In this week’s Your Overseas Dream Home Digest…
- Boots on the Ground in Europe’s Newest Riviera
- Why I’m Planning a Trip to Paraguay
- Video Update from Portugal’s Algarve
- Market Analysis: Medellín, Colombia
- Your Questions Answered on Scouting the Island of Madeira
People often ask how my Real Estate Trend Alert group gets the deals we do. The answer is simple…
Boots on the ground is at the heart of it all.
It’s about getting ahead of the “Path of Progress”—spotting tomorrow’s prime locations while they’re still overlooked, undervalued, and full of upside. (A Path of Progress is anything that improves the accessibility of a piece of real estate and increases its value.)
This is why my team and I spend more than $1 million on travel and research every year. We put boots on the ground and build local contacts, so RETA can be ahead.
And it’s why, at the start of this week, RETA Senior Researcher Margaret Summerfield had boots on the ground around the Bay of Kotor in Montenegro, where she was checking up on the RETA deal there and scouting for new opportunities.
Margaret filled our internal WhatsApp scouting group with photos, videos and reflections on what she saw on the ground.
I’ve been following a huge Path of Progress down from Croatia’s stunning coastline since 1997…right into Montenegro.
As time passed it became obvious that if my RETA group got the right deal around the Bay of Kotor RETA members could do extremely well, just as they have in other places on the RETA beat where the high-end market is the main focus of big players.
I opened the RETA-only Royal Town Kotor deal here in July last year and was an opportunity to snap up condos here at insane off-market RETA prices.
The developer told my team he plans a 70% price increase on our RETA pricing over the build period. If the developer goes ahead with his price increases, it would mean that the stunning two-bed condos we could get for a RETA-only €348,356 will be listed at €592,205 before buyers even get the keys!
Now, I’m closing in on a new potential opportunity here. If it meets RETA’s high standards, RETA members will be the first to know.
For now, check out this photo of Royal Town Kotor, where construction work resumed on Monday after the obligatory pause for summer.
Why I’m Planning a Trip to Little Paraguay
Recently I spoke with seasoned RETA member Kurt Hoppe, who has been doing some scouting of his own.
He hopped on a call to tell me about a little country in the heart of South America called Paraguay. And now I’m now hoping to squeeze in a trip of my own before the end of the year.
These kinds of conversations I usually reserve for RETA members only. But I want to give you a taste of why Paraguay is so interesting and I thought it was a good way for you to meet the kind of folks who are members of my RETA club. You can check out my conversation with Kurt here:
Long-time RETA member Kurt Hoppe chats with me about the opportunities he found in Paraguay.
Video Update from Portugal’s Algarve
Lagos is the most vibrant and livable town in Portugal’s Algarve, and the site of several RETA deals.
This is a place of soaring cliffs, stunning beaches, cobblestone streets, gourmet restaurants, and year-round sunshine. Here, you can stroll from a golden-sand beach to a marina full of sleek yachts to a charming old town of historic lanes and artisan cafés.
I want to share video updates from the ground. But first, here’s a round-up of recent news stories that show why Lagos is such a hot market…
- A new five-star hotel is set to open. JW Marriott Algarve Palmares Hotel & Spa will mark the JW Marriott brand’s debut in Portugal. The hotel will be located within the Palmares Ocean Living & Golf Resort and feature 172 luxury rooms and suites, with plans for 133 branded residences in the future.
- And here’s another exciting new project: a €60-million luxury resort in Meia Praia, Lagos, scheduled to open in 2027.
- In other news, Blackstone has purchased the Cascade Wellness resort close to the Dona Ana beach in Lagos.
As I say, Lagos is also the site of some of the best deals in the history of my RETA club. A small snapshot…
- €252,000 More—RETA members had the chance to own two-bed condos in the Adega community in November 2020 from €348,000. A local contact says one sold for €600,000 recently. That’s an uplift of €252,000.
- Uplift of €414,500—In December 2019, I brought RETA members a deal to own stunning luxurious condos in the Santa Maria community in Lagos from €310,500. Recently, a two-bed condo in Santa Maria was listing for €725,000. That’s an astonishing uplift of €414,500.
- Boost of €274,000—In August 2021, I brought RETA members a deal in the Dona Maria community overlooking the marina. This is one of the premier communities in downtown Lagos. RETA members could own two-bed condos here from €575,000. A two-bed condo there has since listed for €849,000. That’s €274,000 more.
- €1.1 million More—One RETA member purchased a penthouse in Dona Maria for €1.1 million. In 2024 the penthouse listed at double that—€2.2 million.
And I’ve just read this article which ranks the most expensive addresses in Portugal. In third place is the street where the Dona Maria community is located.
In April, I brought RETA members a deal in a community is called Porto de Mos Residences. I expect gains of €311,500 just five years after delivery on the luxury two-bed condos RETA members could buy. And once the community is established, I figure on gross short-term rental income of €56,000 per year…that’s a gross yield of more than 11%.
RETA members could own stunning, ultra-luxurious two-bed condos with spacious terraces from only €498,500. And they’re walking distance from the beach in Porto de Mos—Lagos’ most prestigious neighborhood.
Now I’m delighted to share a video update of the construction of Porto De Mos Residences and The Leaf. (Due to limited availability in Porto De Mos Residences, some RETA members were offered similar condos in neighbouring community The Leaf):
Check out the progress on Porto de Mos (above) and The Leaf (below). They’re located next to each other.
Market Analysis: Medellín, Colombia
Right now I’m working on the September issue of Real Estate Trend Alert for my members, a deep dive on opportunities in the perfect-weather Colombian city of Medellín.
Medellín is a place that’s been firmly on my radar since I first visited in 2011…
Even back then I was impressed by what I saw—the tree-lined streets and squares, outdoor gyms, trendy cafés. Plus there was incredible weather, good food, and a wonderful atmosphere. Yet, only a few expats, oil industry workers, and the odd English-language teacher had discovered it.
Fast forward to today and Medellín draws in folks from all over. It’s a top-rated destination for snowbirds, digital nomads, and tourists. It’s youthful, entrepreneurial, and dynamic. It’s also astonishingly modern, clean, and easy to get around.
Once regarded as the most dangerous city in the world, Medellín now comes out top in many worldwide rankings of best places in the world to visit, to retire, and even to conduct medical tourism. Two decades of urban development, huge infrastructure projects, and social investment has made it a highly rated destination.
I’m currently looking at four real estate plays in Medellín. Four opportunities to tap into this exciting market. For example, one opportunity that makes sense to me is to buy a penthouse and configure it for co-living with four or five private bedrooms and plenty of communal space.
You’d be targeting small groups of entrepreneurial expats—often crypto guys, early-stage digital business founders, YouTubers, podcasters, developers, and creatives. I’ll be going into detail in this and the other three opportunities I see in Medellín in the next RETA issue.
If you’re a RETA member, stay tuned for the issue, which is coming soon. And if you’re not a RETA member, you can get a copy of my Big Book of Profitable Real Estate Investing and join RETA here to unlock full access to this and all my research.
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 reader recently…
John D.L. asks: Please scout real estate in Madeira! Thanks
Ronan says: Hi John and thanks for your message. I love hearing readers’ suggestions on where to scout. And Madeira is a fascinating place…
Like Ireland but with better weather…like Hawaii but without the crowds and sky-high prices…like Portugal but away from it all.
The island of Madeira is basically a magnificent mountain rising from the cobalt Atlantic. A serious of jagged peaks and a plateau form the highest points. You’ll find some of the highest sea cliffs in the world here. And some roads are so steep that locals treat them as one-way—downhill only.
Madeira lives up to its name “the Pearl of the Atlantic.” The climate is mild with minor variations year-round. June to September, daytime temperatures usually range from 68 F to 79 F. The sea is also warm, making it good for swimming. Even in the coldest months of winter temperatures rarely drop below 61 F during the day and can be as warm as 68 F.
It rains most on the northern side of the island. The island’s famous irrigation channels, levadas, were built to channel this water to the sunnier southern side, and it was the south where I focused my search for real estate.
In 2023, my scout Eoin Bassett checked out real estate here. RETA members can access his full report from that time here. Not yet a RETA member? Get a copy of my bestselling book when you join RETA and unlock access to Eoin’s full scouting report.
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.
