Boots on the ground.
It’s a phrase my team and I use a lot. Because it’s a key component of what we do in search of the world’s best real estate deals.
You can read and research as much as you like about a place, but nothing, absolutely nothing, beats pounding the pavements in person. By putting boots on the ground you get to experience first-hand the sights…the smells…the atmosphere…the general vibe of the place. And that is when those all-important contacts are made.
It’s why this year my Real Estate Trend Alert (RETA) team members have explored Northern Greece…Mexico’s Riviera Maya…Panama City and Highlands…Costa Rica’s Gold Coast…Northern Spain…
And our scouting for 2025 is far from over. Between now and the end of the year I have a packed schedule…
Let me run through it…
I’m just back from a few days in the Galicia city of Ourense in Northern Spain.
Ourense is built along the banks of the Miño River and is known as “the city of gold”—a nod to both its Roman-era prosperity and the thermal waters that are dotted across the city.
Earlier this week I had boots on the ground in the Spanish city of Ourense.
The historic center is a maze of narrow streets, Romanesque churches, and lively plazas filled with cafés and tapas bars. The city’s crown jewel is the Roman Bridge, a magnificent stone structure that has spanned the river since the first century. And everywhere you turn, there’s water: from the famous As Burgas hot springs in the city center to the open-air thermal baths along the Miño, where locals soak year-round.
As this is northern Spain, Ourense enjoys a mild climate, with warm summers, crisp autumns, and cool, misty winters. Average summer highs hover around 80°F (27°C), while winter days are often bright and brisk.
Ourense is known for its thermal springs and its picturesque 1st-century Roman Bridge.
Ourense also has a thriving cultural scene, with theaters, wine bars, and easy access to the Ribeira Sacra wine region.
I’ll have a more detailed report on Ourense to share with you soon…but before that I’m heading back to buzzing Madrid.
I was here earlier this month but wanted to come back to dig a little deeper. I’ve been scouting Spain this month because this country is surging. Good demographics and strong ties to booming Latin American have helped make it the fastest-growing major economy in Europe.
Its economic vitality was visible to me as I walked the streets of Madrid a few weeks ago. My impression is the city’s on a path to becoming a true global center of wealth, power and culture, in the vein of London or Paris.
Madrid is a city with huge potential to compete with world capitals like London and Paris.
Madrid today reminds me of what I found in London or Paris 25 years ago—a stunningly beautiful, historic world city…but pre-gentrification and ripe with opportunity. (RETA members, I recorded a special Notes From the Field podcast for you on what I uncovered there, listen here. If you’re not a RETA member but would like access to all my research, including my podcast, all the details for joining RETA are here.)
I’m also going to check out some of the smaller towns surrounding Madrid.
On my last visit I scouted Toldeo, about 45 minutes from Madrid. It’s a big tourist draw but I found real estate prices very affordable…like a one-bed of 530 square feet in the historic center, which was built in just 2005, and is listed for €175,000.
I want to find more towns like this, within an easy commute of Madrid where prices are one third or one quarter of what you’d pay in Madrid.
Tomorrow I’m checking out the historic city of Segovia, about an hour northwest of Madrid. Perched on a hilltop with sweeping views of the surrounding plains, Segovia is best known for its spectacular Roman aqueduct and the city’s medieval Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is a maze of cobblestone streets leading to its fairytale-like Alcázar, said to have inspired Walt Disney’s castle. Stay tuned for updates…
After a few days on the ground here in Madrid, I’ll head back across the Atlantic for the winter.
The temperatures are dropping here in Europe and that’s always my cue to get back to Latin America…where I won’t need to wear a coat or put on any heating.
That’s one of the major benefits of the type of lifestyle I live as an international real estate investor. I have the flexibility and freedom to be wherever in the world I want to be…whenever I want.
So next weekend, I’ll say goodbye to Portugal and fly back to Mexico where I’ll spend some time at my home in Guadalajara before a packed schedule of travel around Latin America between now and the festive season.
I’ll be returning to Panama to check in on some of the incredible RETA deals we’ve had in Panama City. This is a place that RETA members have seen big gains. For example:
- In October 2020, I brought RETA members a deal to own two-bed, two-and-a-half condos in Ocean House in the Santa Maria master-planned community from $238,200. A similar condo recently listed for $375,000. That’s $136,800 more.
Santa Maria blends green space, luxury architecture, and global connectivity—just minutes from the city’s financial core and Tocumen International Airport. It’s just one of the communities in Panama City where RETA members have seen big uplifts.
- In June 2024 RETA members were able to buy penthouses in the Ipanema community for $632,200. Ipanema is set to be a landmark community rich in amenities on the city’s last prime waterfront site. In August 2024, the developer sold the exact same penthouses albeit in a different tower for $732,150. That’s an uplift of $99,950 in less than three months!
At the start of December, I’ll be checking out a country I’ve never been to before…Paraguay.
Paraguay is a landlocked country in the heart of South America, bordered by Brazil, Argentina, and Bolivia. Known for its lush subtropical landscapes, rivers, and low cost of living, it’s one of the continent’s most overlooked nations.
This small country leaped onto my radar when RETA member Kurt Hoppe got in touch to say he was heading there to check out the real estate scene. I jumped on a call with Kurt when he returned and within minutes of finishing our chat, I was checking out flights to Paraguay’s capital of Asunción.
You can listen to my full conversation with Kurt below.
Long-time RETA member Kurt Hoppe chats with me about the opportunities he’s found in Paraguay. Click to watch.
On paper, Paraguay seems to have it all…colonial charm, economic stability, and an appealingly relaxed, low-profile lifestyle.
But like I was saying earlier, putting boots on the ground is the only way to really know what’s going on in a place…and whether there really is opportunity there for us.
I’ll be sharing updates on all these trips over the coming weeks, so stay tuned…
Wishing you good real estate investing,
Ronan McMahon
P.S. To follow along with me on these scouting trips, check out my Instagram account (you can follow me here). I’ll be posting photos from the road as well as updates on what I’m uncovering.
