Although the real estate rehabilitation of historic centers in Mexico could generate a greater economic benefit for the cities in which they are located, there are obstacles to progress in this regard.

The main obstacles are overpricing, lack of regulation and orderly gentrification, as indicated by representatives of the Mexican Association of Real Estate Professionals (AMPI).

The X Symposium of Historic Centers: Architecture, Culture and Innovation, which will be held in person in the Guanajuato capital, on March 23, 24 and 25, 2022.

The AMPI representatives indicated at the presentation event of the symposium that, in the face of these obstacles, it is desirable that areas surrounding these sites begin to renew their real estate offer, since there is a potential to recover properties that are in a state of abandonment with accessible investments.

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"The remodeling (of historic centers) requires a reasonable investment to recover them, depending on their size, to improve the image of these historic centers... But the cost of land in those spaces is high; they are being converted, but not for affordable housing," explained Florencia Estrada Lázaro, president of AMPI.

Currently, Mexico has registered with UNESCO 35 sites that are considered World Heritage Sites, among which are more than 10 historic centers.

For Christian Montull Pérez Cancio, director of the symposium, the real estate abandonment in these places is mainly due to factors such as: poorly founded inheritances, high real estate values and disorderly gentrification.

Regarding the last point, Pérez Cancio noted that in several cities there is a total disorganization in terms of housing in their historic centers, since preference is not given to the rehabilitation of the second squares or areas surrounding.

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Cities like Mérida, Yucatán, or Mazatlán, Sinaloa, which have rehabilitated their historic centers; however, Perez Cancio stressed that this has been done based on a land use plan, which is lacking in many entities in the country.

The manager added that, as a rule, historic centers have an oversupply of spaces that has considerably raised the costs of real estate found in these areas and that have the potential to be rehabilitated.

"Historic properties require a fairly high investment, but that slows down the purchase... We are trying to make people aware through the Association to know what the real values of these properties are, so that they are not overvalued, so that the historic center is truly organized and, therefore, we have a better offer of services," said the manager, specifically pointing out the situation in Guanajuato.

According to Pérez Cancio, in the city of Guanajuato there are more than 100 abandoned buildings in alleys in the area of its historic center.

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Original note