In this week’s Your Overseas Dream Home Digest…
- Why We Were Ahead of the New York Times in Portugal and Cabo
- Gains of $175,400 on Luxurious Ocean-view Condos
- VIDEO: The Top 5 Things I Love About Los Cabos
- Your Questions Answered on Where to Live in Panama
Earlier this week, The New York Times released its annual travel list of 52 Places to Go in 2025.
The list is a mix of ultra-mainstream destinations like Amsterdam and New Orleans and places completely off the beaten path, such as the city of Kutaisi in Georgia.
It’s a cool article…worth your time if you have a few minutes. In fact, several of the destinations on the list have been on my global real estate beat for years.
Take the Coimbra region of Portugal…
As The New York Times writes in its description on Coimbra, “Lisbon and Porto may be teeming, but Coimbra, the soulful medieval town on the Mondego River in central Portugal, has been spared the crowds… But this bastion of tradition is also percolating with a new cool.”
I scouted Coimbra back in 2019 and wrote then about its huge tourism potential.
In a detailed report for Real Estate Trend Alert (RETA) members, I wrote: “After just 48 hours walking its cobbled lanes the ground-floor opportunity here is clear to me, and it’s yet another opportunity for real estate investors in Portugal.”
Back then, I identified investment opportunities for as little as €50 per square foot. Insane value. In the years since, prices have exploded higher.
Here’s a link to that 2019 report. Obviously, a lot of the information in it is now out of date, but it’s an interesting window into the recent past. It also shows why I place such an importance on first-hand scouting.
Putting boots on the ground is how my RETA group gets ahead. And it’s why we’ve now turned our attentions to the town of Caminha and other destinations in Portugal’s “undiscovered north.” (Read more about that here.) What are the odds you’ll be reading about Caminha in the Times five or six years from now?
Speaking of being ahead…
Another destination on the NYT list is Los Cabos.
As The New York Times writes in its description on Cabo, “A new wave of exclusive openings is coming. This year, Aman Resorts’ contemporary Amanvari will offer indoor-outdoor living with generous terraces adjoining 18 rooms. Amenities at the 163-room Park Hyatt Los Cabos at Cabo del Sol, part of a 1,800-acre development, include a 59,000-square-foot wellness center and five swimming pools. Private butlers will serve guests at the 120-room beachfront St. Regis Los Cabos at Quivira, expected in 2026 and adjacent to a Jack Nicklaus golf course.”
Again, this is a trend that’s long been on my radar. RETA members have been buying ahead of the boom in Los Cabos for a decade.
I brought RETA members a deal to own two-bed ocean-view condos in the Copala community in Quivira way back in 2015. I bought one. It’s where I’m writing to you from right now. Back then the member-only price was just $336,156. The most recent listing I’ve seen for a similar condo is $650,000—an uplift of $313,844.
Since then, I’ve brought RETA a raft of similarly mind-blowing Cabo deals in which members are sitting on uplifts of $185,000…$250,000…$265,100…
Now, we’re set to do it again.
A photo I snapped this week at the beach club in Quivira. RETA members have seen six-figure uplifts from our past deal here.
What the Times correctly highlights about Cabo is that the luxury boom here is only accelerating.
Tourism figures continue to break records. Demand for best-in-class real estate is insatiable.
Billions are being invested. Even beyond next year, the number and scale of new luxury hotels and high-end residences coming online is incredible. In 2027, for instance, there’s the SIRO Palmilla (120 rooms) and the Conrad Los Cabos, Hilton (111 rooms), among others.
Folks are willing to spend a small fortune for a room or a residence in communities like these.
That’s what makes the RETA-only pricing on our new deal in Cabo so astonishing…
Yesterday, I released the full briefing on this deal to RETA members. (Not yet a RETA member? Sign up here now.)
As I share in the briefing, thanks to the incredible connections and group-buying power of RETA, members can own spacious two-bed, two-bath ocean-view condos in a truly best-in-class community.
The planned amenities here are out-of-this world. Premium land is devoted to things like an ocean-view sky pool…a state-of-the-art ocean-view gym…an ocean-view co-work space…
And the location is incredible…close to the beaches, the art, the dining, the stores.
My team and I dug around listings in nice communities close by this opportunity. We found two-bed condos with ocean views, broadly the same size, were listing from $425,000 right up to $497,000!
Yet, due to the incredible connections and group-buying power of RETA, the members-only price for these luxury two-bed-two-bath condos is from just $304,600 for a spacious two-bed, two-bath condo with fantastic ocean views.
With this new deal, I expect gains of $175,400 just four years after delivery.
And that’s likely being very conservative. Just look at the RETA track record in Cabo…
The RETA track record in Cabo is spectacular. For instance, in two deals members have seen uplifts of $185,000 and $250,000 in less than four years, both in the same location as the upcoming opportunity where I expect similar six-figure gains.
This new Cabo deal is for RETA members only. If you’ve yet to join, you can do so here, and ensure you get all the details of this incredible upcoming deal and be in line to own one of these incredible two-bed, two-bath ocean-view condos when the deal opens on Wednesday at 1 p.m. ET.
The clear waters around Cabo are perfect for snorkeling and swimming. This is a world-leading destination…a place that draws the ultra-rich.
VIDEO: My 5 Favorite Things About Cabo
Cabo has long been a beacon for the elite, offering a lifestyle that perfectly blends natural beauty with world-class luxury, and it has attracted Hollywood’s glitterati since the days of John Wayne and Elizabeth Taylor.
For many decades, it was a kind of “secret” hideaway for those stars, but in time word got about all that Cabo had to offer…incredible beaches, perfect weather, world-class dining, top-notch golf courses. Earlier this week, I wrote about why the world is coming to Los Cabos. (You can read about it my full article here.)
The El Arco rock formation is one of Cabo’s most popular sights…and is best seen from a boat.
The beaches are the soul of Cabo…they’re why most people come here. Medano Beach is known for its soft white sand, Chileno Beach has calm waters that are perfect for checking out the local marine life, and then of course there’s the iconic El Arco rock formation at Land’s End which are best seen by boat.
But if you’re not that keen on beaches, there’s plenty of other things to keep you busy.
Because I spend time here each year, I often get asked about my favorite things to do. So earlier this week I recorded a new video with my list of the top five things I love about this perfect-weather destination. Check it out below…
I recorded this video by the coast in Cabo earlier this week, close to where I bought in Copala in 2015 when the RETA price was just $336,156. The most recent listing I’ve seen for a similar condo is $650,000—an uplift of $313,884.
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’ve got from a reader recently…
Dianne K. asks: I’m thinking of renting my free and clear $575,000 home in Arizona to rent apartments in Panama City and Gorgona Beach…or maybe purchase a property. Your thoughts?
Ronan says: Hi Dianne, Panama City has been on my international real estate radar for over two decades. It was little more than a sleepy backwater when I first visited but today it’s a truly global city with everything you could need to live a first-class lifestyle. There’s plenty to see and do here too (check out this list, complied by my team).
If you’re looking to buy a home by the beach, Gorgona is a small town with a wide beach that’s relatively uncrowded and there is a small expat population here. It doesn’t have a vast array of amenities but you’re just a 10-minute drive to the town of Coronado, which does have grocery stores, restaurants and beach bars.
But if you’re looking along this coast, known as the Pacific Riviera, I’d suggest looking at Playa Caracol. This stunning stretch of coast was once hidden from the world, mostly due to lack of access, but today that’s all changed. A huge “Path of Progress” is moving along this coastline and it’s now home to a stunning beachfront community.
Playa Caracol has luxury residences…a thriving surf club…a beach club…and the Surfside hotel, which includes a luxury spa, state-of-the-art gym, superb pool and beach club, gourmet restaurants…all right on the beach.
If you’re looking for a beach community close to Panama City, Playa Caracol sits on the nicest stretch of coastline just an hour’s drive from the city.
Members of my RETA group have had access to a string of incredible off-market deals here.
In January 2023 RETA members were able to buy ocean-view condos in Las Olas at Playa Caracol starting from $254,600. Now similar condos are listed with the developer for $355,580. That’s an uplift of $100,980.
RETA members bought in Surfside residences at Playa Caracol back in March 2020 at prices starting at $214,600. Similar condos are now on sale by the developer at $330,000. An uplift of $115,400.
RETA members had another chance to buy here toward the end of 2024…and I’ll be looking out for more RETA deals here as we head into 2025.
In the meantime, if you’d like to read more about the rise of Panama City and about the incredible transformation happening on this Pacific Riviera, take a look at this special report.
Ronan McMahon, Founder, Overseas Dream Home & Real Estate Trend Alert
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 for 2025, drop me a line here.
