Mexico's Geo plans to diversify in future

By Chris Aspin

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Geo (GEOB.MX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), one of Mexico's leading home builders, plans to diversify in coming years as the country's current deficit of 5 million homes disappears and is studying selling homes to U.S. retirees and expanding in Latin America.

Vice President Miguel Gomez Mont told Reuters on Tuesday that Geo is planning a move into mid-sized Mexican cities that have a modern hospital, an airport and golf courses and selling homes to elderly Americans and Canadians.

Gomez Mont said at the Reuters Latin America Investment Summit that Geo wants to persuade North Americans to sell their homes and move to cities like Morelia and Queretaro that have strong infrastructure.

"Mid-sized Mexican cities that are beautiful (are the focus), where you feel tranquil and where you can buy a house that is very, very good for $150,000, just like the one you had in California," Gomez Mont said.

It is a business strategy that mirrors home builders in Spain who are currently constructing 1 million homes per year and selling half of them to British and other northern Europeans who want a home in a warmer climate.

"Here life costs half what it costs there (the United States and Canada), which means they could improve their lifestyle twofold," Gomez Mont said.

The plan to build for U.S. and Canadian retirees is some way off yet as Geo and other Mexican home builders like Homex (HOMEX.MX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Urbi (URBI.MX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) continue to focus largely on reducing the country's housing deficit.

Under a drive spearheaded by President Vicente Fox, Mexican home builders have seen double-digit revenue growth as they build and sell cheap homes, often for less than $20,000, to low-income Mexican families.  Continued...