I’ve got boots on the ground in Lagos, Portugal…
This is a place where golden-sand beaches sit beneath dramatic ochre cliffs, where cafés spill onto cobbled streets in a beautifully preserved old town, and where life revolves around the sea.
It’s one of the best discoveries of my two-plus decades scouting real estate around the world.
Over the years, I’ve brought members of my Real Estate Trend Alert (RETA) group some exceptional off-market opportunities here. Members have already seen uplifts like €351,000 and €414,500.
But the very forces that created those gains—scarce land, strict planning, and relentless international demand—are making opportunities increasingly hard to find.
That’s why I’m excited to be closing in on an exclusive new deal here…
This is a chance to own a luxury condo, a short walk from a beach ranked among the best in the world, in a town where the world’s biggest hospitality brands are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to get a foothold—at insider pricing the wider market never sees.
I’m bringing all the details to members of my RETA group soon…
One lesson I’ve learned is that the biggest rewards often go to the people who act before everyone else catches on.
Among those who got in on our last RETA deal in Lagos was International Living’s Executive Editor Jennifer Stevens.
Jen has been a friend and a colleague for decades. She’s spent her career researching the best places to live, retire, and invest overseas. I also know she’s long wanted to own overseas herself, and has come close—more than once—to reserving in a RETA deal.
Earlier this year, she made her move.
Below, Jen explains why she and her husband chose Lagos—and why they decided to buy the RETA way.
Wishing you good real estate investing,
I Just Bought in This Portuguese Beach Town
By Jennifer Stevens
Since joining International Living in 1996, I’ve traveled through dozens of countries across four continents, researching and reporting on the best places to live, retire, and invest overseas.
Over the years, I’ve watched countless readers buy in Real Estate Trend Alert (RETA) member-only deals. And all the while, I knew that one day, I would do the same.
More than once, my husband, Pat, and I came very close to acting.
In January, we pulled the trigger and reserved a condo in a RETA deal in the historic town of Lagos, on Portugal’s southern coast.
As Ronan prepares to bring RETA members a new deal here…what could be the last chance to own in a RETA deal in Lagos…
I wanted to reflect on why Pat and I bought in this town earlier this year.
A Historic Town With Global Appeal
Portugal is a country I know pretty well. I’ve traveled extensively through it for International Living. We’ve hosted conferences here. I’ve returned for personal travel.
Over the years, in my role as executive editor of IL, I’ve sent writers to Lagos on multiple occasions. I’ve published stories from expats living there. Even today, I have a close contact on the ground who calls Lagos home and regularly shares her experiences with IL readers.
Taken together, all of that research and firsthand reporting paints a very clear picture.
Lagos is not a resort town built for a single type of visitor or one narrow phase of life. This is a real, functioning place—historic, walkable, and low-rise—where people live year-round.
What makes Lagos particularly compelling is how many rare elements it brings together in one place.
There’s genuine history here, visible in its cobbled old town. There’s extraordinary natural beauty here too: Lagos is home to some of the most spectacular beaches in Europe—long sweeps of golden sand, hidden coves tucked beneath ochre cliffs, and dramatic coastal scenery that rivals anything on the Mediterranean. And then there’s the marina—modern, attractive, and thoughtfully integrated into the fabric of the town rather than set apart from it.
Equally important, Lagos is truly international…
It attracts affluent Northern European families, remote workers, and retirees from countries like Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands. It’s long been popular with British and Irish vacationers and second-home owners. And in recent years, Americans and Canadians have joined the mix.
In Lagos, demand comes from many directions, and for many different reasons. That breadth is a sign of maturity. It’s what you see when a place has reached a level of status where its international appeal is deep, established, and enduring.
Lagos at an Inflection Point
What ultimately tipped the RETA opportunity from compelling to decisive for Pat and me was the sense that Lagos is at an inflection point. Ronan has been making this case for some time, and it aligns closely with everything I’ve been hearing from the ground.
Lagos is a proven destination—well known, well loved, and firmly established. But it’s also clear that it’s moving into a new phase.
Over the past two to three years, Lagos has been building on its success with a new strategic plan to become a globally renowned haven of luxury and prestige.
New investment is flooding into the town…
A $119 million Hilton-branded project is going up at the Lagos marina. The first JW Marriott-branded hotel in Portugal is rising at the Palmares resort just outside town. A new Conrad resort will open up the coast at Meia Praia in 2027.
This is a huge amount of investment for a compact town with a year-round population of just 30,000 people.
And the caliber of investment arriving signals that the town is being recognized on the global stage. The likes of Hilton and Marriott are late-stage brands that arrive only when the case for a destination is proven.
The same pattern Lagos is now seeing turned quiet fishing villages into San Sebastian, into Palma, into Saint-Tropez.
Best-in-Class Real Estate
One of the things I love most about spending time in Europe is exploring its historic cities and towns—I love the architecture, the history, the quirkiness.
In Portugal in particular, the food is so good, and it’s such a pleasure to enjoy a leisurely meal in a space where people having been dining for 200 years.
But we own a 127-year-old home in the U.S. And we know exactly how troublesome an old place can be when it comes to upkeep. So, in looking for an investment property, we wanted something new and shiny. RETA’s formula was the perfect fit for us.
Using his group’s collective buying power, Ronan negotiates directly with developers for best-in-class real estate, securing pricing and terms that individual buyers typically can’t access.
It’s a win-win arrangement. The developer gains early sales momentum before launch, while RETA members get pricing that’s significantly lower than what’s available to the average investor. For me, it was a chance to buy a brand-new property at a price that simply wouldn’t be available once the project went public.
And I knew I could trust the quality. RETA communities here are luxurious…utterly best-in-class…perfectly located—the kind of real estate that appeal to the wealthier folks discovering Lagos.
A Practical Step Toward Diversification
Another important factor in our decision was diversification.
Pat and I have been thinking for some time about moving a portion of our assets out of dollars—not as a reaction to headlines or short-term concerns, but simply as a prudent way to broaden how and where we hold our wealth.
Being able to do that through real estate, in a stable European country we know well, and in a town with deep international appeal, felt like a measured step.
And because we plan to operate our condo as a short-term rental, this investment also gives us the potential for a strong, ongoing euro-based income stream—something that could provide real peace of mind in the years ahead.
Although this was very much an investment-led decision, the personal upside is something we’ve also considered.
Soon after reserving, Pat and I found ourselves talking about how much we’d enjoy using the property from time to time—traveling together, bringing my parents, welcoming the kids, and enjoying it as a family base in Europe.
Knowing this is a place we’d genuinely enjoy visiting—somewhere we could settle into for a few weeks and easily plug into a diverse international community—added a quiet but meaningful layer of satisfaction to the decision.
Why We Bought
In the end, this wasn’t a difficult decision.
We weren’t just buying a condo. We were buying a foothold in a place we believe has an exceptional future.
A place with history, beauty, international appeal, and carefully managed growth. A place where we’d be happy to spend time ourselves, while benefiting from the demand of others who feel the same way.
After years of following RETA opportunities from afar, this was the one that convinced us to become buyers.
That’s why we bought in Lagos.
