Faena Tulum has taken its sales campaign to Manhattan, presenting the Riviera Maya development to New York buyers through an exclusive alliance with Serhant, the brokerage behind the Netflix series Owning Manhattan.
The arrangement is unusual for the Riviera Maya. Developers in the region typically sell through local brokers, regional agencies, or international listing portals. Faena Tulum instead placed its residences inside one of Manhattan's most visible luxury sales operations, a decision the developer frames as a deliberate reach for the New York buyer.
An exclusive alliance with Serhant's Manhattan brokers
Serhant publicly announced its collaboration with Faena Tulum Residences in 2025, describing the development as an exclusive addition to its portfolio. The firm, founded by Ryan Serhant in 2020, has grown to roughly 1,000 agents and has built much of its public profile through Owning Manhattan, the Netflix show that follows its agents as they sell high-value New York property.
According to the developer, the Faena Tulum account sits with the Emanuele Fiore Team at Serhant. Fiore, originally from Torino, Italy, works with buyers, sellers, and developers across New York, the Hamptons, and Miami, and leads a team that markets high-end listings in Manhattan.
The developer says the Faena team has presented the project in New York on a monthly basis since last October, working alongside the brokerage in an established luxury market. Those presentations, according to the developer, have drawn agents featured on Owning Manhattan, as well as Faena founder Alan Faena, architect Brandon Haw, and members of the Faena Residences Tulum team.
Why Faena Tulum is selling in New York
The developer positions the New York campaign as a search for a specific buyer, the kind of design-driven, culturally motivated client who gave Tulum its early reputation before mass tourism arrived. The pitch leans on identity, community, and personal growth rather than square footage alone, the same language Faena uses across its properties in Miami Beach and Buenos Aires.
Active construction is part of the message. By emphasizing that the project is already under construction, the developer aims to offer buyers a sense of security, setting Faena Tulum apart from announced developments in the region that have not moved beyond renderings. In a market where projects are often sold years before completion, visible progress becomes a selling point.
The 147 residences behind the pitch
Faena Tulum forms the residential core of the larger Faena District Tulum, developed by Inmobilia together with Faena Hotels and the Accor group. The project includes 147 residences ranging from one to three bedrooms, designed by Brandon Haw Architecture.
Haw drew on ancient Maya construction for the design, pairing raw concrete with warm wood, muted color, and chukum, the polished local plaster used throughout the interiors. The residences sit within a district that also houses a hotel, an ocean club, the Faena Art Pavilion, the Tierra Santa Healing House, and retail space.
The development lies roughly 40 minutes from Tulum International Airport, near Parque del Jaguar and the Tulum hotel zone. Public listings from brokerages marketing the residences have shown starting prices near 900,000 dollars, though pricing varies by unit and layout.
A marketing model uncommon in the Riviera Maya
What sets the campaign apart is less the product than the channel. Faena is using a celebrity-driven media brand as a distribution engine, placing a Mexican Caribbean development in front of the same audience that Serhant courts for Manhattan penthouses.
The approach reflects a broader shift in Tulum's luxury segment since Tulum International Airport opened in December 2023. Shorter travel times have made the destination more accessible to international buyers, and branded residential projects have multiplied along the coast and inland. Competition for high-net-worth clients has intensified, and developers are experimenting with how and where they sell.
The images are developer-released renders, offering a look at how Faena Tulum is designed to sit within the surrounding jungle.
By marketing through New York's broker network rather than waiting for buyers to find Tulum, Faena is testing whether the district model that worked in Miami Beach and Buenos Aires can attract committed buyers in a market with its own deep supply of luxury inventory.
The monthly presentations are set to continue, according to the developer, as the district moves toward full operation. Whether the New York campaign converts into sales, and whether other Riviera Maya developers follow the same path into Manhattan's brokerages, will become clearer as Faena Tulum completes its buildout.
Should more Riviera Maya developers market directly to New York buyers, or does that shift Tulum further from the audience that first defined it? Join the conversation and share your perspective with us on Instagram and Facebook at @thetulumtimes.