In this week’s Your Overseas Dream Home Digest…
- Why I Put My Money in Costa Rica
- VIDEO: Mexico’s Next Breakout Beach Destination
- A French Dream Home for Less Than the Average Washington House
- Boots on the Ground in Montenegro
- Your Questions Answered on Buying in Panama City
Earlier this week, I opened a stunning off-market deal to members of my Real Estate Trend Alert (RETA) group.
The opportunity is called Solea, and it sits on one of the last titled beachfront parcels in Jacó, Costa Rica—the closest major beach town to San José and the country’s main international airport.
The chance to buy true beachfront anywhere is a rare event…let alone in Costa Rica… let alone in the closest beach town to the capital just as it’s moving upmarket…
Back in 2008, I founded my RETA group to bring together like-minded folks who understand the incredible opportunities in international real estate.
Today, my small but dedicated team of scouts and I put boots on the ground around the world in search of opportunity.
Access to exclusive, off-market deals like this is the main reason people join RETA. And that’s why my team spends so much time on the road in search of opportunity…
In this week’s digest, I’ll take you to an overlooked stretch of Mexico’s Pacific coast in my latest YouTube deep-dive, share an update from my team’s latest scouting trip to Montenegro, and highlight a French dream home in the Dordogne that costs less than the median home in Washington.
But first, why I’ve been happy to put my money in Costa Rica…
Jacó is one of Costa Rica’s most popular beach destinations. Now, it’s entering a new phase. My team put together maps, charts and videos that tell the story. Find them all here.
Why I Put My Money in Costa Rica
I’ve been searching for opportunities in Costa Rica for 15 years. They’re surprisingly difficult to find.
The reason is simple: Costa Rica spent decades protecting its coastline, forests, and natural beauty. The result is a country where development is constrained, supply is limited, and demand continues to grow.
Earlier this week I explained why that scarcity story has led me to invest in Costa Rica myself and why I believe it remains one of the strongest real estate stories in the Americas.
I also shared RETA’s remarkable track record in the country and explained why true titled beachfront property is among the rarest assets in Costa Rica.
Costa Rica’s insistence on protecting its natural beauty makes development hard, and a premium base here incredibly valuable.
VIDEO: Mexico’s Next Breakout Beach Destination
Costa Rica isn’t the only place where improving accessibility is creating opportunity.
This week, I dug into another Pacific coast destination…
On Mexico’s southern Pacific coast, where the Sierra Madre mountains meet the sea, lies one of the country’s most spectacular stretches of coastline.
For decades, this place was known only to surfers chasing waves, backpackers seeking an off-grid escape, and a few ultra-wealthy homeowners who prized its wild beauty and privacy.
But that’s all about to change…
I’m talking about Puerto Escondido. On Thursday, I released my video deep-dive on this destination in the new episode of The Ronan McMahon Report.
Click below to watch it now.
In this new deep-dive on my YouTube channel, I take you to an overlooked stretch of coast in Mexico. Click to view…
A French Dream Home for Less Than the Average Washington House
Not every opportunity comes in the form of an emerging destination, however.
Sometimes it’s simply about finding an extraordinary property in a place people have loved for generations.
When people think of France, they often think of Paris or the French Riviera. But some of the country’s best value can be found in the countryside.
Yesterday, I shared the listing for a remarkable estate in the Dordogne region comprising three restored stone houses, a heated swimming pool, nearly 1.5 acres of land, and views across the countryside toward a château.
The asking price for all of this is just €549,000 (about $637,300)—less than the median price of a single-family home in Washington.
We recently shared this French property on our Your Overseas Dream Home Instagram account. Check out the post.
Boots on the Ground in Montenegro
While France remains one of Europe’s most enduring lifestyle destinations, my team is also constantly searching for places earlier in their growth story.
This week, my team had boots on the ground in Montenegro.
RETA photographer Alan Kennedy wrapped up his scouting trip on Friday. During his time in Kotor, he filled our internal WhatsApp scouting group with incredible photos from the ground.
Tucked away in the Balkans between a cluster of former Yugoslavian countries, Montenegro sits across the Adriatic from Italy, with Croatia to the north and Albania to the south.
For decades, a “Path of Progress” has been rolling down the Adriatic coast from Croatia. (A Path of Progress is anything that improves the accessibility of a piece of real estate and increases its value.)
Now, it has crossed the border into neighboring Montenegro.
The Bay of Kotor—right across the border from Croatia’s most popular destination, Dubrovnik—is at the heart of that story.
Montenegro is one of Europe’s most exciting up-and-coming destinations for real estate. RETA photographer Alan Kennedy captured this shot of its crown jewel—the Bay of Kotor.
The ultra-rich know this bay well. Now the “ordinary rich” have discovered it too, and are coming here to stay part and full time. “Ordinary rich” is a term I use for professionals who earn well…not super rich, but well off.
As this group discovers Montenegro, it’s creating an incredible opportunity. With them comes insatiable demand for more affordable, high-quality real estate with outstanding amenities.
In 2024, I brought RETA members an incredible deal here in the best-in-class community of Royal Town Kotor, where they could own two-bed condos from €348,356. In March 2026, a condo available to RETA members for €354,201 was listed retail for €519,114—an uplift of €164,913.
After the success of this deal, my team went to work straight away to find another. I think I may be closing in on something…
To learn more about buying here, check out my Guide to Montenegro Real Estate.
Real estate prices in Montenegro are significantly lower than in nearby Croatia, sometimes half the cost. However, it’s not staying that way for long. Watch my recent video deep-dive on the Bay of Kotor here.
Your Questions Answered
Have a comment for me or my team? A question about owning overseas? Share it here. I’d love to hear from you. Here’s a question I got from a viewer of my YouTube channel recently in response to my video about buying in booming Panama City…
If you missed that video, you can watch it here.
Wishing you good real estate investing,
P.S. If you have a question about buying real estate overseas or have suggestions for destinations my team and I should put on our scouting list, drop me a line here.
