In this week’s Overseas Dream Home digest…
- Notes From the Road: Exploring Italy’s Famed Amalfi Coast
- Own a Spanish City Getaway Pad from €179,000
- Where I’m Scouting Next
- Your Questions Answered on Real Estate in Southeast Asia
I’m on Italy’s Amalfi Coast…
This is a 30-mile stretch of coast in Southern Italy that overlooks the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Gulf of Salerno and is renowned for its dramatic cliffs, crystal-clear waters, and the charming towns nestled into its rugged hillsides.
The terraced landscape of this coastline has long attracted visitors, and today it’s an Instagram staple…
Lemon groves, olive orchards, and colorful bougainvillea cascade down the steep slopes, where they meet with the azure sea. Towns like Positano, with its pastel-colored houses seemingly stacked on top of each other, offer postcard-perfect views from every angle. Narrow streets wind through these towns, leading to hidden coves and pebble beaches.
The famous twisty road that runs along the Amalfi Coast and connects its picturesque towns was first built by the Romans and then restored in the 1830s, making it the classic driving route it is today.
Officially there are 13 towns that make up the Amalfi Coast (Sorrento, though not technically part of this coast, is an honorary member and the island of Capri is often included in the area too).
I’m writing this from the town of Amalfi itself…
Even though it’s technically not high season anymore, the town is still jam-packed with tourists, to a level that’s fairly unbearable. There are masses of people everywhere.
I’m staying in a small Airbnb…it’s basically a bedroom with a tiny kitchenette and a bathroom. The building I’m in looks like it was once a cottage that has been split up into a few Airbnbs. Judging by the laundry hanging out the windows, I’d say the owner lives on the top floor. My estimate is that the two rental units combined throw off an income of €150,000 a year or more. Not bad for a place that has fairly basic finishes and faulty Wi-Fi.
But our unit does have a nice terrace with a view to the sea…and thus its value.
If I’d wanted to stay in one of those fancy hotels like you see in the movies with the spacious terraces that offer panoramic views down the coastline, I’d have to fork out €1,500-plus per night.
Because that’s what Amalfi is all about the views.
Anything with views here has income potential…and that presents an opportunity, if you wanted to own here. I recorded a video on my terrace in Amalfi for members of my Real Estate Trend Alert group to discuss this. Check it out below…
In this video I recorded overlooking the Amalfi Coast, I share what I’ve uncovered thus far while scouting this iconic coastline. Click to view…
Now, I’m going to let you in on a little-known secret about this coast…something the Instagrammers won’t tell you…
The Amalfi Coast is actually a little rough around the edges. A lot of the signs of “everyday life” here are hidden behind the grand hotels that offer luxury suites with multi-million dollar views. But unless you’re paying those enormous nightly rates, you will come across visible electric cables…laundry hanging from windows…and a general sense of clutter that is much more in keeping with “real world” Italy.
That’s not to say that Amalfi isn’t stunning. It absolutely is.
Amalfi has a reputation for being chic and high-end, but look closely, and you’ll see another side to this popular tourist spot.
But it’s a place that’s an odd mix of shabby and chic. Look in one direction and you have the not-so-shiny signs of a workaday town…but then do a 180 and you have those incredible, instantly Instagram-able views of the cliffs tumbling down to the perfect blue sea.
There’s not much real estate on the market here. I found this one-bed, two-bath house in the hills of Pogerola, just above Amalfi. The real selling point is this house is the views. There are two terraces with views over Amalfi to the sea. The asking price is €445,000.
Your budget will need to be a bit higher if you’re looking for something in the heart of Amalfi. Originally a farmhouse, this house has been renovated and is now two units with their own entrances, but they’re connected internally. It’s about 130 steps from the road up to the garden gates of the property (no need for a personal trainer round these parts!), but again, this place is all about the views. You can see the full listing here, and the listing price is €720,000.
In the “above €1 million” bracket, this charming four-bed, four-bath home looks like it could at one time have been a boutique hotel or a B&B. West of Amalfi town, it too has sea views, and one of the bedrooms has its own terrace overlooking the sea. There’s also a terrace on the ground floor as well as gardens. This one is listed at €1.09 million.
Not cheap. But then, this is a blue-chip destination…
You also have to consider the income that’s possible. If the small Airbnb where I’m staying can generate €150,000 or more per year from its two units, then the properties above could have big income potential.
Of course, there are the serious drawbacks to consider too…including Italy’s high taxes and voluminous red tape (which is increasingly engulfing short-term rental owners).
Indeed, while scouting this coast, I got caught up in the insane bureaucracy of this region…and the travel chaos caused by the meddling of this bureaucracy and the insane crowds of tourists. Here’s a video I recorded by the sea about that…
The Amalfi Coast is an over-touristed destination. The transportation infrastructure here can get overwhelmed, as I discovered. Click to view…
Personally, the crowds and chaos aren’t for me…despite the beauty of this coast.
But if you’ve ever dreamed of owning on this stretch of coast, which is among the world’s most iconic, there is a potential opportunity here.
Where I’m Scouting Next…
There’s no such thing as a “normal week” when you’re a real estate scout…
Not long after scouting Amalfi, I’ll be heading back across the Atlantic to Mexico. There I have a number of locations I’m going to scout—Guadalajara, Oaxaca, Tulum, Ensenada…
And all this scouting will happen in the next six weeks.
For most people, that’s an insane amount of travel in a relatively short space of time. But it’s not unusual for me. I’m constantly on the road and as a result I’ve learned to pack light…move fast.
It’s the only way to identify opportunities in up-and-coming destinations like
Ensenada (just a two-hour drive from San Diego)…and stay on top of the latest developments in more established places with massive continued growth potential like Tulum.
Of course, there’s also the scouting of my team. Three of my team members are just returning from Panama. Another is planning a trip to Uruguay.
You’ll be hearing about all of this in the coming weeks… And if you have a suggestion for you a place you’d like me to scout, or any thoughts on my upcoming plans, I’d love to hear it. Share it with me here.
This beach around the port city of Ensenada is only around a two-hour drive from San Diego. This region has long been overlooked, but that’s changing. One of my senior scouts was here in May and was impressed. Soon I’m going to follow up…
Own Your Own Spanish City Pad from €179,000
Did you know that the Spanish city of Madrid is the third-most expensive European city in which to buy real estate?
That’s according to the Global Property Guide and the Urban Land Institute. They say the average price of a square meter in 2024 is just over $8,000 (about $745 per square foot)…and that’s just the average!
Now, that’s probably not very surprising given its status as the country’s capital city and that fact that’s it’s one of Europe’s most popular tourist destinations (it had 10.6 million visitors, foreign and domestic, in 2023).
But this is in no way indicative of the country’s other vibrant cities. In fact, if you look beyond the likes of Madrid and Barcelona, you’ll find real estate prices are a lot more affordable.
Spain’s second cities are often overshadowed by the grandeur of their more popular cousins. But cities like Girona, Malaga and Granada can offer their own unique cultural experiences and a more authentic taste of Spanish life.
Malaga has it all…a charming old town, in-city beaches, and the palm tree lined Paseo del Mullene Uno waterfront, perfect for afternoon strolling in the Spanish sun. You can own here for under $200,000…read more here.
The idea of having a city pad in one of Spain’s second cities is very appealing. You still get all the rich history, incredible cuisine, vibrant arts and culture scenes that the larger cities offer. And prices for everything, not just real estate, are lower.
So with that in mind, this week I asked my team to look for affordable getaway pads in some of Spain’s lesser-known, but no less incredible, cities.
Read about what they discovered here…
Your Questions Answered
Have a question or comment for me or my team? A question about owning overseas? A destination you’d like us to scout. Share it here. I’d love to hear from you. Here’s a question I got from a reader…
Glenn G. asks: Ronan and team, are you going to start looking at opportunities in Asia, perhaps more specifically Southeast Asia? I live in Singapore and have been here for the last 19 years.
Ronan says: Thanks for that great question, Glenn. Southeast Asia is a place is on my scouting list…a place that I’d like to dig deeper on.
Southeast Asia offers an incredible lifestyle—perfect white-sand beaches, low cost of living, the incredible, varied cuisines, friendly locals… It has a lot going for it if you’re looking to pay a visit or stay a bit longer.
In short, I’m a big fan. I have scouted the region and I plan to do so again. In fact, I’ve already booked flights to Asia for next year.
Vietnam is just one of the Southeast Asian countries that offers exquisite natural beauty, low costs, and an affordable, high-quality lifestyle, but when it comes to buying real estate in this region, things are more complicated.
The one major problem with this part of the world when it comes to buying and investing in real estate is the question of ownership. The restrictions on real estate ownership there explain why I haven’t found any real estate deals that would stack up for members of my Real Estate Trend Alert group.
Generally speaking, foreigners cannot legally own property outright in Asia.
For example, in Vietnam, when you buy a property, what you’re actually getting is a 50-year lease (which can be extended for another 50 years). Now that lease does entitle you to all the rights to that property. So the property can be rented or subleased, sold for a profit, used as collateral, donated, or passed along to heirs.
But technically, you don’t “own” the property…and that doesn’t sit well with me when it comes to real estate investing. As an investor, I’m naturally risk-adverse, and the regulations environment is just too murky for my comfort levels.
As I say, it’s been a number of years since I was in Asia and I do plan to travel there next year to investigate the real estate scene…so if you’re interested in Southeast Asia, stay tuned.
In the meantime, you might like to check out the new report I recently sent to readers of Your Overseas Dream Home.
It’s called Dream Homes in Stunning Asian Beach Towns from $50,000 and in it you’ll find insights on buying in four in Southeast Asia’s most popular destinations, the restrictions foreigners can face, as well as information on the kinds of listings and prices you can expect to see in the region. It’s a free benefit to you as an Overseas Dream Home reader.
