As I write, I’m leaving the city of Oaxaca in southern Mexico and traveling to Puerto Escondido…
I spent the past several days scouting Oaxaca and it hugely impressed me. I’m also very excited to be heading back to the Pacific beach town of Puerto Escondido, which (as I shared in a recent update) ranks among my best discoveries in years. I’ll share some updates about both places very soon.
Today, though, I want to shine a spotlight on a different destination in Mexico, one that’s far better known than Oaxaca or Puerto Escondido.
A place that’s beloved by the ultra-rich…and where I’ve brought many incredible deals to my Real Estate Trend Alert group.
A photo I snapped during the recent Day of the Dead festivities in the city of Oaxaca, southern Mexico.
I recently got a message from two members of my Real Estate Trend Alert group who bought in one of our exclusive, RETA-only deals in Los Cabos…
“Hi Ronan, we just took possession of our unit at Cabo Costa! Really love it. It turned out better than expected. Thanks to you and the team for bringing us this opportunity!”
I got that message from RETA members Patrick and Amy who bought alongside me and other RETA folks in the stunning, best-in-class community of Cabo Costa.
RETA members could buy ocean-view condos at exclusive pricing. The community’s infinity pool also takes in sweeping views of the coast. Other planned amenities include a wet bar from which to watch the sunset, a solarium, massage rooms, a gym, a co-working space…
Then, right on your doorstep is Cabo!
In August 2021, RETA members could get a penthouse in a Cabo Costa for $249,000. I got one. Last I checked penthouse in Cabo Costa lists for $499,000. That’s $250,000 more.
This was an incredible deal, especially when you consider the prices people pay to own in Cabo…
RETA members Patrick and Amy taking possession of their ocean-view Cabo Costa condo in Los Cabos. They bought alongside me and other RETA members in our exclusive, off-market deal here.
Located on the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula, Cabo is one of Mexico’s top tourism destinations.
And with good reason…
Cabo is stunningly beautiful. Glistening waters and golden-sand beaches fringe a rolling desert landscape, with the fingers of giant Cardon cacti (some of which are 500 years old) pointing to the bright blue sky overhead.
Since the 1940s, this has been a playground of the rich and famous. In its early days, the likes of John Wayne, Bing Crosby, and Lucille Ball all came to enjoy some fun in the Mexican sun here.
Los Cabos is a world-leading destination…a favorite of the rich and famous for generations.
For many years, Cabo was almost a private enclave for Hollywood’s elite since it was so hard to get to. Then in 1977, Los Cabos International Airport opened.
This made getting to Cabo easier, though this destination remained high-end. It was still mostly rich folks who made their way there. And so ultra-luxurious resorts and timeshare communities popped up to cater to these wealthy folks.
The residential real estate market followed a similar path. When Hollywood and the ultra-wealthy are beating a path to your door looking for a second home (or third, fourth, or fifth) you build homes for that market.
As a result, Cabo today boasts palatial homes…luxurious villas…vast mansions…
Today Cabo is one of the world’s top luxury destinations…thousands of private jets fly in and out of its airports each month.
Here’s a small taster of what’s available at the high-end in Cabo right now…
Villa Blanca is a six-bed, six-bath home nestled above Cabo San Lucas with views of the marina, bay, and the Pacific Ocean.
It has a kitchen/dining room that leads out to a wraparound terrace to make the most of the views. The bedrooms also have access to the terrace. Villa Blanca has its own swimming pool and you also get access to a private tennis club. The asking price is $4.9 million. You can see the listing here.
This six-bed villa has just under 6,000 square feet of living space, all of which makes the most of the incredible views of Cabo. See the listing here.
Another property that’s on the market right now with incredible ocean views is a four-bed, three-bath contemporary home in the quiet, upscale neighborhood of Pedregal. Each room has views out to the sea, and there are three outdoor terraces from which you can admire the Baja coastline below.
This home is the very definition of open-plan living with a kitchen/dining/living area that all opens out to a terrace. All the bedrooms are en-suite and one has its own private entrance. This home also has a lap pool, which of course has that sea view, and a hot tub. The asking price is $3.25 million and the full listing is here.
This modern four-bed home is all about the sea views…you can see the ocean from every room. See the listing here.
This next listing has a real movie star feel to it…
It’s a five-bed, five-bath home, also in Pedregal. The living/dining room has an open window that offers sweeping views of the sea below and there’s also a state-of-the-art home theater, a fully equipped gym, and a terrace area with a private pool. It comes fully furnished and the asking price is a cool $5.75 million. See the full listing here.
With high amenities, this four-bed, ocean-view home screams luxury, but it has a price tag to match. See the listing here.
As these listing show, Cabo remains a favorite destination of the wealthy.
But around a decade ago, something also started to change here. And this opened up a strategy that me and members of my Real Estate Trend Alert group have used to see six-figure uplifts in Cabo.
In the mid-2010s, in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, Cabo started attracting what I call the “ordinary rich.” This is a term I use for small-business owners…self-made entrepreneurs…computer scientists, bankers, lawyers, doctors…people who earn well and can move around to some degree. Most aren’t in the market for multi-million-dollar mansions or 5-star resorts. But they want affordable luxury and resort-style amenities…and they can pay for it.
Because of the long-term focus on ultra-high-end resorts and residential communities, there’s a shortage of this kind of real estate in Cabo. And that’s an opportunity.
I’ve been watching the transformation of Cabo closely since I first visited in 2014. And that’s where our first RETA member-only opportunities came into play…
I found incredible deals on exactly the kind of real estate that the ordinary rich want…affordable luxury.
The first deal I bought to members in 2015 was to own condos in the 5-star Quivira Resort. The RETA-only price on a two-bed, two-bath ocean-view condo in the best-in-class Copala community was $336,156. I bought a condo in this deal and now spent time there each winter. An identical condo to mine two floors above me listed for $725,000 in 2022. That’s $388,844 more.
Sunset over the beach club in the Quivira Resort, where I own a condo and spend time each winter. RETA members have done extremely well buying in deals here and elsewhere in best-in-class communities in Cabo.
This Copala opportunity was the start of a run of killer RETA member-only deals in Cabo, all of which involved owning the kind of real estate that the ordinary rich want…
- Boost of $212,400—In May 2022, we had a deal in a community called Monte Rocella. I bought two condos alongside RETA members in this deal. A condo that RETA members could buy for $272,600 later listed for $485,000.
- Uplift of $421,778– Also in Quivira, a RETA member bought a villa in Mavila for $428,222 in June 2018. A villa there was recently on the market for $850,000.
- $602,885 More– A RETA member bought a luxury villa in Copala, in the Quivira master-planned community in Cabo, for $385,115 in 2017. Earlier this year, I saw the same Copala villa listed for $988,000—that’s $602,885 more.
Today, Cabo’s boom among the ordinary rich continues…
People just keep coming…the Zoom Boomers with work-from-anywhere jobs, wealthy retirees in search of perfect weather, families, professionals working in the booming service sector. And they all want to buy or rent in a good-value, amenity-rich community in an ideal location.
This is a destination that still has vast growth potential. And right now, I’m working on something special, that if it comes together, could be the next incredible RETA-only opportunity in Cabo.
I’ll share more details as soon as I can…stay tuned. (To get access to this and our other future RETA deals, you need to be a RETA member. Learn how you can join here.)
Ronan McMahon, Founder, Overseas Dream Home & Real Estate Trend Alert
P.S. Have a question for me while I’ve got boots on the ground in Puerto Escondido? Something about Oaxaca or Cabo? I’d love to hear it. Share your comments and questions here.
Here’s a question I got from an Overseas Dream Home reader…
Ala F. asks: Hello Ronan. I’m currently traveling in Italy. Today I’m in Lecce and will be heading to Rome and staying around Termini station. What are your thoughts about Puglia?
Ronan says: Hi Ala. First, let me say I hope you have an amazing time in Rome.
Rome is one of those places that each time I visit, it feels like slipping into an old, well-loved book. The history, the food, the vibe…it’s no wonder it’s one of the most popular European cities for visitors.
And Termini is a great location to stay in when visiting the Eternal City. It’s very close to Rome’s famous sites. And though the area of Termini was once regarded as one of the seedier parts of Rome’s center, over the last decade or so the area surrounding the main train station—including the Esquilino district, San Giovanni, and Tiburtino—has been getting a facelift. And today it’s worthy of a spot on any tourist’s itinerary.
To answer your question about Puglia, this is the region that makes up the heel of Italy’s boot. It’s famous for its olive groves, vineyards, and those quirky trulli (traditional conical-shaped homes). The coastline here has both sandy beaches and rocky cliffs that overlook the Ionian Sea and it’s a popular destination for beach lovers.
Because it’s less crowded than a lot of other regions in Italy, Puglia has a more “authentic” vibe…it’s the kind of place where you’ll probably need to speak some Italian if you were to spend time here. As it’s so far south, Puglia gets mild winters and hot summers, which to me makes it sound like the perfect place to spend the winter.
We have yet to put boots on the ground here, but my scout Ciaran Madden, who is just back from a trip exploring hill towns and villages of central Italy (you can read his on-the-ground reports here, here, and here), has his sights on southern Italy for a future scouting trip. We’ll keep you updated on his planning and research over the coming months.
In the meantime, if you’re after insanely affordable Italian real estate, Ciaran also did a scouting trip to Sicily earlier this year where he uncovered some astonishing bargains…a home with views of the Mediterranean for just €35,000 and an historic home in a beautiful hill town for an incredible €28,000.
Real Estate Trend Alert members can read his full Sicily report here. (If you’re not yet a RETA member, join here to get access to all out scouting reports.)
