Second homes: Luxury for less in Los Cabos, Mexico

— -- The Los Cabos region, which occupies the southernmost tip of the Baja Peninsula, has been called "Mexico's Hawaii." Like Hawaii, it's warm and sunny, with less than two weeks of rain annually, and it boasts many of its nation's best resorts and oceanfront golf courses.

A jet-set hot spot, Los Cabos attracts celebrities and billionaires. Anchored by ultra-luxury hotels, including Las Ventanas al Paraiso, One&Only Palmilla and Esperanza, the region also has attracted droves of wealthy second-home owners. Yet while many single-family homes are in the $2 million to $4 million range, there are more choices well under $500,000 than in many similarly upscale areas.

One appeal is the setting. The Sonoran Desert ecosystem runs from the American Southwest down the mountainous peninsula and meets the sea in Los Cabos.

Los Cabos also is Mexico's top golf destination, with eight courses, including the nation's only course ranked in the world's top 100. With world-class fishing, Cabo is known as "Marlin Alley" for its trophy catches. Water sports are popular, and the inland offers hiking, horseback rides and desert jeep tours.

The region includes Cabo San Lucas (with a spring-break atmosphere, bars and restaurants, and a famous marina) and San José del Cabo, a sleepier town of galleries and cafés 18 miles to the east. "Cabo San Lucas is for under 30, San José for over 30," says Julie Kirshner of Sotheby's International Realty. In between is "The Corridor," which contains the top resorts and luxury residential communities.

Generally, prices are lowest in Cabo San Lucas, where a single-family home can be had for about $300,000. "It has huge hillsides with thousands of units with sea views," Kirshner says.

San José offers many more beachfront condos, so prices on the water can be less than in Cabo — one-bedrooms start at about $300,000. Large beachfront houses can fetch well over $10 million, however. The Corridor includes the most expensive luxury communities, such as Querencia, Esperanza, El Dorado and Cabo Real.