Sea view…beach view…a short walk from the beach…
You’ll hear lots of descriptions like these if you search for beach real estate.
But it’s very rare that you’ll see the words “true beachfront,” meaning a home that’s literally right on the beach…steps from the sand. That’s because this is among the rarest types of real estate there is.
There are a few reasons for this…
First, desirable beaches on sun-kissed coastlines are pretty scarce. (I mean, you could own on some snowy Alaskan beach, but that’s not what most people want or think of when you say “beachfront.”)
Second, a lot of the nice, accessible beachfront is bought up by developers so they can build resorts and large-scale condo communities.
Then, in the rare cases where there are actual homes on a nice beach, people don’t typically want to sell them. A home frontline to the beach is the kind of thing people hang on to.
Of course, dig deep enough and you’ll eventually find some proper beach-home listings. Though the price tags tend to reflect the scarcity.
Recently, my Real Estate Trend Alert team have been researching true beachfront homes around the world. Here’s some they managed to uncover…
For the sake of comparison, we started in the U.S.
California is home to many of the world’s most famous beach towns. Here’s a true Californian beach home built in 1931. It’s located on Seal Beach, not far from Huntington Beach. This three-bed home is listed at a whopping $4.2 million.
Priced at $4.2 million, this three-bed beach home works out at $1,909 a square foot. It’s on Seal Beach, not far from Huntington.
Staying in the U.S., my team found a four-bed home frontline to the beach in Texas for $775,000. It’s on Bolivar Peninsula, an area known for its long, sandy beaches that attract families, beachgoers, and nature lovers. Houston is about 90 minutes to two hours’ drive time.
This frontline beach home is on the Bolivar Peninsula in Texas, with the city of Houston a two-hour drive away. Listing here.
When my team looked outside the U.S., we found similarly large price tags…
Biarritz in southern France has long been famed for attracting royalty and celebrities. It was popular with Charlie Chaplin, Pablo Picasso, and Winston Churchill, among many others.
My researchers sent me a listing for an ocean-view apartment of 1,582 square feet. It’s not beachfront but it’s as close as we can find. The list price is €1.595 million, or over $2.1 million. Amenities are a parking space and storage area.
This apartment in Biarritz isn’t true beachfront but you do get sea views…for $2.1 million.
In Marbella, on Spain’s Costa del Sol my team got wind of a three-bed town-home for sale on the beach for just under $2.2 million. It 1,701 square feet, so $1,273 per square foot.
This beach home on Spain’s Costa del Sol is for sale for just under $2.2 million.
Over in Costa Rica, there’s this $3.9 million, three-bed home on the beach in Playa Flamingo. It’s not right on the sand, but as you can see from this photo of the community, it’s pretty close.
A three-bed residence in The Palms, Playa Flamingo, Costa Rica, lists for $3.9 million. Listing here.
Even in destinations known for offering great value, true beachfront still costs serious money…
The region above Porto in the far north of Portugal has been on my radar for the last couple of years and earlier this year various team members and myself put boots on the ground in this overlooked part of the country. And we found some screaming real estate deals there.
But despite this region having some of the best value real estate in the world right now, when it comes to beachfront homes, the prices are still in the millions. Take this five-bed home at Praia de Ofir that’s just steps from the sand and the Atlantic Ocean. It has a listing price of €2.95 million (that’s about $3.2 million).
Though this home in Northern Portugal is true beachfront, it’s also priced in the millions.
Another location on my beat where my team uncovered jaw-dropping bargains this year was the Mediterranean island of Sicily. And while my scout Ciaran Madden discovered homes in this Italian island’s hill towns from as little as €28,000, owning a true beachfront home here will require a far bigger budget.
The island’s most famous destination is the coastal hill town of Taormina. Known as the “Pearl of the Ionian Sea,” the town sits on a rocky outcropping on the island’s eastern coast. It boasts soaring cliffs with spectacular coastal views, postcard-perfect golden beaches, and an abundance of historic sites.
On the market there right now is this modern two-bed beachfront condo on the coast north of the town. Spanning 1,430 square feet, it offers panoramic sea views from its large terrace. It’s listed at €890,000 ($965,400).
This condo in Sicily has spectacular beachfront views…but the price tag is close to a million dollars.
Now, let me show another beachfront home.
This spacious, three-bed, true beachfront home is just steps from a stunning tropical beach…
As this render shows, this home has a stunning terrace overlooking the beach…you’ll be steps from the sand. (Renders like this shouldn’t be considered final, but give you a great idea.)
This home is in the amenity-rich community of Playa Caracol, just a 60 to 90-minute drive from booming, cosmopolitan Panama City.
Playa Caracol is one of those rare things…a true beachfront community. The farthest you can get from the beach is just 328 yards. It’s “hardcore beachfront” as the developer behind Playa Caracol, Alfredo Aleman, says. (Watch me in conversation with him here.)
And yet, the price tag to own a home here is nowhere near as expensive as the beachfront homes we’ve just looked at.
That’s why I’m so excited about the imminent Real Estate Trend Alert deal here…
Tomorrow, RETA members will have the chance to own spacious, three-bed beachfront homes right on the beach in Playa Caracol…
A spacious three-bed home on a tropical beach…almost no one gets to own and enjoy real estate like this. And even fewer close to a world-class city. To learn more about this deal, see the special preview of the deal briefing I prepared for my RETA members.
This is special…
How many people in the world own a spacious home right on the beach? Any beach?
Almost no one.
And of the folks who own a spacious beach home—a real “on the beach” home—how many own on a tropical beach where the water is warm?
Maybe 0.001% of the world’s population is around 80,000. Does that sound right?
And how many own on a beach close to a chic capital city…in a world-class safe haven. Stable, secure, safe and relaxed…next door to all sorts of luxury amenities and conveniences…
Less again for sure.
This is the rarest of opportunities in global real estate. That’s why I expect gains of $310,000 five years after delivery on these incredible homes.
And again, the setting is perfect…
Today there are over 663 delivered condos in Playa Caracol, a surf club, beach club, restaurants, hotel, market, gym….now the resorts are coming, Margaritaville is nearly sold out and due to open in 2027.
Playa Caracol is emerging as Panama’s foremost beach destination.
Here, you can dine in the Vento Beach Club or the Surfside Hotel. Get a massage on the beach, hire a private chef to cater for you and friends in your home…take a surf lesson…pop into the well-provisioned Caracol market for groceries…
And you’re less than 50 miles from Panama City and its international airport.
If you’ve ever dreamed of owning true beachfront, there’s still time in get in on this deal.
To learn more about it, I’ve created a preview of the briefing on this deal that I prepared for members of RETA. I don’t normally do this, but this is such a special, and rare deal, that I wanted you to know about it.
Ronan McMahon, Founder, Overseas Dream Home & Real Estate Trend Alert
P.S. As the developer’s renders show, with these homes you’re seconds from the soft-sand beach, with the Pacific Ocean literally on your doorstep.
These homes will literally steps from the sand…
And to give you a real-world look at where these homes are located in Playa Caracol, below is a photo of my scout Eoin Bassett (left) pointing toward the site of these three-bed beach homes from the rooftop of the Surfside Hotel. Caracol beach stretches for miles and that orange scar is construction beginning on the Margaritaville due to open in 2027.
Your Daily Dream Home
Águilas, Spain
This charming two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment has an open-plan living space, fully equipped kitchen, and a partially covered terrace. The master bedroom has an en-suite bathroom and terrace access, while the second bedroom includes built-in wardrobes.
Amenities include air conditioning, furnished interiors, and appliances. The apartment comes with an underground garage parking for one vehicle. Residents have access to two communal pools in the complex.
The apartment is located in Águilas, a lovely coastal town in the southeastern part of Spain’s Murcia region. Set against a backdrop of rugged mountains and overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, the area combines beautiful sandy beaches with rocky coves and dramatic cliffs.
The long coastline provides ample opportunities for swimming, sunbathing, and water sports such as snorkeling, diving, and windsurfing. The Hornillo Pier, a former mineral loading dock, is now a popular spot for fishing and taking in coastal views. Águilas maintains a strong connection to its fishing roots, and the local cuisine includes excellent seafood dishes.
