In this week’s Your Overseas Dream Home Digest…
- WATCH: This Caribbean City Shouldn’t Exist…But It Does
- VIDEO: $50K Homes in Japan? Here’s What I Found
- How to Find the Perfect Rental manager
- Your Questions Answered on Real Estate in Cozumel
Greetings from Guadalajara. I’m back at my desk after spending a few days on the Yucatán Peninsula.
While there, I scouted Progreso, a beach city lying northwest of Cancún. This is the closest beach area to Mérida, one of Latin America’s most beautiful and vibrant colonial cities.
In Progreso, I visited the seaside community of Yucalpeten where I brought my Real Estate Trend Alert (RETA) group an incredible off-market deal in 2021.
RETA members who acted on this deal did exceptionally well…
The Yucalpeten deal was a chance for RETA members to snap up luxury condos in a landmark marina with a private beach. In July 2021, RETA members could get in here from just $209,800 for a two-bed condo.
In December 2025, similar condos to the ones RETA could buy from $209,800 were listing for $560,000…an uplift of $350,200…
Today Yucalpeten looks absolutely stunning.
And it reminds me that you never know what opportunities a scouting trip will turn up until you put boots on the ground in a place. It’s why my team and I spend over $1 million on travel and research every year.
In this week’s digest, you’ll find the results of some of our scouting…and a lot more besides.
I dig into what surprised me on a recent trip to Japan…look at real estate on the island of Cozumel in the Riviera Maya…and share some of my top tips on finding a rental manager…
But first, my new video deep-dive on a luxury enclave rising in the Caribbean…
Here I am at Yucalpeten. This was a RETA-only deal on the coast close to the colonial city of Merida in Mexico. Yucalpeten is a self-contained high-end beach and marina resort. Members of my Real Estate Trend Alert group have seen six-figure uplifts from our exclusive deal here.
WATCH: This Caribbean City Shouldn’t Exist…But It Does
For more than a decade, I’ve been tracking one of the most ambitious luxury developments in the Caribbean.
A 30,000-acre master-planned enclave—more than twice the size of Manhattan—that functions as a virtual city-state.
Inside you’ll find championship golf…a mega-yacht marina…global hospitality brands…beach clubs…a water park…and miles of white-sand coastline.
Over $3 billion has already gone into developing it. And the next phase is now underway.
This is Cap Cana—an emerging Monaco in the Caribbean.
This week, I released my full deep dive on it in the new episode of The Ronan McMahon Report.
Click below to watch it now. And when you’re done, share your thoughts or questions in the comments. My team and I read them all.
In this new destination deep-dive on my new YouTube channel, I take you to a stunning Caribbean enclave where I’ve bought alongside RETA members. Click to view…
VIDEO: $50K Homes in Japan? Here’s What I Found
Every opportunity I’ve identified over the 18 years of my RETA group started in the same place.
Not in a report. Not in a deal. But in what I call the RETA “laboratory.”
This is where new ideas get tested…where the “next places” are first identified…where my team and I start building contacts and running the numbers on emerging opportunities…
I recently added a new country to the laboratory.
In March, I spent two weeks in Japan, and what I saw there surprised me…
Japan has one of the fastest-aging populations on earth. As a result, there are around 10 million empty and abandoned homes across the country. At the same time, deflation has kept prices suppressed, while much of the world has experienced high inflation.
That’s created something unusual…
An advanced country with a highly affordable cost of living…world-class infrastructure…and incredible food and culture…yet in some very nice areas, you’ll find homes requiring some updating for as little as $50,000 to $60,000.
After I returned from Japan, I sat down with Ciaran Madden, editorial director of RETA, to record a conversation for RETA members sharing what I’ve learned so far.
Click below to watch it on my YouTube channel. Then when you’re done, share your thoughts and questions in the comments below the video. My team and I read every one.
RETA Editorial Director Ciaran Madden and I dig into what I saw in Japan and why homes have become so affordable in one of the world’s most advanced countries. Click to view…
How to Find a Good Rental Manager
Now to a practical topic…
Owning overseas property can be wonderfully hands-off if you have the right rental manager.
But pick the wrong one and your income can suffer.
That’s why I’m sharing some of the lessons I’ve learned the hard way, including why the cheapest manager isn’t always the best…what warning signs to watch for…and the key metrics every owner should track.
If you plan to rent out your overseas home, these tips could make a big difference to your bottom line.
You’ll find three of my best tips for finding the perfect rental manager here.
This is Monte Rocella, a community on El Tezel in Los Cabos where I brought members of my Real Estate Trend Alert group an incredible off-market deal. I recently took delivery of two condos I bought in this deal. I’ll be using a rental manager to rent them out. Learn my top tips for finding the perfect rental manager here.
Your Questions Answered
Have a comment for me or my team? A question about owning overseas? Share it here. I’d love to hear from you. Here’s a question I got from a reader recently…
Lisa J. asks: What is your opinion of the real estate opportunities in Cozumel?
Ronan says: The stunning island of Cozumel lies just a 45-minute ferry ride from Playa del Carmen on Mexico’s Riviera Maya.
It’s Mexico’s largest island, at nine miles wide and 31 miles long, and is a hugely popular destination for cruise ships. Last year, the Port of Cozumel welcomed a record-breaking 4.7 million passengers, making it the sixth-busiest cruise ship port in the world in 2025.
Last year, several members of my team scouted Cozumel. My editorial director Ciaran Madden said: “The brokers and expats I’ve talked to are all telling me the same thing: Cozumel is changing. Attracting wealthier folks. Beginning to see more luxury developments.”
This island of Cozumel—off Playa del Carmen—is one of the world’s foremost cruise ship destinations.
Ciaran visited the site of a planned community called The Stella overlooking the malecon (seafront promenade) in San Miguel de Cozumel, the island’s main town. Prices for two-bed condos were starting at just over $650,000 and go above $1.4 million for penthouses. They’re meant to be delivered this summer.
You’ll find other luxury communities with big pricing such as Peninsula Grand Cozumel, where a penthouse resold for $1.25 million.
The focus on luxury is not just reflected in new residential communities, but projects for cruise passengers. Royal Caribbean has been building a new luxury beach club exclusively for its passengers on Cozumel at a cost of $75 million. It’s set to open this year.
This is a destination that, like neighboring Playa del Carmen, is becoming more upmarket and desirable. There may be an opportunity here.
Real estate on Cozumel remains firmly on my radar. I’m keeping my eyes open for a deal here that I could bring to my RETA group.
Wishing you good real estate investing,
P.S. If you have a question about buying real estate overseas or have suggestions for destinations my team and I should put on our scouting list, drop me a line here.
