RETA

Real Estate Trend Alert

By Ronan McMahon

Notes from the Riviera Maya

Saturday, May 01, 2021

Ronan McMahon Dear Your Overseas Dream Home Reader,

This week I’ve been traveling the length of the Riviera Maya, an 80-mile stretch of pristine Caribbean coastline from Cancun in the north to Tulum in the south.

It’s a treasure throve of white-sand beaches, glistening turquoise water, and dense jungle that’s bursting with wildlife.

I’m staying in multiple locales, taking the temperature of the market, checking in on some of our RETA deals, and running the rule over some promising new opportunities…

As I write, I’m in Playa del Carmen, retuning from a trip to the island of Cozumel. I’ll be telling you more about what I found there next week.

My main focus over the past few days, however, was Tulum…


Tulum’s white-sand beach is a close to paradise as it gets.

Opportunity Realized

On Tuesday, I took a tour of our Real Estate Trend Alert (RETA) opportunity in Tao Tulum and was hugely impressed.

To remind you, RETA members had the chance to own a two-bedroom condo here back in 2017. Now, just after delivery, owners are enjoying six-figure gains.

You can check out the tour here:


RETA members had the chance to own a two-bedroom in Tao Tulum back in 2017. See for yourself what a best-in-class development looks like here.

RETA members who secured one of the two-bedroom condos in Tao Tulum when I brought the group this deal back in October 2017 are sitting on gains of as much as $102,560.

The developer has a few units left and just sent me a list of current prices.

Condos that RETA members secured for $208,440 are now listed at $311,000—a six-figure lift. A condo that was available for the RETA-only price of $166,860 is now at $239,000…a gain of $72,000.

Our group secured our profits by getting in at RETA-only pricing from $154,500 for a two-bedroom condo. As we say in real estate, we make our money buying. I myself bought one of these entry priced condos and sold my unit in early 2020 for $225,000.

A Game-Changer for RETA

Tulum is booming.

Yesterday, my researcher, Jason Holland, wrote about the burgeoning remote worker scene here.

The work-from-anywhere crowd are coming in droves…and they’re not alone. Older people, younger people, families, groups of friends…all want to be in Tulum—and that variety makes the rental market incredibly strong.

All the trends we identified are coming together to fast-track our RETA-only opportunities.

The Path of Progress that started in Cancun has rolled into Tulum. And this is where development can go no farther.

To the south of Tulum is the Sian Ka’an Biosphere, made up of over 1,000 square miles of mangroves, verdant tropical forest, stunning blue lagoons, magical cenotes (sinkholes), and 23 ancient Mayan sites.

To the north of modern-day Tulum, you’ll find the monumental ruins of the ancient Mayan city.

So, development to the south and north of Tulum is a non-runner. And there’s also very little titled beachfront land.

That puts developable land at a premium…

And for RETA members who’ve already got in on a deal in Tulum, that puts us way out ahead…


This time-lapse of Google’s satellite image shows just how quickly Tulum has grown in the space of two decades. Maps data: Google, ©2021 INEGI.

Now, the Path of Progress has taken a new leap forward…

On Thursday, I reported from a dusty roadside in Tulum. But it was no ordinary road…

For many years, there was only one road leading to Tulum’s stunning beach. And while Tulum has grown in magnitudes, attracting millions of visitors each year, the capacity of the road has been twiddling. On weekends and holidays, traffic backs up for miles.

The general view was that Tulum beach needed another access road to relieve traffic, and it has now just opened one up.

This new road is a game-changer for communities in this area. And Natal, a community where RETA members had the chance to own two-bed, two-bath condos from $143,000 in October of last year, is in prime position to benefit.

At the time of launch, I figured these will be worth $190,000 three years after delivery. Now, with this new road bringing Natal within such easy reach of the beach, that estimate looks conservative.

You can now get all the way to Tulum’s famed beach road in a matter of minutes.

I took the journey myself in this video:


For RETA members who took advantage of our deal in Natal…this new road is a game-changer.

Powerful Profits…Steps from the Beach

My next stop was Akumal…

Akumal is in the heart of the Riviera Maya, about halfway between eco-chic Tulum and vibrant Playa del Carmen. Our RETA opportunity here is in southern Akumal, in a place called Punta Sur.

On a quiet turn off the main modern highway, through lush nature and past a handful of multi-million-dollar mansions, RETA members had an opportunity to buy condos in Santamar, an incredible community just steps from the beach here from a crazy low $174,800.

Members are sitting on powerful paper gains already…

It’s simply unheard of to get a community of this quality this close to the beach here for these kind of prices. (The community has private beach access.)

Along with fellow members, I bought my two-bed condo in October 2019. I have since sold for $250,000.

I suspect that when these condos are built they’ll command powerful rental income, as well as capital appreciation.

You can check out the construction progress at Santamar in this video:


Construction is in full swing at Santamar, Akumal.

Our Next Move on the Riviera Maya…

Like I say, I’ll be sharing updates from the next leg of my journey next week. Including a potential opportunity in Cozumel, a 34-mile-long by 11-mile-wide island off of the Riviera Maya.


Cozumel is the largest island in the Mexican Caribbean, rimmed by stunning white-sand beaches.

But the next RETA deal we’ll see in the Riviera Maya is an incredible new Tulum deal—now just a couple of months out.

Our entry price will be sub $200,000…which is quickly becoming unheard of in Tulum.

That’s the strength of RETA. Not only does RETA‘s buying power mean we get a massive discount, but our contacts mean we get that low pricing on the very best-in-class communities, which will always be in the highest demand as Tulum develops.

Our next deal will be some of the closest condos to Tulum’s prized white sands. Plans include a beach club and shuttle from the community to both the beach club and Tulum town. As well as a rooftop terrace with infinity pool overlooking the national park and with views to the Caribbean.

More next week…

Wishing you good real estate investing,

Ronan

Ronan McMahon, Real Estate Trend Alert


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