Ed Eakin, a Texas real estate broker and Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS), has relocated full-time to Los Cabos, where his firm, Eakin Group, will concentrate on luxury property in the region's master-planned golf communities. The move positions the firm in a market that continues to draw steady demand from North American buyers, led by California and Texas, with a strong Canadian contingent.
His first development relationship in the market is Puerto Los Cabos, a 2,000-acre coastal community on the eastern edge of San José del Cabo. The community currently has 27 holes of golf, with nine more under construction; once complete, 18 holes will be private and 18 will remain resort play. Its marina has 270 active slips, with capacity for about 400. Residential neighborhoods range from branded residences at Zadún, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, to the estate lots of Fundadores and the newer, lower-density Concepción.
The timing of the announcement matters because it highlights a divergence in the real estate market. While many U.S. housing markets have slowed, Eakin says the region's upper tier remains active. "Real estate is slow around the country, but luxury is still moving here," Eakin said. "People come for the lifestyle – the golf, the water, the restaurants – and more of them are staying for longer stretches every year." The trend suggests that international luxury buyers are increasingly prioritizing lifestyle-driven purchases in established second-home markets, even as domestic markets cool.
Eakin has worked with buyers purchasing in Mexico since the late 2000s, when he lived in Playa del Carmen and sold at a golf course development there. His work has centered on connecting U.S. buyers with established developers, and on the due diligence that foreign buyers often skip. "A lot of buyers go straight to a developer without representation because they think they'll get a better deal," he said. "The developer is looking out for the developer. In a different country, with different laws and a different language, the buyer needs someone on their side." That emphasis on buyer representation could become a larger theme as more U.S. buyers enter Mexico's luxury market.
Puerto Los Cabos sits roughly 20 minutes from Los Cabos International Airport and five minutes from San José del Cabo's historic center. Eakin is one of three recipients of the National Association of REALTORS® CIPS Excellence Award, and the second to receive it. He teaches the CIPS designation course to agents internationally and is serving his fourth year as one of NAR's 30 Global Ambassadors, representing Barbados, Belize, and Trinidad and Tobago. He was named International REALTOR® of the Year in Dallas in 2022 and is vice chair of the Texas REALTORS® global committee for 2027. He also holds the CRS, CLHMS, ABR, SRS and SRES designations. More information about his practice is available at eakingroup.com.
