“Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.” – Jean-Jacques Rousseau
One of the great discoveries of my real estate scouting career is the town of Lagos, in Portugal’s southern Algarve region.
When I first spotted opportunity in Lagos around a decade ago, it was still quiet, sleepy, and largely unknown to the millions of tourists flocking to the Algarve.
But it was perfectly located, and development was gradually pushing toward it.
Visit Lagos today and you’ll find a modern, wealthy town with bustling beaches and an upscale marina.
I and members of my Real Estate Trend Alert group were ahead of this transformation. In 2015, I started bringing deals in Lagos to RETA, and members have seen uplifts of €160,000…€275,000…and more.
Why is this relevant?
Because I’ve now made by biggest discovery in Europe since Lagos.
A new town with untold potential.
This is the best opportunity I’ve found in Europe for a decade…
The historic town of Lagos in Portugal’s southern Algarve region. I’ve brought members of my Real Estate Trend Alert group a run of deals here…and they’ve sitting on gains of €160,000…€275,000…and more.
I first started scouting Portugal’s Algarve region way back in 2002.
It was a very different place back then…
The Algarve is in the very south of Portugal facing the Atlantic, but it boasts a Mediterranean climate. It gets 300 days of sunshine a year and has great culture, amazing food, and stunning beaches.
For decades before I first arrived, it had been a popular vacation destination among northern Europeans, especially the British.
In fact, back then the Algarve was basically the only destination that tourists went to in Portugal. And it was very seasonal. Outside the 10 weeks of high season, the Algarve was near empty. Full-time expats and second-home owners were rare.
I always suspected that could change. So year after year, I returned to scout the Algarve…watching the market and building contacts.
Boasting historic towns, soaring cliffs, stunning beaches, and 300 days of sunshine a year, the Algarve is one of Europe’s most inherently desirable destinations.
Prior to the global financial crisis, development had been radiating out from the central Algarve in two directions—east and west.
The crisis halted this development, but I knew it was only a matter of time before it resumed. The Algarve simply has too much inherent appeal.
In the aftermath of the financial crisis, the world began to discover Portugal. Clever tourist campaigns, new airline routes, and attractive tax and visa schemes shined a global spotlight on what had been Europe’s best-kept secret.
People started coming in droves…and not just to visit, but to stay.
In addition to vacationers, it was starting to attract well-heeled expats, young families, and digital nomads.
Lagos is beautiful and low-rise, with a rich history dating back centuries.
In the western Algarve, development had ground to a halt around Lagos.
Lagos is arguably the most historic town on the Algarve. It was home to Henry the Navigator and the adventurers of the Age of Discovery. It’s compact, low-rise, and walkable. And from spots all over town you can catch breathtaking views of the Bay of Light, fringed by miles of golden sand.
You can walk from town to the beaches. There are semi-secret sandy coves, long stretches of golden sand, cliffs, sea stacks, and bluffs. The coastline and climate remind folks of Southern California, though I’ve heard some say the oranges are even sweeter here.
I knew Lagos was a huge discovery…a place with all the right elements for the new folks flocking to the Algarve and Portugal. But it had yet to be discovered by the masses. Development was only beginning to resume there.
So, I started tapping my contacts…looking for the right deals.
The colorful, charming town of Lagos is one of the most vibrant communities in the Algarve. It’s now a major destination for longer-term renters and second-home owners.
Of course, I have an “edge” to help me find the best deals in desirable destinations like this. That edge is my Real Estate Trend Alert group.
RETA is made up of investors like me who recognize the vast potential of overseas real estate…who recognize that there’s always opportunity somewhere when you look everywhere. By acting together at RETA, we can buy in bulk. These means I can go to developers and negotiate off-market deals.
It’s a simple win-win for us and the developer. The developer gets quick and discreet sales from our group…allowing him to go to the local market with sales under his belt and the confidence to charge higher retail prices (i.e. the price everyone else pays). We get a price no one else will see.
In Lagos, I used our group buying power to find killer deal after killer deal. To give just a few examples…
- In December 2019, RETA members could buy in a community called Santa Maria from €310,500. Two-bed condos available to RETA members for €390,000 now list for €550,000—a boost of €160,000.
- In 2020, I recommended condos in a community called Adega. RETA members could get penthouses here for the incredible price of €480,000. Those now list for around €1 million…meaning they’ve doubled in price.
- In 2021, we had a RETA member-only deal in the luxury community of Dona Maria. RETA members could buy two-bed condos in Dona Maria from €575,000. These now list for about €850,000—an uplift of €275,000.
The stunning Santa Maria community in the Algarve. In 2019, I brought my RETA group a killer deal here. Two-bed condos available to RETA members for €390,000 now list for €550,000—a boost of €160,000.
These Lagos deals show the value of patience and persistence…of putting boots-on-the-ground over years and years and building local contacts.
Frankly, I wasn’t sure I’d ever find a place like this again in Europe…a town with such immense potential.
But then my scouts and I went to Kotor in Montenegro…
Tiny Montenegro is one of the world’s newest countries. About the size of Connecticut, it achieved independence in just 2006.
This is one of the world’s most breathtakingly beautiful places…
A new Riviera is emerging in Europe…in tiny Montenegro.
The country’s 183-mile Adriatic coastline is liberally sprinkled with historic towns, lively beach resorts, secluded coves, and white-stone fishing villages, all punctuated by strips of fine sand beaches. The wild and remote, interior is a landscape of snow-dusted peaks, crystal-clear lakes, rivers, forests, and canyons.
Montenegro is said to be the only place on earth where you can pluck an orange from a tree overhanging a sunny beach while looking up at snow-capped mountains…
Over the past several years, a major transformation has been taking place in Montenegro. This transformation is centered on the Bay of Kotor.
The Bay of Kotor is mesmerizing. It is in fact made up of three bays, a serpentine fjord-like stretch of crystal-clear water over which stand sentinel Alp-like mountains. At its heart is Kotor Old Town, a stunning UNESCO World Heritage site and the most popular destination in Montenegro.
Kotor’s old town is a joyous jumble of Venetian mansions and cobbled lanes packed with restaurants and bars.
In recent years, tiny Montenegro has been discovered by the ultra-rich.
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 on a 30-year lease.
French weekly magazine La Parisien has described it as “an Eldorado for the ultra-rich and a new Monaco.”
And yet, this tiny country remains unknown to the vast majority of tourists and expats. Real estate prices here are a fraction of what you’ll find in equivalent destinations to the north in Croatia or other enclaves of the wealthy on the Italian and French Rivieras.
It won’t stay that way, though.
My team and I have been tracking the development of Kotor for years. We’ve put boots on the ground there a dozen or so times.
And I can confidently say this…
Kotor is the biggest opportunity I’ve found in Europe since the astonishing rise of Lagos.
The window of opportunity is open in Kotor…for now.
Ronan McMahon, Founder, Overseas Dream Home & Real Estate Trend Alert
P.S. Our years of scouting and research in Montenegro are about to pay off. I’ve found the perfect deal there for members of my Real Estate Trend Alert group.
With our upcoming deal in Montenegro, the real estate is best-in-class…the location in Kotor is ideal…the amenities are incredible…
Best of all, we’re getting in first…and at truly unbelievable, off-market prices. Here’s how incredible this deal is…
- Within 10 weeks of our RETA launch the developer’s planning a 15% increase on the RETA-only pricing.
- Within a year of our RETA launch it’s a 30% increase on the RETA prices.
- All told over the build period, the developer plans a 70% increase on the RETA pricing.
But RETA members can own here first, before these price increases, all thanks to the collective-buying power of our group.
And because of our exceptional RETA-only pricing, I expect gains of €201,643 five years after delivery.
RETA members will have the full briefing on this deal this Saturday, July 20. (To be clear, this deal is for RETA members only. Not a RETA member? Click here to join now.)
