Buying the property is only part of the equation.
When buyers start looking at real estate in Los Cabos, most of the conversation naturally focuses on purchase price.
A $750,000 condo. A $1.5 million penthouse. A $4 million home inside a private golf community.
But there is another number we encourage buyers to understand before making a decision:
What will this particular property actually cost me each year to own?
The answer can vary enormously.
Two homes with similar purchase prices can have very different annual carrying costs depending on the community, property type, amenities, level of management — and ultimately, the lifestyle attached to them.
A lock-and-leave condo in San José del Cabo is a very different proposition from a large villa with a private pool and landscaping. Add resort services, a beach club or private golf membership and the numbers change again.
So rather than focusing on one expense — usually the HOA — let’s look at what ownership in Los Cabos really costs.
HOA Fees: There Is No Standard Number
HOA fees are probably the most visible ongoing cost of owning a condominium or a home within a managed community in Los Cabos.
They’re also one of the easiest numbers to misunderstand.
There really isn’t such a thing as a standard Los Cabos HOA. Fees can vary significantly not only between communities, but between different properties within the same development.
Here are a few real-world examples from properties and communities we’re currently working with.
At Costarena in San José del Cabo, a two-bedroom condo may carry an HOA of around $450 per month, while a larger three-bedroom penthouse is closer to $850 per month.
At Tortuga Bay, HOA fees currently range from approximately $800 to $1,500 per month, depending on the size and type of residence.
At Puerto Los Cabos, one residence we currently represent at La Noria carries an HOA of approximately $1,200 per month.
And at the upper end of the market, the numbers can become considerably larger.
Within Querencia, HOA fees vary significantly depending on the neighborhood and residence. As one real-world example, a roughly 4,000-square-foot garden residence in the Verandas C buildings, valued at approximately $4.6 million, currently carries an HOA of around $3,000 per month.
Even within Palmilla, asking “What’s the HOA?” isn’t really enough. Different neighborhoods and condominium developments have their own fee structures. As one current example, a two-bedroom residence at Palmilla Dunes is listed with HOA dues of approximately $280 per month.
The point isn’t that one community is cheap and another expensive.
Never compare HOA fees without comparing what you’re actually getting for them.
Depending on the property, HOA fees may contribute toward security, landscaping, pools, roads, common-area maintenance, building insurance, utilities for common areas, administration and reserve funds.
And reserve funding matters.
An unusually low HOA isn’t necessarily a bargain if the community is underfunded, maintenance is being deferred or owners are regularly being asked to contribute through special assessments.
The Living in Cabo 2026 HOA guide makes a similar point: buyers should look beyond the monthly fee and understand what is included, the financial health of the HOA, reserve funding and the potential for special assessments.
Don’t just ask what the HOA costs. Ask what it covers — and whether the HOA itself is financially healthy.
Property Tax: Usually the Pleasant Surprise
For many American and Canadian buyers, annual property tax — predial — is one of the more pleasant surprises of owning property in Los Cabos.
But there is an important distinction to understand.
Property tax isn’t simply calculated as a percentage of what you paid for the home.
It’s based on the property’s registered cadastral value — valor catastral or base catastral — and the applicable municipal classification and tax rate.
As an illustration, a property with a cadastral value of approximately US$1.11 million (MXN $20 million), using an illustrative exchange rate of MXN $18 to US$1, and applying a rate of 3.0663 per thousand, would generate annual property tax of approximately:
US$3,400 (MXN $61,326) per year.
The important point is that the cadastral value and market value aren’t necessarily the same thing.
So a property selling for $2 million doesn’t automatically generate property taxes based on a $2 million valuation.
Owners can check their property-tax account using the property’s Clave Catastral, and Los Cabos also typically offers incentives for paying predial early in the year.
For 2026, the municipality announced a 20% discount during January and February and 10% during March for prompt payment.
It’s not usually the ownership expense that surprises our clients — but before recommending a property, we’d still rather see the actual predial bill than rely on a generic estimate.
Fideicomiso: Small, But Recurring
Most foreign buyers purchasing residential property in Los Cabos hold title through a Mexican bank trust known as a fideicomiso.
There are costs associated with establishing the trust at closing, but there is also an annual bank administration fee.
As a general planning figure, we’d allow approximately $500–$800 per year, although the actual amount depends on the bank and individual trust.
Compared with the other costs involved in owning a luxury property, it’s relatively modest.
But it’s still a recurring expense — and one that buyers coming from the US or Canada may not initially have factored into their budget.
Insurance: Understand What You’re Covered For
Insurance varies considerably by property.
A condominium where part of the structure is covered by an HOA master policy is very different from a standalone oceanfront villa.
For a luxury condominium, we might initially allow around $3,500 per year as a planning estimate, but we’d want an actual quote for the specific property before relying on it.
In Los Cabos, we’d pay particular attention to hurricane and storm coverage, deductibles and exactly where the HOA’s master policy ends and the owner’s responsibility begins.
The important thing is understanding the coverage before you buy — not after you need to make a claim.
Utilities: How You Live Matters
Utility costs are driven as much by how you use the property as by the property itself.
Someone spending four winter months in a two-bedroom condo has a completely different consumption profile from somebody cooling a large villa throughout August.
Air conditioning is usually the biggest variable, while pools, outdoor lighting, appliances and occupancy all contribute. Solar can materially reduce electricity costs for some homes.
For a luxury condominium, around $3,000 per year for electricity, water, gas and internet combined might be a reasonable initial planning allowance.
But whenever possible, we’d rather obtain historical bills for the specific property.
Actual numbers beat estimates.
Property Management: Who Looks After the Home When You’re Away?
This is particularly relevant in Los Cabos because so many owners aren’t here twelve months of the year.
Some come for a few weeks. Others spend four, five or six months here.
Either way, somebody needs to keep an eye on the property while they’re gone.
For a condominium, around $300 per month can be a reasonable starting point, although the scope of service varies considerably.
And good property management should involve more than simply paying a few bills.
It might mean checking the property after a tropical storm, arranging an AC service before you arrive, meeting a contractor when something needs repairing, coordinating housekeeping, checking for leaks or humidity issues, receiving deliveries, or making sure the home is stocked and ready when your flight lands.
For a larger villa, the role can expand considerably — managing pool and landscaping contractors, overseeing preventative maintenance and coordinating multiple service providers.
A good property manager isn’t simply another expense.
When you live hundreds or thousands of miles away, they’re effectively your eyes and ears on the property.
Maintenance: Plan for the Cabo Climate
Sunshine and warm weather are obviously part of the reason people buy here, but the coastal environment does mean regular maintenance is important.
Sun, salt air, heat and humidity can affect outdoor furniture, metalwork, paint and AC systems over time.
For a luxury condominium, setting aside approximately $5,000 per year as a maintenance reserve can be a sensible starting point. You won’t necessarily spend that every year, but planning for routine maintenance and occasional replacement helps keep the property in good condition.
Hurricane preparedness is also part of responsible coastal ownership. Depending on the property, protection may already include hurricane-rated glazing or shutters. For owners who aren’t in Cabo year-round, a property manager can also prepare the residence before a storm and inspect it afterwards.
Larger villas naturally require more attention, particularly where there are pools, landscaping and extensive outdoor areas.
The key is simply to plan for maintenance as part of ownership rather than treating it as an unexpected expense.
When the Lifestyle Has Its Own Price Tag
This is where owning in Los Cabos becomes particularly interesting.
Some communities aren’t simply selling a home.
They’re selling access to a lifestyle.
And that lifestyle can have its own economics.
At Costarena, for example, owners currently have the option of joining the nearby Beach Club. Membership is approximately $30,000 upfront plus $250 per month in ongoing dues.
Those costs are completely separate from the property’s HOA.
At the other end of the spectrum is somewhere like Querencia.
For the Verandas residence we mentioned earlier, the approximately $3,000 monthly HOA does not include Querencia Club membership or annual Club dues.
Current Querencia membership costs are approximately $232,000 including tax for Social Membership, with annual dues of around $40,600.
Full Golf Membership is approximately $348,000 including tax, with annual dues of around $58,000.
That means an owner of that Verandas residence with Full Golf Membership could be spending approximately $94,000 per year on HOA and Club dues alone — before property tax, insurance, utilities, property management or maintenance.
That’s a substantial number.
But simply calling it expensive misses the point.
For someone who plays golf regularly, uses the fitness and recreational facilities, dines at the Club and builds much of their social life around Querencia, the Club is part of the product they’re buying.
Likewise, somebody at Costarena who regularly uses the Beach Club might consider $250 per month excellent value.
The more useful question isn’t:
“How much does it cost?”
It’s:
“What am I getting for it — and will I actually use it?”
So What Does a Los Cabos Home Really Cost to Own?
This is where we’d resist giving you a neat percentage of the purchase price.
It sounds useful, but it can be misleading.
A lock-and-leave two-bedroom condo with a relatively modest HOA could have quite manageable annual carrying costs.
A larger penthouse in the same development will cost more.
A villa adds landscaping, pools, exterior maintenance and greater utility consumption.
A resort residence may include services within the HOA that you’d otherwise pay for separately.
And a home inside one of Los Cabos’ premier private clubs can add tens of thousands of dollars annually to the lifestyle budget.
The purchase price tells you what it costs to buy the home. It doesn’t tell you what it costs to live the lifestyle attached to it.
That’s why we prefer to work backwards from the individual property.
What Should You Know Before Buying?
Before recommending a property to a client, these are some of the numbers and details we want to understand:
- What is the current HOA and exactly what does it include?
- When was it last increased?
- Is the developer currently subsidizing any portion of it?
- How healthy are the HOA reserves?
- Have there been recent special assessments, or are any anticipated?
- What was the property’s most recent predial bill?
- What have the actual utility costs been?
- What insurance is required and what does the HOA policy cover?
- What will property management cost?
- What should realistically be budgeted for ongoing maintenance?
- Are there separate beach, social or golf memberships?
- Are they optional or mandatory?
- What are the initiation fees and annual dues?
And wherever possible:
We’d rather see invoices than estimates.
That’s particularly important when comparing two properties.
A home with a $500 monthly HOA isn’t necessarily cheaper to own than one with a $1,000 HOA if the second includes services you’d otherwise have to pay for separately.
Know the Number Before You Buy
For most of our clients, these costs don’t change the decision to own in Los Cabos. They simply help determine which property and which community are the right fit.
Someone looking for an easy lock-and-leave winter home may prioritize simplicity and lower carrying costs.
Someone else may happily spend considerably more for golf, beach access, resort services and a community that becomes an important part of their life here.
Neither approach is right or wrong.
There is nothing inherently wrong with a $3,000 monthly HOA — and there is nothing inherently good about a $300 one.
What matters is what you’re receiving, how well the community is managed, whether its finances are healthy and whether the cost makes sense for the way you intend to use the property.
The important thing is knowing what you’re buying — both the property and the lifestyle that comes with it.
At South House, our job isn’t simply to tell you what a property costs to purchase.
It’s to help you understand what it will cost to own.
Because the right home shouldn’t just make sense on closing day.
It should make sense every year you own it.