Why People Keep Moving to Los Cabos: 10 Years In With Our Broker

Fletcher Wheaton has been in Los Cabos for ten years. He came from New Orleans, where he had a network, an investment background, and a clear path to a comfortable living. He left all of it in 2016.

We sat down with him for The Baja Brief to ask the questions buyers actually ask us: why do people keep coming back here, what does everyone get wrong about Cabo, and what is the mistake that costs buyers the most.

The numbers behind the move

Three figures from the conversation that frame everything else:

The 40% is the one worth sitting with. Almost half the people who visit come back. That is not a marketing statistic, it is a retention rate, and retention rates are how you tell a destination from a trend.

Why he stayed

The move was not obvious. "There was a little bit of fear around leaving the known that I had and all the connections I had back home," he said. "Coming here was scary at first, because you're giving up all that income, all that potential."

What changed was the people he met and, plainly, the place. Ten years later the question his friends ask has changed too.

"My friends would always say, when are you moving back? And then it changed to, you're not moving back. And now it's basically not even questions about moving back, but hey, when can we come visit you?"

The biggest misconception about Cabo

Two, actually, and they are related.

That Cabo is one place

"The biggest misconception about Cabo is that Cabo is everything." The region runs from Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo up through Todos Santos, Pescadero and Cerritos, the East Cape, and on to La Paz two hours north. After a decade here, Fletcher still names stretches of Baja he has never seen.

If you come down twice a year, that applies to you too. Explore before you buy.

That Cabo is a party town

"I've lived in Cabo San Lucas for 10 years and I don't party at all."

He compares it to his hometown: "It's kind of like New Orleans. You have Bourbon Street where a lot of the partying goes on, but none of the locals live around there anyway. So it's there if you need it."

Why the beaches here are different

This matters more than it sounds, because it drives which properties are worth a premium.

"You're literally on a mountain range," he said. The shelf drops off fast, which is why the water is clear, why there are whales and orcas close in, why the fishing is what it is — and why a number of beaches are not swimmable.

That last part is a buying consideration, not a footnote. Swimmable beach access is scarce in Los Cabos, and scarcity is what holds value. It is the same logic we found in the San Jose Corridor data: what there isn't much of is what performs.

The upside is space. "One of my favorite things to do in Cabo is to go on a Tuesday afternoon, and here I am at this world-class beach and I'm looking around and there's five other people."

What has actually changed in ten years

Development, and a lot of it.

Capital arrived from Mexico City, Monterrey, Guadalajara, Cancun and Tulum, and the ocean-side corridor absorbed a wave of construction. Fletcher's read is that the cycle is turning:

"I think you're starting to see people say, there's been enough development. Let's let these projects finish and get absorbed before we consider doing a new project."

That matches what the 2026 numbers show. More listings came off the market this year than sold — 1.77 failures for every closing. Deep supply is exactly what an absorption pause looks like from the buyer's side.

His concern is how it gets built. "We really need to pay attention to how this is building out, with the urban plan, the PDU that the government put in, and making sure that people stick to it and do sustainable developments."

The biggest mistake buyers make

He did not hesitate: being in a rush.

"Maybe it's not a bad property, but maybe they buy there and then a year later they're like, oh, I like this area a lot better. I like this neighborhood a lot better."

The good news is that the market is not asking you to hurry. Asked to describe it in one sentence, he gave two words: buyer's market. With supply this deep, taking an extra season to get the neighborhood right costs you very little and protects you from the one mistake that is genuinely hard to undo.

What to look for in an advisor

"Honesty, integrity, and hard work," he said, then made the first one concrete.

"If you don't know something, instead of BS-ing it, tell that client: I'm going to get back to you. I know somebody that knows that market really well. Before I give you an answer that I don't know is correct, be honest with them."

The quality he rates highest is not on most lists: curiosity. "When there's a down day, they know there's always something to be done."

He applies it to himself. He spent last year working the East Cape specifically because he could not get answers there. "My curiosity was, this is more interesting right now because it's a lot harder to get answers. And because of that, I met a ton of people out on the East Cape."

By contrast: "When I first got here, Todos Santos, Pescadero, Cerritos was a very inefficient market. Today that is a super efficient market and it's a lot easier to understand."

For a buyer, that is a useful map. Efficient markets are easier to price. Inefficient ones are where the work pays.

One line worth keeping

Asked for a single piece of advice: "Under promise and over deliver. If you say you're going to do something, you do it. And if you say you're going to do something and you don't do it, you reach out to that person and tell them why it didn't get done and when it's going to get done."

That is a reasonable standard to hold any agent to, ours included.

Where to go from here

• Explore the areas Fletcher mentions: The East Cape, Todos Santos, Pescadero / Cerritos, La Paz
• Browse homes for sale and condos for sale
• Buying in Mexico for the first time: The Fideicomiso Explained and our buying and selling guides
• Market context: more listings came off the market this year than sold and what buying land in Baja actually takes
• Want a straight read on a specific property or area? Get in touch.

Frequently asked questions

Why do so many people move to Los Cabos?

The draw is a combination of landscape and retention: roughly 40% of travelers to Baja California Sur come back, and a meaningful share eventually buy. The region offers deep water close to shore, abundant uncrowded beaches, and a growing professional community, while remaining far less developed than its reputation suggests.

Is Los Cabos just a party destination?

No. Nightlife is concentrated in a small, well-defined area of Cabo San Lucas that most residents do not live near. The wider region — San Jose del Cabo, Todos Santos, Pescadero, the East Cape, La Paz — is residential, and many owners spend extended periods there with family.

Are the beaches in Los Cabos swimmable?

Some are, many are not. The seafloor drops off sharply because the region sits on a mountain range, which produces clear water and strong marine life but also strong surf on a number of beaches. Swimmable beach access is scarce, and that scarcity is reflected in property values.

What is the biggest mistake buyers make in Los Cabos?

Rushing. Buyers who purchase before exploring the region often find a year later that another neighborhood suited them better. In a market where listings currently fail at 1.77 for every sale, buyers have time and choice — and little reason not to use both.

Is Los Cabos a buyer's market right now?

Yes. In 2026, 1,263 properties sold across the Los Cabos MLS while 2,235 came off the market unsold. Supply is deep, several years of development are still being absorbed, and buyers have real negotiating room.