House Construction in the Riviera Maya
Turnkey new builds in the Riviera Maya: design, permits, foundation, structure and finishes under one contract, one site manager and one fixed price.
Recrea has been building houses in Playa del Carmen, Tulum, Cancún, Puerto Aventuras, Akumal and Puerto Morelos since 2008 — 196+ completed projects across the Riviera Maya. Our architecture, electrical, carpentry and ironwork crews are in-house, so your build does not depend on subcontractors who appear and vanish.
How Much House Construction Costs in the Riviera Maya
Real budgets for a completed build, excluding land and furniture. The range depends on the finish level: economy, mid or premium (chukum, hardwood, designer kitchen, infinity pool).
| House size | Construction cost | Equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| 100 m² house | $1.5M – $2.7M MXN | $83,000 – $150,000 USD |
| 150 m² house | $2.5M – $4.9M MXN | $140,000 – $270,000 USD |
| 200 m² house | $3.3M – $6.5M MXN | $183,000 – $360,000 USD |
| 300 m² house | $7M – $14.6M MXN | $390,000 – $810,000 USD |
Want the exact number for your lot and square metres? Use the cost calculator or ask us for an itemised quote.
Permits: Construction permits, licences and DRO
House Construction Process Step by Step
This is how we run every new build, with the timings we actually see in the Riviera Maya:
1. Lot review
Land use, legal status, utilities and cenote or cavern risk. Before you buy, if you have not bought yet.
1–2 weeks
2. Concept and budget
Layout, massing and a preliminary cost per m². This is where the real scope is set against your budget.
2–3 weeks
3. Construction documents
Architectural, structural, electrical and plumbing drawings signed by a DRO, plus a closed itemised budget.
4–6 weeks
4. Permits and licences
Land use, building licence, DRO, CFE and water hook-ups, environmental permit where required.
4–20 weeks
5. Foundation
Soil mechanics, rock excavation, footings or mat foundation and under-slab services.
3–5 weeks
6. Shell and structure
Structure, walls, slabs and roofs — the stage that decides how the house holds up against hurricanes and salt air.
10–16 weeks
7. Services and finishes
Electrical, plumbing, air conditioning, plaster, floors, carpentry, ironwork, pool and chukum.
12–20 weeks
8. Turnkey handover
Cleaning, systems testing, house manual, as-built drawings and a written 1-year warranty.
1–2 weeks
Total: 8 to 14 months of construction plus 2–5 months of design and permits.
What the Price per m² Includes — and What It Does Not
Included
- Architectural, structural and MEP design
- DRO and municipal building licence
- Foundation and reinforced concrete structure
- Electrical, plumbing and air-conditioning installation
- Plaster, floors, paint, closet and kitchen carpentry
- Ironwork, aluminium joinery and anti-corrosion protection
- Cistern, water tank and pressure system
- Final cleaning, testing and written 1-year warranty
Not included
- The land and notary costs
- Furniture and décor (quoted separately as FF&E)
- Pool, landscaping and palapa if not contracted in the package
- Solar panels, generator or home automation (optional)
- Changes you request once construction has started
Permits and Building Rules in the Riviera Maya
Every municipality has different rules and that is the first source of delays. Solidaridad (Playa del Carmen) works through the PDU and a municipal DRO; Benito Juárez (Cancún) adds FONATUR in Puerto Cancún and the Hotel Zone; Tulum requires SEMA environmental authorisation on most lots; Puerto Morelos, its own municipality since 2016, applies stricter criteria because of the reef. We build in all four and start the right process for your lot.
The lot: what decides your foundation
The whole coast sits on limestone with cenotes, caverns and a shallow water table. A soil-mechanics study — plus a geophysical survey where cavern risk exists — decides the foundation and is the best money you will spend on the project.
We build along the whole corridor, from Puerto Morelos to Tulum, with one team, one contract and one site manager. The cost gap between the ends of the corridor reaches 15% through logistics and regulation.
Useful guides: House construction in Puerto Aventuras · House construction in Akumal · Construction company in the Riviera Maya · House construction in Playa del Carmen · House construction in Cancún · House construction in Tulum · Permits, licences and DRO · Turnkey construction for foreigners
Why Build With Recrea
- 196+ completed projects in the Riviera Maya since 2008
- Fixed-price contract broken down by line item — no surprise overruns
- One company for everything — architecture, permits, construction, electrical, carpentry, ironwork
- Licensed DRO and architects — fully legal build, workers registered with IMSS
- Weekly photo and video reports — built for owners who live abroad
- Written 1-year warranty on structure and installations
Real Projects
Or send us your project details
What sets this area apart
The Riviera Maya is not a municipality but a corridor of some 130 kilometres between Puerto Morelos and Tulum, with four municipal authorities and three distinct environmental regimes. This page gathers what is common to the whole corridor; what changes from one end to the other — jurisdiction, density, services and salt exposure — is set out on the individual zone pages.
Ground, water and the file
The water table is deep, so conventional foundations — isolated and strip footings — need no dewatering during the pour. The trade-off is rock: where compact limestone appears, excavating for pool and cistern calls for a hydraulic breaker and pushes up the earthworks.
The competent municipality is varía: Solidaridad, Tulum, Benito Juárez, Puerto Morelos, and the environmental file falls to municipal, SEMA o SEMARNAT depending on the parcel.
What decides this particular plot: lo primero es saber qué municipio es competente: cambia licencia, reglamento y plazos.
How the build gets there and what it is built with
Access: corredor de la federal 307.
Low salt exposure. 316 stainless can be reserved for genuinely exposed work with 304 used indoors, which saves noticeably on metalwork and steel joinery without shortening service life.
There is no design committee: the municipal licence is essentially the whole procedure, which shortens the calendar and makes this kind of lot a good candidate for a fixed-price contract, with fewer unknowns underground.
Frequently Asked Questions
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