Interest in renting and buying properties in the Mexico City district of Roma soared following the release of the Alfonso Cuarón film of the same name, statistics show.

According to the website Mercado Libre, searches for properties for sale in Roma increased by 47% between August 2018, when the film premiered at the Venice International Film Festival, and January 2019.

The search for Roma rental properties also went up in the same period albeit by a more modest 35%.

Located around four kilometers southwest of Mexico City’s downtown, the Roma district is known for its bars, restaurants and bohemian atmosphere.

The district is actually made up of two distinct neighborhoods – Roma Norte and the slightly less trendy Roma Sur.

The house where Roma was filmed is located in the latter neighborhood on Tepeji Street opposite the home where Cuarón grew up.

The house, and other Roma locations featured in the black-and-white film as well as the restaurant La Casa del Pavo (The House of the Turkey) in the capital’s historic center, have become popular tourist attractions as a result of the success of Roma.

Interest in buying and renting real estate in Roma fell for a brief period after the powerful September 19,2017 earthquake, which caused significant damage in the district.

However, Roma’s location in an area of Mexico City that is more susceptible than most to seismic activity as well as high prices to buy or rent have done little to undermine the popularity of the neighborhood.

The average price to buy a house in Roma Norte is just under 6.7 million pesos (US $350,000) while the average cost of an apartment is 5.1 million pesos (US $265,000), according to real estate website propiedades.com.

Renting a house in the same neighborhood costs on average almost 39,000 pesos (US $2,000) a month while an apartment rents at just over half that amount, or just under 21,500 pesos (US $1,100).

But with Roma nominated for 10 Oscars at this Sunday’s Academy Awards and the strong likelihood that it will win at least some of them, the popularity of Roma as a place to live –and its real estate prices – will likely continue to go up.

Source: El Universal (sp)