The housing crisis in Jalisco has reached critical levels, with property prices far exceeding the purchasing power of families and a growing homeless population. The Guadalajara metropolitan area has the fourth highest housing costs in the country, surpassed only by Nuevo León, the State of Mexico, and Mexico City.
A recent study by the Western Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESO) reveals that properties for sale in the Guadalajara metropolitan area range, on average, from 4 to 7.4 million pesos. This situation creates an alarming income gap, where average earnings are insufficient to afford a home.
“Families would need monthly incomes of 123,000 pesos to buy a house, let’s say around 4 million, but the reality is that monthly salaries hover around 20,000 pesos. That means a gap six times greater,” the ITESO study highlights.
The most expensive homes in Mexico are located in Zapopan, Guadalajara, Puerto Vallarta, and Chapala; the Ayamonte neighborhood in Zapopan stands out with an average price of 55 million pesos. The average cost of rental homes is also high, reaching 29,457 pesos per month, the sixth highest in the country.
This “real estate bubble” not only makes buying and renting difficult but also fosters fraud, especially on digital platforms. The situation is further complicated by these scams, and Jassiel Omar Castañeda, president of the Mexican Association of Real Estate Professionals (AMPI) in Guadalajara, emphasizes the importance of regulation.
“The issue of fraud is a reality we have to face, that we have to confront head-on, and that’s why AMPI has spearheaded this project. In Jalisco, we now have a real estate law requiring real estate agents to be accredited to market a property. This helps protect against many problems of fraud, identity theft, and countless other issues in the real estate sector, not only in our state but throughout the country.”
The difficulty in accessing housing has a direct social impact. The Jalisco DIF (System for Integral Family Development) acknowledges an increase in families from the state who end up living on the streets. Patricia Maglioni, from the civil association Abrazos de Cartón (Cardboard Hugs), works to mitigate this situation.
“The idea is to provide temporary shelter, a portable shelter, to all the people currently sleeping on the streets, which is a fairly large population in Guadalajara.”
Maglioni and a group of friends organize nightly brigades to deliver these “cardboard houses” to people experiencing homelessness, who already recognize them by their yellow vests. The community has expressed its gratitude, commenting that the shelters are “super warm.” Previously, people could buy a home by age 30, but now the age has been extended to 40 due to rising prices, making homeownership unattainable for many workers.
The Guadalajara Metropolitan Area (ZMG) faces a growing rental cost crisis, and the exorbitant increases are forcing many residents to live on the outskirts, spending hours commuting on public transportation. This situation affects both families and small businesses, who are left unprotected due to a lack of awareness of their rights and the legal resources available.
The reality of María, a widowed single mother, illustrates the difficult situation faced by numerous residents of the ZMG. She lives in Tlajomulco and works in El Salto, which means spending four hours a day on public transportation: two hours each way. Her choice of housing is due to her inability to afford rent closer to her job, where prices are considerably higher.
“I live in Tlajomulco and commute two hours to work. I live far away because I can’t afford more expensive rent. There, I pay 700 pesos, and here, rent closer to home is between 3,500 and 4,000.”
This situation is exacerbated by the fact that, in addition to rent, María must also cover food, clothing, and shoes for her young children, who are still of school age. Expenses are constantly increasing, while her salary isn’t enough to cover basic needs. Most of her income goes toward rent, leaving little room for other essential expenses.
“There you have the case of rents: expenses keep rising, salaries aren’t enough, and most of it goes directly to paying rent for their home, or for both their home and business.”
Abusive rent increases aren’t limited to residential properties. A case discussed on a radio program details how a commercial space experienced a 900-peso increase from one month to the next, a situation the affected tenants described as unfair and disproportionate.
“He raised our rent, and it was a lot—900 pesos. Honestly, I think it’s an abuse on this man’s part, but that’s how he operates. So we decided to move the place down because the increase from one month to the next was excessive.”
Faced with these practices, tenants often find themselves in a highly vulnerable position. It’s noted that many are unaware of the available legal tools or what the law stipulates in these matters, leading them to give in to abuses for fear of losing their home or business. Lack of information and fear of losing one’s home or workplace are key factors perpetuating these irregularities.
“A series of irregularities, because even a 900-peso increase isn’t within the bounds of the law. The problem is that we don’t know, or aren’t aware of, what legal recourse is available, what the law stipulates in these matters, and out of fear of losing our homes, we allow these kinds of abuses to occur.”
In addition to the unjustified increases, unsustainable requirements for signing new contracts and extremely short notice periods, sometimes as little as one month, for vacating a property are mentioned. This pressure forces people to quickly find a new home and, often, to pay extra months at the beginning of a new agreement, representing an additional financial burden in an already difficult situation.
Source: heraldodemexico
