Key facts
San Miguel de Allende real estate: the key facts
Thirteen figures for anyone deciding whether to buy, each with its source. Checked October 8, 2026.
Invest In San Miguel is an independent publisher. We list no property, represent no buyer or seller and earn no commission, so nothing here is written to sell you a house.
Each answer below is one sentence or two, with the law, agency or brokerage that stands behind it. Where a number does not exist we say so and do not estimate.
Thirteen questions, answered
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Is San Miguel de Allende a buyer's or a seller's market right now?
Leaning to buyers. Supply stood at 30 months of inventory in August 2026, against the 15 to 18 the reporting brokerage calls normal here, and 253 homes closed from January to August against 289 a year earlier, 12.5% fewer. No fall in closed prices has been measured.
Source Realty San Miguel, market update published 9 September 2026: a commissioned brokerage reading the local MLS. The verdict is our count of five published readings.
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What does a home in San Miguel de Allende sell for?
The median closed price was US$480,000 in the first half of 2026, across 181 house and condominium sales. September 2026 alone came in at US$372,500 on 38 sales; a monthly median moves with the mix of what sold and is not a change in prices. A second brokerage puts the median of all closings from January to September at US$385,000, across 327 sales with a recorded price; its basis is wider, so the two figures are not comparable. No public registry publishes sale prices here.
Source Mike Fanelli, The Agency San Miguel de Allende, from the AMPI San Miguel de Allende MLS: half-year report dated 1 August 2026 and September report read 5 October 2026. The second median: Live In San Miguel, report covering 7 January to 30 September 2026, read 8 October 2026. Both are commissioned sources.
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How long does it take to sell a home there?
About six months. Homes that closed in September 2026 had been listed for a median 195 days; across the first half of 2026 the median was 178 days. Listings that never sold are not counted.
Source Mike Fanelli, The Agency San Miguel de Allende, from the AMPI MLS; reports of 1 August and September 2026. A commissioned source.
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Can a foreigner own property in San Miguel de Allende outright?
Yes. The municipality is on the official list, published in the Diario Oficial de la Federación on 21 May 1997, of municipalities wholly outside Mexico’s restricted zone. A foreigner buys in their own name on an ordinary deed. No bank trust (fideicomiso) is needed.
Source Diario Oficial de la Federación, 21 May 1997; Ley de Inversión Extranjera, Article 10-A.
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What does it cost a buyer to close?
The items fixed by statute or official tariff come to about 4.3% of a MXN 5,000,000 purchase and 4.4% of a MXN 10,000,000 one. Most of it is the municipal acquisition tax (ISAI): 3.24% and 3.62% of the price after the statutory deduction. Published all-in estimates run from 4 to 9 per cent and do not agree with each other.
Source Ley de Ingresos para el Municipio de San Miguel de Allende 2026, Article 7; Ley Hacendaria Municipal para el Estado de Guanajuato, Article 338, in force since 9 July 2026.
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How much is the annual property tax (predial)?
Between 0.234% and 0.354% of the property’s fiscal value, at marginal rates: MXN 16,570 a year on a fiscal value of MXN 5,000,000. Paying the year in January earns 15% off, in February 10%. The fiscal value is the cadastre’s figure, not the purchase price.
Source Ley de Ingresos para el Municipio de San Miguel de Allende 2026, Articles 4 and 49.
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What tax is due when a foreign owner sells?
A seller who is not a Mexican tax resident pays income tax of 25% of the gross price or 35% of the gain, at their election. A Mexican tax resident, of any nationality, is taxed on the gain and can exempt the sale of a home up to a price of 700,000 UDIs, which was MXN 6,166,187 at the 10 July 2026 value.
Source Ley del Impuesto sobre la Renta, Articles 160 and 93 fracción XIX.
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What do estate agents charge?
The customary commission is 6% of the sale price plus 16% VAT, 6.96% in all, paid by the seller. No law or association tariff fixes it, so it is negotiable.
Source One local brokerage’s published pages, retrieved July 2026. No statute or tariff states a rate.
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What does a short-term rental earn, and what is owed on it?
The median listing grossed US$12,792 in the twelve months to July 2026, on scraped data, before any cost. A furnished let carries 16% VAT and Guanajuato’s 4% lodging tax, and the municipality requires a lodging land-use permit of MXN 45,000 per fiscal year. No booking-verified dataset exists for this market.
Source AirROI, scraped listings, twelve months to July 2026, page updated 12 September 2026; Ley del Impuesto al Valor Agregado; Ley de Hacienda para el Estado de Guanajuato; Ley de Ingresos para el Municipio de San Miguel de Allende 2026, Article 24.
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Does buying a home give you residency in Mexico?
No. Ownership grants no immigration status. A property can support an application for temporary residency only if its deed value exceeds 91,710 days of UMA, about MXN 10,758,500 in 2026; otherwise an applicant qualifies on income or savings.
Source Lineamientos published in the Diario Oficial de la Federación, 25 July 2025; UMA for 2026, INEGI.
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Who is buying in San Miguel de Allende?
66% of identified buyers in the first half of 2026 were from the United States, on one brokerage agent’s reading of the local MLS. A second brokerage puts the share at 69% from January to September. No registry publishes where buyers come from.
Source Mike Fanelli, The Agency San Miguel de Allende, half-year report dated 1 August 2026. The second share: Live In San Miguel, report covering 7 January to 30 September 2026, read 8 October 2026. Both are commissioned sources.
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Is there a water risk?
Yes, and the federal water authority documents it. CONAGUA’s 2024 determination for the aquifer beneath San Miguel de Allende records extraction exceeding recharge by 61,984,190 cubic metres a year, and states that no volume is available for new concessions.
Source CONAGUA, 2024 availability determination, Cuenca Alta del Río Laja aquifer.
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What is not published about this market?
There is no public registry of sale prices, no closed-sale figure by neighbourhood, no closed price per square metre and no price index. Every transaction figure in circulation is a commissioned brokerage’s reading of the local MLS.
Source Our own checks of the Guanajuato Registro Público de la Propiedad (23 July 2026) and AMPI San Miguel de Allende (24 September 2026).
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Published research, not legal, tax or investment advice. Rates and fees are those in force in 2026; a Mexican notario is the authority on your own transaction.