There’s a time-honored, proven formula for finding incredible real estate opportunities.
Follow the super rich…
The ultra-rich are often the first to discover a new, inherently desirable destination…as they’ve recently uncovered Europe’s new Riviera.
Now, when I say “super rich,” that’s precisely what I mean.
I’m talking here about ultra-high net worth (UHNW) individuals…people who have at least $30 million in assets.
These are folks who typically own multiple homes all over world, generally in stunningly beautiful locations. They’re people who want top-end luxury and the finest service. They also like marinas, since they need places to dock their yachts.
There’s something else these UHNW individuals like—isolation.
The ultra-rich are often the first to unlock a beautiful remote destination. That’s because it matters little to them if a place is hard to reach. After all, they can get there on their private jets and superyachts.
To them, the inaccessibility is a benefit not a drawback.
This is a trend that’s played out time and time again throughout modern history…
In the 19th century, the ultra-rich of the day turned tiny, obscure Monaco into one of the most exclusive destinations on Earth. But the ultra-rich never stop looking for new destinations to unlock…
In the 19th century, it was northern European royalty who first discovered a secluded stretch of Mediterranean coast in the South of France. We now call this region the French Riviera…and it’s home to the tiny city-state of Monaco, the most expensive and exclusive real estate market in the world. (I wrote about how Monaco became rich here.)
Around the same time, they were also transforming the northern Mediterranean coast of neighboring Italy into the Italian Riviera. (Read about the history of the Italian Riviera here.)
It’s the same pattern again and again…
The super-rich uncover a remote destination. They arrive and build luxury villas, hotels, marinas and high-end resorts.
In time, word gets out. People want to go see this hidden enclave of the wealthy. Infrastructure is built to make getting there easier…new train lines and new airports. Travel is opened up. The masses arrive and real estate prices explode.
This trend continues to play out today. In fact, there’s a stretch of “Hidden Riviera” in Europe that’s in the midst of this transformation right now.
I’ll tell you about that in a moment…
But first, a more recent example of this trend—Los Cabos.
The marina in Cabo San Lucas. This destination has long been a playground of the ultra-wealthy and Hollywood celebrities.
Cabo was first discovered in the late 1940s and early 1950s by Hollywood and the ultra-rich, who came to sunbathe on its white-sand beaches and swim and fish in its pristine azure waters. Back then, it was an obscure fishing village…the only way to get there was by private plane.
Today, Cabo is a world-leading haven of celebrities and the ultra-wealthy. Many Hollywood stars have homes there and many more visit, like Leonardo DiCaprio, George Clooney, and Robert DeNiro.
Over the past decade, a number of factors created a new opportunity in Cabo…
First, a vast amount of investment flowed into new infrastructure, particularly the airport. Throughout the mid- and late 2010s, it became easier and cheaper to get to Cabo.
As Cabo became more accessible, what I call the “ordinary rich” began coming in greater numbers. These are folks like me and you…doctors, lawyers, executives, self-made entrepreneurs, work-from-anywhere professionals…people with money, just not ultra-wealthy.
Money wasn’t just pouring into infrastructure, it was also going into new ultra-high-end luxury resorts and communities. Major brands like Nobu, Ritz-Carlton, and Four Seasons were pouring billions into new golf courses, hotels, and residential communities.
These resorts and communities were aimed at the ultra-rich, with room rates of thousands of dollars per night, and condos and luxury homes priced in the millions. It seemed that every major new development was targeting that extreme upper-end of the market.
But in this rush to control the ultra-high-end segment, an important group was neglected…the ordinary rich.
These buyers and renters aren’t in the market for multi-million-dollar mansions, but they still want luxury, resort-style amenities, and a perfect location…and they’re willing to pay to get it. Yet, there was a limited supply of best-in-class real estate to cater to these folks.
I spotted this gap in the market and got to work finding the perfect real estate to appeal to these buyers and renters…good-value condos and homes with high-end finishes and resort-style amenities in best-in-class communities.
The kind of places where I like to live and stay…where I imagine you enjoy living and staying too…
With this strategy, I found a run of incredible off-market deals in Cabo for my Real Estate Trend Alert group. To give you some brief samples…
- $388,844 More—Our first RETA members-only deal in Cabo was in 2015 in the 5-star Quivira resort. Our RETA-only price on a two-bed, two-bath ocean-view condo in the best-in-class Copala community was $336,156. I bought one alongside RETA members. An identical condo to mine two floors above me later listed for $725,000—an uplift of $388,844.
- Uplift of $250,000—In August 2021, RETA members could get a penthouse in a community called Cabo Costa for $249,000. I got one. A penthouse in Cabo Costa in 2024 lists for $499,000—that’s $250,000 more.
- $602,885 More—In 2017, a RETA member bought a luxury villa in Copala, in the Quivira master-planned community, for $385,115. The same Copala villa recently listed for $988,000—that’s an enormous uplift of $602,885.
The Quivira Resort in Cabo where I bought alongside RETA members. I’ve found a host of incredible off-market deals here to bring to my RETA group.
With these Cabo deals, RETA members have seen double-your-money capital appreciation…and in some cases even more. Plus, they’ve gotten double-digital gross rental yields.
All because we spotted that gap in the market…that neglected segment of affluent buyers and renters.
Now, that same pattern is playing out in Europe’s new Riviera…in the tiny country of Montenegro.
Europe’s new Riviera has seen a big influx of the super-rich over the past decade.
Montenegro is one of the world’s newest countries, achieving independence in just 2006.
Located just south of Croatia on the Adriatic Sea, this small European country is in the midst of an astonishing transformation.
There are three things to understand about this…
First, Montenegro is one of the world’s most beautiful places. That’s not hyperbole or an exaggeration. Its Bay of Kotor has topped lists of the most spectacular destinations on Earth.
See for yourself…
Soaring mountains…pristine, azure waters…stunning historic villages with Venetian architectural influences—Montenegro can legitimately claim to have the world’s most breath-taking coastline.
Second, the ultra-rich are already here. They have been for a while, in fact.
A-listers, oligarchs, and Gulf state billionaires are flocking to this “hidden” coast to berth their superyachts in the new, modern marinas. Luxury penthouses there sell for millions. The Saudi royal family even relocated its golden fleet of mega-yachts to here from Monaco in 2012 on a 30-year lease.
Third, development is now rolling south from neighboring Croatia, where millions of people have been coming to enjoy the stunning coastline and historic towns. Year after year they’re shattering arrival records and driving up real estate prices. Now, people are looking south to Montenegro, Europe’s new Riviera.
The Bay of Kotor boasts several ultra-modern marinas to cater to the ultra-rich.
This coastline is now being discovered by the ordinary rich, and particularly the Bay of Kotor, which is Montenegro’s most famous destination and the closest part of the country to Croatia.
So, we now have scarcity and soaring demand in one of the world’s most beautiful places.
A place that’s arrived as a hotspot of the rich and powerful. Where they go to escape the crowds. But where there’s a shortage of real estate for the ordinary rich.
The pattern repeats…
My scouts and I have had boots on the ground in Montenegro for years…looking for the right opportunity…the right real estate…to bring to my Real Estate Trend Alert group.
It’s taken years to find the right, exclusive, off-market deal. But I knew it would be worth the scouting, the research, the expense, and the patient negotiation…
And now we’ve found it.
This is a huge and exciting opportunity for us, our most compelling in Europe since RETA members got in on deals in the historic beach town of Lagos, in Portugal. (More details on that here.)
This is a chance to own best-in-class real estate in a perfectly located, amenity-rich community in Kotor at unbelievable prices.
I’ve been predicting gains of €201,643 five years after delivery…but that’s beginning to look really conservative.
Recently I got more details of the developer’s future plans for our community.
- Within 10 weeks of our RETA launch the developer’s planning a 15% increase on our RETA pricing.
- Within a year of our RETA launch it’s a 30% increase on our RETA prices.
- All told over the build period the developer plans a 70% increase on our RETA pricing.
But RETA members can buy in ahead…at exclusive, off-market pricing…
This deal is exceptional. I expect off-the-charts interest from RETA members.
I’m releasing the full details of this opportunity this Saturday, July 20, in my Deal Briefing. And I’m going to share it here with you in Your Overseas Dream Home.
Stay tuned…this is going to be something special.
Ronan McMahon, Founder, Overseas Dream Home & Real Estate Trend Alert
P.S. Porto Novi is just one of the luxury marinas you’ll find in the Bay of Kotor. Here’s a short video I found on YouTube showcasing the marina…
Porto Novi is a luxury marina development where you’ll see apartments for sale for well over $1 million. It highlights the astonishing transformation taking place in Montenegro.
Your Daily Dream Home
Minucciano, Tuscany, Italy
This charming two-bedroom house is located in a picturesque old village in the Tuscan hills. It has been restored and retains many original features such as terracotta and stone floors, and beamed ceilings. The property consists of two bedrooms and two bathrooms, with an open-plan dining room and kitchen featuring a fireplace. Downstairs, there’s a ‘taverna’ used as a living room, along with a bathroom. Upstairs, you’ll find a bedroom with an ensuite bathroom, a small study area, and an additional room that could serve as either a study or a single bedroom. The house is being sold fully furnished.
Lago di Gramolazzo, a nearby lake, is perfect for swimming, boating, and hiking. The medieval town of Fivizzano is just 20 minutes away. It’s a stunning town with a walled historic center featuring an imposing fountain and several historic buildings. Fivizzano played a significant role in Italy’s humanistic culture, hosting one of the country’s first printing houses where Jacopo da Fivizzano designed and used the first typewriter.
