Boots on the Ground in Rome…and a Pipeline of Killer Deals

It’s morning in Rome…

I’m staying in the city center, a short distance from the Colosseum. So before I started scouting the city, I strolled over to take in the revered structure…

The Colosseum is one of the world’s most iconic buildings, the preeminent symbol of Rome and its great empire. Artistry and majesty, death and depravity…they’re all tied up in the history of this place.

Last year more than 12 million people came to experience this. The Colosseum is the most-visited attraction in Italy.

A decade ago, while scouting Rome, I realized that represented an opportunity.

Because nearby the Colosseum, I found neighborhoods with potential where you could own for shockingly low prices…

I’m staying in the neighborhood around Termini, the main train station for Rome. It’s hugely exciting to be back. A decade ago, I made a big discovery here.

Termini was once regarded as one of the seedier parts of Rome. When I visited in 2014, the area surrounding the main train station—including the Esquilino district, San Giovanni, and Tiburtino—was overlooked and unloved. Italy was still trapped in austerity after the global financial crisis. The economic situation was bleak. Prices in this area reflected that.

Airbnb was relatively new then in Europe. In fact, the first time I ever stayed in an Airbnb was during my visit to Termini in 2014. Of course, I’d stayed in short-term rentals before, but this was my first time using the Airbnb platform, and I could tell its ease of use would be a game-changer for overlooked central areas in major European destinations.

Places just like Esquilino. Airbnb gave real estate there a use and marketability it didn’t have before.

The area around Termini is very close to Rome’s famous sites. The Colosseum is a 20-minute walk. Yet you could buy historic apartments there very inexpensively. This was an incredible opportunity, as I told my Real Estate Trend Alert group at the time.

One of my key recommendations to RETA members was to buy a failing five- to eight-bed guesthouse.

These tired old homes dotted the streets around the train station and were available at surprisingly low prices like €400,000 (given these properties were as big as 3,000 square feet). You could buy one, strip the business, and rent the entire place to large groups as a single Airbnb instead. Done right, you could see mind-blowing annual yields pushing 30%. Anyone who followed this recommendation did very well.

A decade later, I’m back in Rome following up on this opportunity…

Already I can see the gentrification of Termini has accelerated massively. The area, once grimy and rundown, is now packed with tourists. I dined in a Michelin (Guide) restaurant here. Prices for real estate have soared. Don’t get me wrong…it still can feel a bit sketchy at night, but it has wildly improved over the past decade. And many of those guesthouses have been converted and subdivided into Airbnbs.

Today, you’d pay more than double for an apartment less than half the size of the ones I was recommending in 2014. Or about four times if we could buy one of those old guesthouses.

Is there still an opportunity here? I’m not sure, but I’ll keep digging and let you know…

One thing is for sure. Our Rome 2014 opportunity is playing out somewhere today. Our mission is to find that place. Driven by our mantra that if you are willing to look everywhere there’s always opportunity somewhere.

I found this Rome opportunity a decade ago because I put boots on the ground. I came here…walked the streets…stayed in the historic buildings (including one of those shockingly bad old guesthouses)…

Frankly, this is the only way to find opportunities like these.

I’ve been an international real estate scout for more than 20 years…traveling the world to search for the best opportunities.

Sixteen 16 years ago, I founded Real Estate Trend Alert. I knew there must be other people like me…people who recognize the huge opportunities in overseas real estate.

RETA has gone from strength to strength since then. We’ve had off-market deals all over the world. In beautiful places our members are sitting on serious gains, own stunning real estate…are renting for phenomenal income…

Now RETA is evolving…we’re no longer just a deal-focused investor’s group. We’re expanding to provide more guidance in areas like accountancy, rental management, financing and mortgages, visas and residency. RETA isn’t just a membership, nor is it just about great deals; it’s a gateway to a world of endless opportunities, friendships, and the courage to live an international life full of meaning. (Learn how you can become a Lifetime member here.)

We are becoming a true club.

But of course, incredible RETA deals and on-the-ground scouting will always be at the core of what we do.

And because we put boots on the ground, make local contacts, and meet developers and insiders, we’ve consistently been ahead.

We were ahead in Rome as the Termini area gentrified…

We were ahead as Cabo became one of the world’s top real estate markets…

We were ahead as development rolled down the Riviera Maya—Mexico’s Caribbean coast—from Cancun and transformed Playa del Carmen and Tulum into two of the hottest beach destinations on the planet…

We were ahead as Portugal’s Algarve region and Spain’s Costa del Sol began welcoming waves of new tourists and permanent residents in the 2010s.

And because we were ahead, RETA members got incredible deals on best-in-class real estate in all these destinations, with massive uplifts like $222,000…€223,000…€300,000…even $602,885… (Details below.)

Our hunt for new opportunities never stops.

That’s why I’m in Rome.

And it’s why members of my team have fanned out across the world. We’re closing in on some incredible opportunities right across our globe beat…

Gains of More Than $300,000 on Stunning Beach Homes in Panama

This week, several team members were scouting a breathtaking beach community set on what is by far the most stunning stretch of Pacific coast close to Panama City…

Panama City is one of the wealthiest cities in the Americas, sporting the world’s 25th biggest skyline, beating out LA, Miami, and Beijing to name just a few.

At RETA we find major transformations and we buy ahead of those transformations.

Panama City and the coast west of it called the “Pacific Riviera” are undergoing as big a transformation as you can imagine…

A billion-dollar “Path of Progress” is roaring west of the city.

A Path of Progress is anything that makes a place easier to get to, such as a new bridge or road. Or anything that makes it more desirable, like a new resort. In the case of the Pacific Riviera, it’s all of the above.

Along this coast, there are new bridges, roads, metros, resorts, big money, mega-projects… This Path of Progress is connecting Panama’s Pacific Riviera to the city. And it’s making people want to live and spend time there. This is an incredible opportunity…

In the coming weeks, I expect to bring RETA members an exclusive deal on stunning beachfront homes on the Pacific Riviera that are blow-your-mind amazing…spacious with expansive ocean-views…

I figure on gains of over $300,000 five years after delivery and you’ll live and breathe the Pacific…warm, tropical and close to Panama City…

This is going to special. And it’s coming very soon…

Own in the Heart of Mexico’s Trendiest Beach City

I also have something incredible in the pipeline on the Riviera Maya…

The Riviera Maya refers to the 80-mile stretch of Caribbean coast in the northeast of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. For two decades I’ve been scouting the Riviera Maya, and for another four decades before that it’s been undergoing a mammoth transformation.

This region’s massive economic boom is built on one of the biggest tourism industries in the world. Last year saw a record-shattering 32.75 million people pass through Cancún airport, and 2024 is on track to exceed this. This tourism boom led to a Path of Progress that pushed south of Cancún to the now-thriving city of Playa del Carmen and then the beach destination of Tulum.

Over the years, I’ve brought RETA members killer deals in both destinations. (See below for a few examples.) Now I have something new in the works in Playa. This will be a chance to own incredible condos in the chic “Zona Dorada,” or Golden Zone, neighborhood.

Zona Dorada is in the heart of Playa…close to the beach and the city’s bustling pedestrian street of 5th Avenue, but away from the noise. In Playa, when you want something upmarket…a glass of white wine at a shaded outdoor table or a gourmet dinner surrounded by stylish décor…this is the place you go.

The Golden Zone represents the next phase of the city’s development…and with the special opportunity I’m working on, RETA members can own condos at the heart of it.

Luxury Homes in a Billionaire’s Paradise

There’s also Costa Rica’s “Gold Coast”…

Set on country’s northwest Pacific coastline, the Gold Coast is a natural paradise and a billionaire’s playground. It’s a region of stunning beaches, towering rainforests, and lush rolling hills. Some of the world’s most exclusive resort brands are active in the area creating residences to sell for $10 million…$25 million…

Six months ago, RETA members had the chance to own incredible luxury homes a short walk to two beaches and the brand-new marina that anchors Playa Flamingo, a stunning beach town at the heart of the Gold Coast.

This deal was sensational. The developer tells me two-bed homes similar to those that RETA members could buy for an off-market price of $286,800 are now listing for $339,000. That’s an uplift of $52,200…in just six months! I expect prices will only grow from here.

The ferocious appetite for incredible luxury homes at RETA-pricing in this part of Costa Rica has been obvious to me for a long time. It’s why I worked hard to bring members this opportunity. Now my team and I are working hard to find another. And I think we’re closing in on something big…

Cabo, Portugal, Cozumel, Montenegro and Beyond

Cozumel: Located off the coast of Playa del Carmen, the island of Cozumel boasts stunning white-sand beaches and world-class snorkeling and diving. This island is a hugely popular destination for cruise ships. Last year, the Port of Cozumel welcomed 3.72 million passengers, making it the fourth-busiest cruise ship port in the world.

While Cozumel has long been popular with cruise passengers and day-trippers from the mainland, it’s now seeing more interest from wealthy retirees, expats, digital nomads, and the work-from-anywhere crowd…the kind of folks who want to stay for all or part of the year in well-located, best-in-class communities with outstanding amenities.

The rising demand for this kind of real estate presents an opportunity…which is why I’m hunting for the right deal here. And I have a line on something that could be incredible…

Montenegro: Over in Europe, I’m working on something on Europe’s “new Riviera”

The Bay of Kotor in Montenegro is one of the world’s most beautiful places… Huge rippling gulfs and sparkling straits stretch into the distance. Serpentine, fjord-like bays lie beneath towering pine-covered limestone mountains. Historic towns, lively resorts, and white-stone fishing villages sit in the narrow spaces between the mountains and long strips of fine-sand beach.

This stunning coastline has attracted the world’s super-rich. Billionaires dock their superyachts at its ultra-luxury marinas. Villas and homes in branded residences sell for millions. This is a new Riviera…an emerging Monaco. Yet it still flies under the mainstream tourism radar…especially when compared to neighboring Croatia.

That will change. This is a destination with immense potential. I just brought RETA members an incredible deal on luxury condos here. Now, I’m working hard to find another.

Los Cabos: A booming beach city of 350,000, Los Cabos is one of the most desirable destinations on the planet. You’ll find postcard-perfect beaches, world-class golf, amazing shopping malls and boutiques, excellent art galleries, gourmet markets, high-end restaurants, world-class marinas, and some of the best sportfishing in the world. Cabo has also been the site of some of the very best deals I’ve brought to my RETA club. Now I’m closing in on a new deal here. If it comes together, it will be special…

Uruguay: This small country nestled between Brazil and Argentina is known as “the Switzerland of South America” for good reason. It’s a renowned safe haven, with a business-friendly environment. And RETA members have bought well there in the past. I’m particularly interested in the Atlantic coast of Rocha and the potential for a beach homes deal there. One of my scouts is getting ready to head back there and hunt for opportunities…

Northern Portugal: I spent a chunk of time over the past two years exploring northern Portugal, and I’ve sent several of my scouts to do some further research. The headline news is that I believe the northern part of the country is where the best opportunities now exist in Portugal. Destinations like the town of Caminha on Portugal’s northern border with Spain, the city of Viana do Castelo, and the river town of Ponte de Lima.

This is where I’m drilling down on opportunities in Portugal right now. In fact, I’m in the process of buying an old mansion here and I’m preparing a special event to share with RETA members exactly how to buy in this region…

Beyond these destinations, I’m also eyeing a potential opportunity in a thriving, cosmopolitan area of Panama City…in La Paz, the capital of Baja California Sur…in Mahahual, a stunning Riviera Maya beach town that’s been dubbed the “next Tulum”

The scouting never stops and our pipeline of deals is more exciting than ever.

And the best way to ensure you never miss out on any of our scouting or one of our incredible, off-market RETA-only deals is to become a Lifetime RETA member.

As a Lifetime member of our group, you’ll never have to pay for RETA again…

Plus, you’ll get a suite of exclusive perks. These include an invitation to join me and other RETA members at our annual Lifetime-only event, The Gathering XI, that will take place February 20-22 in Playa del Carmen.

You also have the ability to gift complimentary RETA membership to family members.

Get all the details of this special offer here. But you’ll need to act fast. This offer is only available for a limited time.

Become a RETA Lifetime member here with the best-value deal I’ve ever offered.

Ronan McMahon, Founder, Overseas Dream Home & Real Estate Trend Alert

P.S. I mentioned our past RETA deals in Los Cabos…Spain…Portugal…and the Riviera Maya. Here’s a few examples…

• Gain of €223,000 in Spain—In 2020, we had our opportunity at Casares Costa in Spain’s Costa del Sol. A RETA member bought a luxury condo here for €327,000. It was recently sold for €550,000.

• €300,000 Boost in Portugal: In August 2019, one RETA member bought a penthouse in a community in the Algarve that I recommended for €495,000. Just over three years later, in October 2022, she sold for €795,000. That’s a gain of €300,000.

• A $222,000 gain in the Riviera Maya—In 2019, I brought RETA members the chance to own luxury two-bedroom condos from just $174,800 in a community called Santamar on the Riviera Maya, Mexico’s Caribbean coast. A two-bedroom mezzanine-level condo with Caribbean views bought for $178,000, later sold for $400,000.

• $602,885 More—In 2017, a RETA member bought a luxury villa in Copala, in the Quivira master-planned community, for $385,115. Earlier this year, I saw the same Copala villa listed for $988,000—that’s an enormous uplift of $602,885.