Happy Holidays!
I’m writing to you from my home in booming Guadalajara, Mexico, where December days hover around the mid-70s, the light is soft, and the rhythm of life feels unhurried.
It still strikes me as slightly surreal being here during the holiday season. I grew up in Ireland, where the holidays meant short, cold days. Celebrating the holidays in the sunshine will likely always feel odd. Not that I’d trade the lifestyle I have today for anything.
Owning incredible real estate overseas in places like Guadalajara, Portugal, Los Cabos, and more means I’m always where I want to be…always enjoying perfect weather. And it’s all possible thanks to my incredible Real Estate Trend Alert (RETA) club…
As this year draws to a close, I wanted to pause and reflect. Because 2025 was a historic year for RETA. And 2026 looks set to be even better.
Let me tell you why that matters for you…
San José del Cabo is the refined heart of the southern Baja where golden-sand beaches, championship golf and world-class resorts blend with art walks, fine dining, and historic colonial streets. This year, I brought RETA members an incredible deal there…one of many exclusive, off-market deals I brought them.
A Club for Folks Like Us
If you’re unfamiliar with RETA, it’s a club for people like you and me…a place where folks who recognize the incredible opportunities in international real estate can come together and wield our group buying power.
I use this group buying power to negotiate incredible off-market deals on best-in-class properties. These are deals exclusively for RETA members…at prices ordinary buyers never see.
I founded RETA in 2008, while the world was gripped by the turmoil of the global financial crisis. But northeast Brazil was on a tear thanks to factors like a booming commodities market. And I and a small group of like-minded folks were killing it in the real estate market there!
This experience cemented for me a fact that’s become the core mantra of RETA: If you’re willing to look everywhere, there’s always opportunity somewhere. And by looking internationally my group has been going from strength to strength for more than 17 years.
It’s taken work and time to establish a deep-rooted network of contacts in real estate markets around the world.
And building the crack team of scouts and experts I have around me has been the work of all 17 years of RETA.
But it’s been so worth it…
A selfie I snapped overlooking the coast at Rancho Santana, Nicaragua on a recent scouting trip. Putting boots on the ground is how my team and I find the opportunities we do. We spend $1 million a year on travel and research.
My group is consistently ahead. And as I say, the opportunities I find are supercharged by members’ collective buying power.
It’s a hugely powerful formula that’s been proven to work time and again…
A Run of Incredible Off-market Deals
After Brazil, my team and I found incredible fire-sale opportunities in Ireland, Spain, and Portugal. We got ground-floor opportunities in Panama…in Cabo…in Playa del Carmen and Tulum on Mexico’s Caribbean coast…
In the past few years, I’ve zoned in on new destinations like the tiny country of Montenegro, Europe’s Hidden Riviera and a bastion of the ultra-rich…on Costa Rica’s Gold Coast…and the incredible Cap Cana community in the Dominican Republic that I liken to a Caribbean micro-state and playground of the wealthy.
A contender for the best beach on earth…the intense azure Caribbean and the pure, sunlit sand of Juanillo beach in Cap Cana create an unforgettable tropical dreamscape. This is another place where I’ve brought RETA members deals.
During 2025, RETA members had the chance to own in the center of booming Playa del Carmen, a stroll from the beach on Mexico’s Riviera Maya…. in the ultra-luxurious haven in booming Panama City… in the most sought-after beach town on Portugal’s Algarve…among many other destinations.
To give you a few examples…
- Playa Caracol—In May, I brought RETA members a deal to own beach homes in the stunning community of Playa Caracol on Panama’s Pacific Riviera. The chance to own in a true beachfront community is rare anywhere in the world, but with this deal our members could own homes a two-minute stroll from the nicest, closest beach to Panama City at incredible RETA-only pricing from $228,400. I expect gains of $121,600 five years after delivery on these stunning homes.
- San José del Cabo—In October, I brought RETA our first-ever deal in San José del Cabo—the refined ultra-luxurious heart of the Baja Riviera, at the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula. This community is a dream location—on an elevated site close to all the luxury, art, dining, and riviera-style experiences of one of North America’s most coveted destinations. And the amenities will include rooftop pools, a gym, co-working space, lounge areas, and fire pits. Yet, members could own two-bed, two-bath ocean-view condos from just $298,400. I expect these condos will be worth $485,000 just three years after delivery. That’s a whopping gain of $186,600.
- Cap Cana—In June, I brought RETA an incredible off-market deal in the ultra-luxurious master-planned community of Cap Cana, set on a postcard-perfect stretch of Caribbean coastline in the Dominican Republic. Members could own luxury condos in the amenity-rich community of Azul Garden from a RETA-only price of $380,400. Not long after we launched this deal, the developer sent word he was already raising prices and two-bed condos similar to those available to RETA members from $380,200 were now listed for $420,000. That’s $39,800 more in three months!
This is just a selection of the deals from throughout the year.
And what’s coming next is even more exciting…
Costa Rica’s northwest Pacific coast, known as the “Gold Coast,” has breathtaking beaches backed by lush jungle. This is a place of incredible natural beauty. It was home to one of the incredible off-market RETA deals this year. Now I’m lining up another here for 2026…
Incredible Deals Coming
There has never been a more exciting time to be part of RETA. I have a host of incredible deals in the pipeline…
- I’m working on something new in the stunning town of Lagos in Portugal’s Algarve. Lagos is the Algarve’s most luxurious and sought-after beach town…a place known for its glistening marina, stunning beaches, golden-sandstone cliffs, and incredible history and culture. Past deals here have led to mind-blowing uplifts for members (see an example below). I expect the same with our new deal…
- In 2024, I brought RETA members a phenomenal deal on Europe’s New Riviera in Montenegro’s Bay of Kotor, where members could own two-bed condos from €348,356. This year, retail pricing was already more than 16% higher than the RETA pricing. After the success of this deal, my team went to work straightaway to find another. With towering mountains and lots of stunning coastline, the Bay of Kotor is incredibly beautiful, but that topography makes building very difficult…and deals rare. However, it looks like I’ve got RETA one, a limited opportunity to own exclusive real estate in one of the best locations around the bay.
- Set on the central Pacific coast where jungle-covered mountains tumble into a glittering bay, Puerto Vallarta is one of Mexico’s most established vacation and expat destinations. Millions flock to this city every year for its vibrant yet relaxed atmosphere, constant sunshine, and warm breezes that roll in from the Pacific. We’ve only had one RETA deal here before…and it led to mind-blowing uplifts for members. In 2021, RETA members could own in stunning community of Tao Blue Gardens. Two-bed condos that had a RETA-only price of $274,000 in September 2021 were listed at $469,000 earlier this year. A stunning uplift of $195,000! Now I think we could have another deal here…
The glorious beaches in and around Puerto Vallarta have made this city one of the top tourist destinations in the region. Every year, more people come. This has been the site of an incredible RETA deal. Now, I’m closing in on another…
- I brought RETA members an incredible deal last year in the high-end and beautiful Gold Coast of Costa Rica. This was a chance to own stunning ocean-view condos along this coast! Now, I have another deal in the works—a chance to own in a luxurious, master-planned destination there.
- I’m also working hard on a new deal in Playa Caracol…a chance to own true beachfront condos on this spectacular coast—the nicest, closest stretch of beach to booming Panama City.
This is just a snapshot of how things look now, and I’m missing a lot.
For instance, I’m working on something special in Playa del Carmen on Mexico’s Riviera Maya…and in a new destination on the northern coast of the Dominican Republic…
More details on all these are coming soon to RETA members.
Here’s to a profitable and fun 2026!
And if you’re not yet a RETA member…stay tuned to your Overseas Dream Home dispatches. Very soon, I’ll share a way you can get a trial RETA membership for just $7.
More details soon…
Wishing you good real estate investing,
P.S. Here are a few brief examples of how RETA deals have turned out for members…
- Boost of $231,000 in Los Cabos—In 2021, RETA members could own condos in the best-in-class community of Cabo Costa in Los Cabos at exclusive off-market pricing. In May 2025, a condo with an original RETA price of $197,300 was listed for $380,000. And in October 2025, a penthouse with a RETA price of $250,000 sold for $481,000. Those are uplifts of $182,700 and $231,000 respectively.
- $261,000 More in the Riviera Maya—In 2019, I brought RETA members a deal to own two-bed condos in a community called Gran Tulum, in the booming beach city of Tulum on Mexico’s Riviera Maya. The RETA-only pricing was from just $175,000. Since then, there have been mind-blowing uplifts. For instance, a condo that RETA members could buy for $214,000 listed in February for $475,000. That’s a boost of $261,000.
- Uplift of €414,500 in Portugal’s Algarve—In December 2019, I brought RETA members a chance to own stunning luxurious two-bed condos in the Santa Maria community in the beach town of Lagos from €310,500. In April this year, a two-bed condo in Santa Maria was listing for €725,000. That’s an astonishing uplift of €414,500.
