not depend on who manages the building.
The island lives on diving
What drives rentals here is divers, not nightlife. Occupancy is steadier through the year, the nightly rate is lower than in Playa del Carmen and stays are longer. Buildings with a rinse tank and gear lockers rent better than those without, and their owners keep them longer.
West and east are two islands
The island has a leeward coast, the one facing Playa del Carmen, and a coast exposed to the open Caribbean. Virtually all residential beachfront, every hotel, every dive operator and the town of San Miguel are on the west side.
The east coast is ejido land, open sea, with no power grid and no water network, and there is no legal condominium development there. When someone says beachfront in Cozumel, they mean the west coast.
Four storeys by law
Coastal lots on the Carretera Costera Sur are capped at four storeys and twelve metres in height, with a COS of 0.70 and a CUS of 1.8, verified lot by lot with the municipality. The north hotel zone allows more height, which is why the new thirteen to fifteen storey towers are all there.
The consequence cuts both ways: resale holds its value well because nothing can flood the market, and at the same time there is very little new product. When something good appears, it goes fast and almost always in presale.
That is the gap today, and it closes in the new construction up north, where prices are already close to downtown Playa del Carmen. Once the numbers get close, the question stops being price and becomes what you are buying.
In Cozumel you buy an island with its own airport and direct flights to the United States, calm water almost all year and a small community where people know each other. In exchange you accept depending on the ferry for almost everything, a hurricane season where Wilma is still the reference, and that in several southern buildings water comes from a well and power from an on-site plant. Neither list is better: they are different, and only one of them will suit you.
You do not buy a beach here. You buy a position on the water, with a ladder and a reef a hundred metres out.
And once you understand that, the rest of the island falls into place: sand is the exception and you pay for it, rock is the rule and you enjoy it differently.
Which stretches of Cozumel
have beachfront property
Three stretches, north to south, on a single coastal road. The kilometre marker is how everyone here locates a property.
- NorthPlaya San Juan
- SandLas Brisas
- NorthPeninsula Grand
- NorthNorth Beach
- MelgarDistrito Norte
- Km 3.8Palmar
- Av. 11Athimar
- MalecónDowntown
- Km 10Chankanaab
- Km 12Costa del Sol
- Km 13Las Uvas
- Km 15 · sandResidencias Reef
- Km 17Palancar
Every kilometre is its own market. From the cruise pier to Chankanaab, cruise tourism rules; from kilometre 14 south, sand appears and density drops, and there water and power stop being municipal in several buildings.
North Hotel Zone
The quietest and most expensive residential strip on the island, five to eight minutes from the airport with the sunset straight ahead. All the big new towers are here, because it is the only zone where zoning allows height. The shore is mostly rock, with sand at Las Brisas and Playa San Juan. It is also where the price gap against Playa del Carmen nearly disappears.
San Miguel
Shops, restaurants, the ferry and the museum. There is hardly any residential beachfront, and what there is sits on a seawall, not a beach: the sea is right there and the view is of boats, not sand. Presales are appearing on the malecón, and from the fourth floor up the view opens. You live on foot, which is exactly what people who choose this area want.
South Hotel Zone and Palancar
Next to the cruise piers there is cruise traffic and dive shops, under the four-storey cap. Further south come the low-rise condo neighbourhoods and the island’s best sand beaches, San Francisco and Palancar. Ironshore with ladders dominates until kilometre 14, sand begins there, and with it the island’s best first-row price per square foot.
Left off this page on purpose: the Punta Sur reserve and the whole east coast. It is ejido land, with no water or power network and no residential condominium product. If someone offers you beachfront on Cozumel’s east coast, that is the first thing to check.
Which buildings really sit
on the water in Cozumel
North to south, stretch by stretch. When we do not have a verified number we write ask us, not an invented range.
How to read the figures. US dollars per square foot of total published area, with the square metre below, and pesos at 18.4 to the dollar. These are September 2026 asking prices, not closings. HOA fees are left off on purpose: they change by unit and by year, and in several southern buildings they include a well and a power plant, so we request them in writing from the condominium along with the financial statements and give you the figure for the building you want.
Stretch 1 · North Hotel Zone
The most expensive part of the island, and where all the new high-rise construction is.
- 01
Peninsula Grand
North Hotel Zone · delivered · resaleThe benchmark building up north. Full-floor three-bedroom units, so every room faces the sea, with an infinity pool dropping toward a private beach area, ladders into the water, gym and lounge. Five minutes to the airport. Whole floors, on two levels, have sold for 2.5 million dollars.
USD/ft²$446 – 5114,800 – 5,500 USD/m²Pricefrom $843,000asking price, not closingUnit typesFull-floor 3 bedrooms1,670 to 2,260 sq ft - 02
Las Brisas
2.5 miles north of town · delivered · resaleThe only condominium on the north coast with its own white-sand beach, and in Cozumel that is the exception, not the rule. Two towers with seven full-floor three-bedroom units each, 2,045 to 2,895 sq ft, elevator and heated pool. When someone comes from Playa del Carmen looking for sand, this is the first name on the list.
USD/ft²$446 – 5114,800 – 5,500 USD/m²PriceOn requestasking price, not closingUnit typesFull-floor 3 bedrooms2,045 to 2,895 sq ft - 03
AntiliaPresale
North Hotel Zone · first tower mid 2026The largest project on the island: three towers, Turquoise, Coral and Horizon, with 81 units on fourteen and fifteen floors, 115 to 150 feet from the water. Units list around 1.2 million dollars. Delivery of the first tower is the real test, and before towers two and three you need to see the condominium regime registered.
USD/ft²On requestquoted by unitPrice~$1.2 Masking price, not closingUnit types2 and 3 bedrooms, penthouse81 units in three towers - 04
North Beach CozumelPresale
North Hotel Zone · delivery July 2026360 feet of beach frontage. Three bedrooms of 2,800 sq ft from 905,000 dollars on the third floor up to 1.05 million on the sixth, stepping up five percent per floor, plus a four-bedroom garden unit of 3,015 sq ft at 930,000. The 4,090 sq ft duplex penthouses have sold. Tandem parking, dive lockers and solar power included.
USD/ft²$316 – 3623,400 – 3,900 USD/m²Pricefrom $905,000asking price, not closingUnit types3 and 4 bedrooms2,800 to 4,090 sq ft - 05
Palmar Condominiums
Avenida Melgar km 3.8 · delivered · resalePool, tennis, gym and 24-hour security at the start of the north, a few minutes from town. Two-bedroom resales around 390,000 dollars and a 2,000 sq ft penthouse that recently came up. One of the most sensible ways into the north without going to new construction.
USD/ft²On requestquoted by unitPricefrom $390,000asking price, not closingUnit types2 bedrooms and penthouseup to 2,000 sq ft - 06
The StellaPresale
Avenida Melgar, north edge of town · delivery December 2026The highest price per square foot among the island’s presales. Rooftop infinity pools, spa, coworking and retail. A three-bedroom penthouse of 2,560 sq ft at 21.3 million pesos and a four-bedroom of 2,885 sq ft at 24.2 million, with a published fee of 133 pesos per square metre a month. One specific question before signing: whether its beach access is its own frontage or crossing Avenida Melgar.
USD/ft²~$453~4,870 USD/m²Pricefrom $12.8 M MXNasking price, not closingUnit types2, 3 and 4 bedroomsup to 2,885 sq ft penthouse - 07
Distrito Norte
North zone · second row · deliveredSea view without sitting on the water, with rooftop, pool, gym and tennis. Two bedrooms from 212,000 dollars, the entry price for the north of the island. The comparison always worth making: for the price of a small beachfront unit in the south, here you buy a view in a good area.
USD/ft²On requestquoted by unitPricefrom $212,000asking price, not closingUnit types2 bedroomsentry to the north - 08
Elementos LifePresale
North zone · second row · under constructionCondos of 830 to 3,175 sq ft and villas from about 230,000 dollars, solar power included, between mangrove and the bike path. No sand frontage and not sold as such: it sells on nature and sport. Worth being clear about, because the sales material looks a lot like beachfront.
USD/ft²On requestquoted by unitPricefrom $230,000asking price, not closingUnit typesCondos and villas830 to 3,175 sq ft
Still to close on site: the older north-coast stock from the nineties and two thousands, including Playa Azul, Condumel, Villa Aldora and Casa del Mar Norte. Small, low-turnover buildings whose prices move through relationships more than portals. Once we confirm names and figures they get their own entry here.
Stretch 2 · San Miguel and the malecón
No beach, the sea right there, and everything on foot.
- 01
Athimar
Melgar at Avenida 11 · delivered 2024 · resaleSix floors and twenty-five units with retail on the ground floor and a business centre, right on the malecón. The sea view starts on the fourth floor, so on lower floors you pay for location, not view. It is also proof that small downtown towers do get finished.
USD/ft²On requestquoted by unitPriceOn requestasking price, not closingUnit types1 and 2 bedroomsview from floor 4 up - 02
Malecón towerPresale
On the malecón · name to be confirmedA four-bedroom penthouse of 3,080 sq ft asking 1.28 million dollars, with infinity pool, cinema and gym. We confirm the project name and developer before publishing them: on the malecón the brand name and the legal entity rarely match, and that is exactly what you need to know before a deposit.
USD/ft²$409 – 5024,400 – 5,400 USD/m²Price$1.28 Masking price, not closingUnit types4-bedroom penthouse3,080 sq ft - 03
Malecón resale
Oceanfront · downtownDelivered product on the malecón: three bedrooms of 1,830 sq ft asking 921,000 dollars and two bedrooms of 2,055 sq ft at 1.03 million. No beach here, a seawall and the sea right there, a different way of living on the water that many people prefer. We confirm the exact building per unit.
USD/ft²$409 – 5024,400 – 5,400 USD/m²Pricefrom $921,000asking price, not closingUnit types2 and 3 bedrooms1,830 to 2,055 sq ft
Stretch 3 · Costera Sur, from Chankanaab to Palancar
Real sand and the island’s best price per square foot.
- 01
Residencias Reef
Costera Sur km 15 · on Playa San Francisco · resaleThe benchmark building in the south and one of the few on the island on real sand. Four buildings, series 5000 to 8000, with building 1 right on Playa San Francisco. One to four bedrooms, two heated pools, a rinse tank for dive gear, controlled access and three beach clubs within walking distance. It runs its own water and power systems, which at kilometre 15 is an advantage and also a cost.
USD/ft²$232 – 3342,500 – 3,600 USD/m²PriceOn requestasking price, not closingUnit types1 to 4 bedroomsstudios and 2 BR in building 4 - 02
Costa del Sol · Vista Bonita
Costera Sur km 12.05 · delivered · resaleOceanfront in the south’s low-rise condo neighbourhood, with three-bedroom units and private pools. The classic profile of that strip: low density, lots of green, and a shore that on this stretch is ironshore with a ladder, not sand.
USD/ft²$232 – 3342,500 – 3,600 USD/m²PriceOn requestasking price, not closingUnit types3 bedroomswith private pool - 03
Las Uvas
Costera Sur km 10 to 13 · resaleTwo bedrooms of 1,670 sq ft with a private pool asking 353,000 dollars. One of the best first-row prices per square foot on the island, for the usual southern reason: the four-storey cap keeps supply small and also keeps prices stable, so what you buy is a position that is hard to repeat.
USD/ft²$2122,280 USD/m²Pricefrom $353,000asking price, not closingUnit types2 bedrooms1,670 sq ft with private pool - 04
Ba’kan Tower · Deck 48Presale
Costera Sur km 10, Chankanaab · schedule pushed back several timesOceanfront units of 2,045 to 2,185 sq ft, offered between 470,000 and 535,000 dollars with a preconstruction discount since 2023. It is on this list because it is a southern price reference and because we are asked about it all the time, with a statement we will not soften: Playa Realtors does not represent buyers in this project. We explain why in person, with documents.
USD/ft²$232 – 2602,500 – 2,800 USD/m²Price$470 – 535Kasking price, not closingUnit types2 and 3 bedrooms2,045 to 2,185 sq ft - 05
Nala CozumelPresale
Costera Sur · twenty steps from the water · one towerSixteen units from 279,000 dollars. According to our information it belongs to the same group as the previous project, so we apply the same policy until a finished unit with a registered regime can be inspected. We confirm group ownership on the building permit, not the sales material.
USD/ft²On requestquoted by unitPricefrom $279,000asking price, not closingUnit types16 unitsone tower - 06
Existence CozumelPresale
Costera Sur · presaleTwo bedrooms of 1,540 sq ft from 386,720 dollars, about 251 dollars per square foot. Developer and permits under verification, and on the island that is not a formality: it is what separates a good price from a three-year problem.
USD/ft²~$251~2,700 USD/m²Pricefrom $386,720asking price, not closingUnit types2 bedrooms1,540 sq ft - 07
New construction across the roadPresale
Costera Sur · second row · delivery June 2026Three bedrooms of 2,055 sq ft at 14 million pesos, with rooftop, tennis, gym and coworking. It sits across the Costera Sur, so it is ocean view, not oceanfront, and prices at 362 to 390 dollars per square foot: more than several first-row resales on the same stretch. Worth saying out loud before comparing.
USD/ft²$362 – 3903,900 – 4,200 USD/m²Price$14 M MXNasking price, not closingUnit types3 bedrooms2,055 sq ft - 08
Oceanfront land
Fracciones 3 to 5, Costera Sur · for saleA 14,490 sq ft lot with 61 feet of sea frontage asking 18.1 million pesos, about 65 to 70 dollars per square foot of land. With the four-storey cap, what can be built there is set in advance, and that is the first thing to calculate before making an offer on land.
USD/ft²$65 – 70per sq ft of landPrice$18.1 M MXNasking price, not closingUnit typesLand14,490 sq ft, 61 ft frontage
Also still to confirm on site: Villas Cristalinas and Villas Coral, and the strip of private villas south of Residencias Reef, where a five-bedroom house of 4,725 sq ft on a 6,500 sq ft lot is offered with seller financing. And a question we always ask on this stretch: whether the building is on municipal water or a well.
Buying a presale in Cozumel:
what we check before we sell you one
This is the section that wins and loses us sales, and we write it the same way regardless. In Cozumel the safe way to buy beachfront is resale or finished product already under a condominium regime, with a deed or a bank trust in place. The island has few developers, materials cross by ferry, build cycles are long and buyers have little leverage when a project runs late.
- The lot in the builder’s name
It sounds obvious and it is what fails most often. Before anything else: land title in the name of the developing entity, building permit and environmental permits in hand, and the condominium regime registered or with a date to be registered.
- Payments tied to construction, not the calendar
Plans of fifty percent down, forty-five during construction and five at delivery, offered today on the south coast, put almost all the risk on the buyer. The healthy structure ties each payment to verifiable progress and runs the money through an escrow trust or the notary.
- Assume two years of delay
On this island deliveries frequently slip twelve to thirty-six months. Evaluate any presale as if it delivered two years late: if it still makes sense under that assumption, the conversation can continue.
- Order of preference, in this order
First, finished with a registered regime. Then finished awaiting the regime, with the money in escrow. Then a presale from a developer who has already delivered towers on the island. Antilia and North Beach will be the test in 2026, and until they deliver they are promises, not track record.
We do not represent buyers in Ba’kan Tower or Deck 48, or in the group’s other projects, including Sea Lofts, and we apply the same policy to Nala Cozumel until a finished unit with a registered regime can be inspected. This does not come from rumour: it comes from our own file.
The reason, with dates and documents, we give you in person with the paper in hand. We will not put it on an open page, and we will tell you just as clearly what you would check if you still want that unit. That is exactly the job a buyer’s broker exists for.
A note on language, because it matters: in presales the word we use is documents, not adjectives. A contract, a permit and a registered regime say more than any opinion, ours included, and they are what you take to signing.
Renting your Cozumel place
the months you are not here
There will be months you are not here, and renting in those months is normal. In Cozumel the guest is a diver, and that changes the whole calculation.
We are asked all the time, and the uncomfortable answer is that the number does not depend on the building: it depends on who runs it. The same unit, same view, same fees, handed to two managers, returns two different numbers. We do not depend on those numbers or earn anything on them, and we will not show you a building’s rental history as if it were a promise.
What we do know about this island: occupancy is steadier than on the mainland because diving has no sharp high season, the nightly rate is lower and stays are longer. A rinse tank and a gear locker do more for rentals than new marble.
We do not sell a yield. We make sure you do not pay above market, which is a different thing and the only one that can be guaranteed. On an island with small supply, that means knowing what really sold and for how much, not what is being asked.
What we do check before an offer are the three rules below, and all three are in writing: in the condominium bylaws, in the management contract and at the municipality of Cozumel.
- 01
Short-term allowed or not
The condominium bylaws decide, not the seller. On an island where several buildings belong to owners who live there year round, nightly rentals are restricted more often than people think. Read it before offering.
- 02
Open or mandatory management
Some condos let you work with anyone and others have a mandatory operator, with its own percentage and rules. In Cozumel this weighs more because there are few operators and not all of them understand the diving guest.
- 03
Water, power and insurance
From kilometre 14 south there are buildings with a well and their own plant. That changes the fee, what happens after a hurricane and your insurance. It is the detail most often missing from a listing on that strip.
Frequently asked questions about buying
beachfront in Cozumel
How much does beachfront property in Cozumel cost?
It depends on the stretch. In the south, beachfront resale runs 232 to 334 dollars per square foot: two bedrooms of about 1,010 sq ft have asked 333,000 and units of 2,045 sq ft between 470,000 and 480,000. In the north, new construction runs 316 to 362 and first-row resale 446 to 511: three bedrooms of 2,120 sq ft at 905,000, two of 1,670 sq ft at 843,000. The whole island, counting inland product, starts around 177 dollars per square foot.
Is Cozumel cheaper than Playa del Carmen?
Yes, 25 to 40 percent less per square foot for beachfront. The gap closes in new construction up north, which already prices close to downtown Playa del Carmen. There the question stops being price and becomes what you buy: in Cozumel you buy an island with an airport and no sargassum, and you accept depending on the ferry and on hurricane season.
Is there sand beach in Cozumel or is it all rock?
Most of the west coast is coral ironshore, with ladders into the water, not sand. It is the first thing to know before coming to look. Real sand is at Playa San Juan and the north, where Las Brisas is the only condominium on that coast with its own sand beach, and in the south at Playa San Francisco and Palancar, from kilometre 14 down. Residencias Reef, at 15, sits on that sand.
Does sargassum reach Cozumel?
Much less than Playa del Carmen and Tulum, and the reason is geographic: the island’s whole residential coast is the leeward side facing the mainland, so it is sheltered. It is Cozumel’s strongest argument against the coast across the channel and it does not depend on building management.
Can a foreigner buy beachfront in Cozumel?
Yes, through a bank trust (fideicomiso) or a Mexican corporation, because the whole island is inside the restricted zone. You hold every right: use, rent, mortgage, sell and leave it to your heirs. On the first row we also check the condominium’s ZOFEMAT concession, the first 20 metres from high tide.
Does buying a presale in Cozumel make sense?
Our recommendation is no, except in specific cases. The island has few developers, materials cross by ferry, build cycles are long and deliveries frequently slip twelve to thirty-six months. The safe option is finished product with a registered condominium regime, with a deed or trust already in place. If you still go into a presale, there are four things we check first, listed in the presale section of this page.
Which payment plans deserve a close look?
Plans like fifty percent down, forty-five during construction and five at delivery, offered today on the south coast. With that plan you pay almost everything before the property exists and lose your leverage if construction runs late. The healthy structure ties payments to verifiable progress and runs the money through an escrow trust or the notary.
How many storeys can be built on the Cozumel waterfront?
On the Carretera Costera Sur the cap is four storeys and twelve metres, with a COS of 0.70 and a CUS of 1.8, verified lot by lot with the municipality. The north hotel zone allows more height, which is why the new thirteen to fifteen storey towers are all there. That restriction is why there is little new supply in the south and why resale holds its value.
Do all buildings have grid water and power?
Not all. Municipal water and the CFE grid reach the north hotel zone and the south as far as Chankanaab. Further south some condos run on a well and their own plant: Residencias Reef, at kilometre 15, has its own systems. It is one of the first questions we ask, because it changes the fee and what happens in hurricane season.
What about hurricanes?
It is a real risk and Wilma, in 2005, is still the island’s reference. What matters then is not the price per square foot but build quality, current insurance and what the condominium did last time. It weighs more here than across the channel and we check it building by building.
Do rentals do well in Cozumel?
They do differently. Diving drives the market, not nightlife, so occupancy is steadier through the year, the nightly rate is lower than in Playa del Carmen and stays are longer. Buildings with a rinse tank and gear lockers rent better. And as everywhere, the same apartment with two different managers returns two different numbers.
What are closing costs?
Between 7 and 10 percent of the price, and on the coast you add the bank trust: acquisition tax, notario público fees, appraisal, certificates, Public Registry recording and the Foreign Affairs permit plus year one of the trust. The step by step is in the closing guide.
More answers in the buyer FAQ  · Meet the team
Tell us what you are looking for in Cozumel.
We do the filtering.
- A selection made for youA short list, not a catalogueThe buildings that really fit your budget and how you will use the place, with the difference between sand and rock stated from the start. With price, cost per square foot and the unit types available today.
- The review before you offerA licensed advisor looks at your buildingCondominium regime, deed or trust, financial statements, special assessments, ZOFEMAT concession, and whether water is municipal or from a well. In presales, also land title, permits and payment schedule.
Choosing a building is only the start. Our job is that you understand what you are buying before you commit.
We tell you which building fits you.
And which presale to stay out of.
Cozumel is a small island with little supply and a lot of history that is not published. From the north end to Palancar, each stretch has its price, its kind of shore and its fine print.
Licensed real estate advisors in Quintana Roo  · We do not represent developers
Karina D. Sayed, CPA · CEO, Broker and Owner · Playa Realtors
I have lived on this coast since 2001 and Playa Realtors has represented buyers here since 2008. The ranges and prices on this page come from inventory for sale building by building in Cozumel, from our own comparables and from the condominium documents we read in legal review, not from a listing description.
Licensed brokerage in Quintana Roo · License 1917120B0FBGMR008000735 · AMPI · SEDETUS · NAR REALTOR® 61235866
Verify our license on the SEDETUS state roster →
Last reviewed September 2026
and Tulum
Online and by appointment
Covers Cancún, Puerto Morelos, Costa Mujeres, Holbox.
See it on Google →
Covers Playa del Carmen, Puerto Aventuras, Akumal, Corasol, Playacar, Mayakoba.
See it on Google →
Covers Tulum, Bacalar, Mahahual, Tankah, Tulum Country, Soliman Bay.
Read the reviews on Google →
From people who closed with us
