Living in one of Mexico City’s safest areas might come at a premium, but it also means being far from the city center.

According to an analysis of housing statistics on the real estate website Propiedades.com and crime statistics compiled by the city attorney general on the government’s open-data page, there may be a correlation between house and apartment prices in certain parts of the city and the security they offer, but what all of Mexico City’s safest boroughs have in common is their location on the fringes of town.

According to the analysis, Milpa Alta, the farthest south of the city’s boroughs, has the city’s lowest crime rate. Last year a mere 1,779 crimes were reported in the borough, where houses cost an average of 2.59 million pesos (US $134,000) and to rent a house costs 10,000 pesos (US $518) a month.

Cuajimalpa de Morelos came in second place for the lowest crime rate, with only 3,491 cases in 2018. This western-most borough was also the most expensive, with housing prices averaging at 10 million pesos, apartments at 11.97 million pesos, house rentals at 37,609 pesos per month and apartment rents hovering around 28,537 pesos.

Cuajimalpa includes Santa Fe, one of the city’s most important financial districts. The neighborhood also includes several gated communities.

In third place, Magdalena Contreras, another far-west borough, saw 3,647 reported crimes last year. The average purchase price of a house is 6.05 million pesos and an apartment 4.42 million. Renting an apartment has an average price tag of 15,503 pesos and a house 25,029 pesos.

Tlahuac, one of Mexico City’s eastern-most boroughs, was in fourth place on the list with 5,896 crimes last year. Houses cost an average of 2.08 million pesos and apartments 608,301. Renting in the zone is much more affordable, with the monthly cost of an apartment averaging 3,959 pesos and a house 10,906 pesos.

Xochimilco, just north of Milpa Alta, closed the list of the five safest boroughs with 7,589 reported crimes in 2018. Housing and apartment prices were among the lowest on the list, averaging 3.35 million pesos (US $174,000) and 1.42 million pesos respectively. Rents in the home of Mexico City’s famous trajineras average 7,098 pesos for an apartment and 15,840 pesos for a house.

Of the five boroughs, Tlahuac is the only one with direct access via the Metro. Xochimilco is also a slightly more accessible, though distant, destination due to an available transfer to the tren ligero, a light rail line that runs 13 kilometers solely through the boroughs of Tlalpan and Xochimilco.

Leonardo González, an analyst at Propiedades.com, told the newspaper El Financiero that safety is one of the most important factors in evaluating property values in the city.

Rocío Uribe, president of Uribe Quality Real Estate, said that the demand for home security is on the rise and that sales of armored doors, window gratings and combination or fingerprint locks for doors has increased accordingly.

Experts say that in Mexico City it is more important for a real estate agent to talk about a property’s safety than its features and confirm that the most commonly asked questions in showings focus on the building’s entrances and exits and its cameras.

Source: El Financiero (sp)