In this week’s digest:
- What Medieval Monks and Star Wars Fans Have in Common
- Ireland’s Bizarre Real Estate Market
- Live Near Scotland’s Most Famous Golf Courses
- Escape the Toxic News Cycle by Embracing an International Life
Constantly lashed by the waves of the wild Atlantic, its craggy peaks rising into the air, the island of Skellig Michael off the coast of Ireland’s County Kerry may appear at first glance like just another rock in the ocean.
But this is no ordinary rock formation.
Skellig Michael is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Nobel prize-winning Irish author George Bernard Shaw called it: “The most fantastic and impossible rock in the world.”
It even has historic real estate…
Skellig Michael (also called Great Skellig or Sceilg Mhichíl in the Irish language) was once home to a small settlement. In the 6th century, a group of monks relocated here…hoping the isolated island would provide shelter against Viking raids.
They built a church and small beehive huts out of stone to pray and sleep in, and spent their days studying and tending to their gardens.
Today, this well-preserved monastic settlement and the island are a World Heritage site. Here’s a video I found online by the Irish government that gives a fantastic bird’s-eye view of the island.
The monks eventually left Skellig Michael in the 13th century and it became a place of pilgrimage. It marked the end of a line of ancient pilgrimage sites that starts in the Middle East and runs all the way through Greece, Italy, and France.
In recent years, the island has been attracting a different kind of pilgrim…
Around a decade ago, the island was featured in the Star Wars movies The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. It provided the filming location for Luke Skywalker’s hidden sanctuary. Since then, movie buffs have descended in droves to see Skellig Michael. This weekend, I set out to join them…
Hopefully, by the time you read this, I’ll have been out on mighty Skellig Michael. Weather permitting, I’ll have taken a boat from the small village of Portmagee in southwest Kerry and made the eight-mile trip out to this famous rock.
It can only be accessed by boat and conditions have to be just right…a member of my Real Estate Trend Alert team attempted to visit some years ago and though the sea was calm, they were unable to dock. Waves at the base of the rock, which were impossible to predict, prevented the boat’s captain from docking safely. That just goes to show how isolated and hazardous this place is (Shaw also called it “an incredible, impossible, mad place”).
And yet more people come every year…
The island had almost 2,000 more visitors in 2023 compared to 2022 (there is a cap on the number of visitors per day in order to protect the site as well as its current inhabitants—colonies of gannets and puffins).
I bring all this up today because this explosion of interest in Skellig Michael is indicative of wider trends happening to real estate in Ireland, something we explored this week in Your Overseas Dream Home…
Ireland’s Crazy Real Estate Market
Ireland has long been an immensely popular vacation destination. It’s also attracts great interest from overseas investors, particularly Americans and Canadians, so many of whom tract their ancestry back to the island.
Indeed, in recent weeks I’ve been getting questions from Overseas Dream Home readers about owning in the west of Ireland and about the status of the real estate market here in my homeland. (Have a question? Share it here.)
So, this week, my team and I took the opportunity to dig into the latest opportunities here.
The bad news is…Ireland right now is not a good option for real estate investing. Much like in the U.S., it’s suffering from a severe shortage of housing. This is not new…it’s been decades in the making. But the problem has been growing worse of late due to demographic trends and a seeming inability to increase supply.
This has led to an explosion in property prices. There are also restrictions on landlords that are having unintended negative consequences on the rental market. I explain the situation in more detail here.
The upshot is that if you want to invest for profits, cross Ireland off your list.
That said, if you’re after a home where you can spend some time, in a location that is surrounded by Ireland’s natural beaty, then there are some good-value homes on the market in Ireland’s rural west…
Ireland’s west is renowned for its rugged landscapes, quaint villages, towering cliffs, and it’s the spiritual home of Irish traditional music. A caveat with this region: the weather in the west of Ireland is, in general, wetter than the rest of the country. But even in the rain, there is something truly magical about this part of Ireland.
And tucked among its famous rolling green hills you can buy a two-bed cottage for as little as $163,600. Read more about that here.
Live Near Scotland’s Most Famous Golf Courses
Sticking with escapes in some of the world’s most idyllic pastoral environments…
I’m a golf nut. It’s been one of my passions since I was a kid. Not only have I gotten to play on some of the world’s best courses—one of the perks of traveling the globe as a real estate scout—but I also live on (or near) great golf courses.
In Cabo San Lucas, my condo is in the 5-star Quivira Resort, home to a spectacular coastal course designed by Jack Nicklaus. On Portugal’s Silver Coast, the Praia D’El Rey Golf and Beach Resort, where I have a condo, boasts a world-class course that’s set amid pine forests and undulating dunes. And in Ireland, I’m a member of several clubs, including the Fota Island golf club.
No matter where in the world I am, I like to have a golf course right on my doorstep.
Last weekend saw Scotland host the 2024 Open Championship at Royal Troon Golf Club. I was, of course, glued to it…(for a while it looked like my countryman Shane Lowry might take the title, but it wasn’t to be).
Watching the Open last weekend reminded me of an old thought I had…what would it cost to own a traditional home near one of Scotland’s most famous courses?
This week, in Your Overseas Dream Home, we set out to find out.
I asked my team to look for cottages near iconic golf courses in Scotland (including St. Andrews and Royal Troon)…and they uncovered some gems at prices for far less than you might imagine.
You can read all about them here.
Questions and Feedback
Have a question or comment? Share it here. Here’s one I got from an Overseas Dream Home reader…
Richard B. says: With all that’s going on in the U.S. with the upcoming presidential election in November, I’m considering moving to Portugal. Whatever way it goes, I feel it might be time to get out and look overseas.
Ronan says: Richard, I know you’re not the only one who feels this way. There’s a lot of anxiety about what will happen on Nov. 5. More than one reader has emailed in about it.
I get it. Looking around the world…we have wars. We have unprecedented deficits. We have the breakdown of many cities and of politics. Inflation. The toxic U.S. election. We have the possible demise of China.
Now, I don’t have a crystal ball. I don’t know what comes next.
But I know what we can do that will work, no matter the outcome…
I founded my Real Estate trend Alert group in 2008 (a year of global financial crisis). I had been investing in real estate for a number of years and I was in northeast Brazil looking for opportunities. There I found a vibrant economy on a tear and incredible beaches. I went to a real estate launch party…and bought. On my way out the door, I got an offer of a big check from a buyer who couldn’t get into the room for the launch party.
Back home, the very fabric of Western civilization was on the brink of total collapse. But on those beaches in Brazil I found financial opportunity. I also found a sense of freedom. All because I looked to the incredible opportunities in international real estate.
Today, because I’m an international real estate investor, I get to live how I want, where I want.
In summer, I’m at my primary home in Ireland. In spring and fall, I often spend time at my home in Portugal. In winter, I spent time at my condo in Cabo. In each destination, the ocean is nearby. I’m always able to go for a stroll on the beach to clear my head. I also have world-class golf courses close by…always. And I have perfect weather all year-round, which for me means no need for air con, no need for heating
My friends and family joke that my life is a permanent vacation. I don’t deny it. I love my lifestyle. And here’s the thing: you don’t need to have millions in the bank to live this way.
Let me show you what I mean…
I rent out my home in Portugal when I’m not using it during high season in summer. And the money I earn is more than enough to cover the entire costs of ownership. That includes the mortgage before I decided to clear it recently. Take a look for yourself. Below is my records for my Portugal condo for the past three weeks. I’ve made €4,645.75 ($5,047) in gross income in that time…
The point being…by living overseas and investing in international real estate overseas, you have so much more opportunity to carve out the life you want. And when you’re living that life, it makes it a lot easier to not get caught up in the toxic news headlines of the day!
Now, when it comes to moving to Portugal specifically, I’d heartily recommend the country and the lifestyle. It’s beautiful, highly affordable for everyday expenses, and the food and culture are incredible.
To learn about the destinations I recommend there today, be sure to read my latest scouting report from the north where my team and I have uncovered some stunning under-the-radar destinations with incredible real estate opportunities. This RETA member-only report is here. If you’re not yet a RETA member, go here to join and access the report.)
Ronan McMahon, Founder, Overseas Dream Home & Real Estate Trend Alert
P.S. Have a question or comment about any aspect of buying or owning overseas? Share it here. All questions and comments are welcome.