We often feature real estate destinations that are all about the flash and prestige. Much of the Pacific Coast of Mexico and Costa Rica has turned into a game of one-upsmanship, which showed no signs of slowing until California’s real estate crash hit.

Mazatlan was always a bit removed from all that, despite its location closer to the U.S. than many other destinations. The bubble never got very big, so the real estate market didn’t grind to a halt. Prices are off a bit from the peak, but they were never much out of whack to start with. A million bucks goes a long way in this region.

There are many reasons for this, but one of the main ones is that Mazatlan has not been a flashy, upper-crust resort city. There’s little reason for the paparazzi to hang out here watching for celebrities. That doesn’t mean, however, that you can’t find a luxury dream home or waterfront penthouse. It just means you’ll pay a lot less for it than you would in Cabo San Lucas or the Riviera Nayarit. Apart from Punta Mita, a golf and beach development like Estrella del Mar doesn’t even exist in those places: there’s not enough waterfront land available for such a grand scheme.

So if you want a luxury vacation or retirement home but you’re a value investor at heart, take a look at our latest real estate round-up. Pacific Mexico with Personality: Real Estate in Mazatlan.