How to Profit from the Other Real Estate Boom...

It's no secret that real estate in the U.S. and Canada is on fire...

The perfect example of how crazy things have gotten is a story I just read from Colorado.

Recently, a property there was listed with profane graffiti on every wall, soiled carpets and a stench of rotting meat from the basement.

The realtor described it as a "little slice of hell"...

The asking price: $590,000.

She received 16 written cash offers within 24 hours.

The property is now off-market. Presumably sold.

Things are starting to feel a lot like 2008...

There's a hysteria in the air.

But if you feel like you're missing out, you're not...

You see, I'm predicting another real estate boom is just beginning...

Where you still have the chance to buy quality, affordable real estate with high profit potential.

I'm talking about buying in specific locales overseas, that have been mostly overlooked during the current boom. But as real estate becomes overpriced and risky in the U.S. and Canada, these more affordable markets could be next to boom as investors seek bargains...

Act now, before the crowds, and you could stand to make a fast fortune.

That's not all...

Another big advantage to investing overseas is that you're not leaving your entire nest egg at the mercy of one market. If things were ever to go belly up in the U.S., having some of your money outside the U.S. could be the only thing to save your hide.

Smart investors know the value of diversification—even when times are good. They know that to protect and grow wealth, you can't put all your eggs in one basket. Having a strong stable of foreign real estate in your portfolio can help to insulate you against market changes.

When you focus your investing in one location, you're at the mercy of that market. The value of your investment rises and falls as the market changes, or as currency exchange rates weaken or strengthen. If there's one thing you learn as a global real estate investor, it's that booms and busts are cyclical. Economies and currencies rise, and they fall again. Knowing that, it always makes good sense to diversify your portfolio—not merely across stocks, but across currencies and assets as well. That way, if you take a hit on one, life goes on.

The problem with a lot of investment portfolios is that they're closely tied to the investor's home economy and currency. That's not so bad when an economy or currency is strong. But when things aren't so good, you'll quickly see the effects of having all your investment eggs in one basket.

Your retirement account is likely to be almost 100% allocated to U.S. and dollar-denominated assets. That's a bet that the U.S. will continue unchallenged for our lifetime and beyond. As all of us saw after the last financial crisis, that's not a smart bet to make. If there's a big problem at home, your portfolio is going to take a pounding, maybe with no chance of recovery. That's why it's prudent to look beyond your home borders.

These days, when I open a newspaper, check social media, or turn on the TV news I am happier than ever that I own a portfolio of income-producing properties around the world.

I own real, tangible assets. I am sitting on huge gains in value thanks to having bought at the right price in the right places...stunning places I can spend time.

Real estate is not subject to the same rapid and wild fluctuations as other asset classes. It can make you very rich. You can live in it...it can generate income.

Most importantly, I understand it. I once owned stocks. But I realized I didn't know what was going on in the boardroom. I am an outsider. And I didn't want to play that game. So I sold any stocks I owned long ago and have owned no stocks since.

Like I said, diversification is one really good reason to invest in international real estate. But there are many more reasons...here are 8 more of my favorites.

Why International Real Estate?

1. Real estate is an illiquid asset—that's why some folks don't like real estate. I love real estate's liquidity, or lack thereof. The crowd surges at the top of the bubble, so you have a lot of buyers when it's too expensive. That's when you want to sell.

2. Supply is relatively fixed. Unlike dollars, you can't print 2 trillion homes overnight. Supply is limited by a complex mix of land, permits, machinery, materials, and skilled entrepreneurs.

In some places supply can be relatively easily added—think Vegas rolling out into the desert. In others it's fixed—think a historic apartment in Paris. I like to buy in places with supply constraints and growing demand. You don't need a complex equation to figure out what happens when more people want a scarce thing: the price goes up. As the price goes up people start panicking that it will go up more, so they feel they need to act, and someone offers you more money than the property is worth and you sell.

3. Real estate is a tangible asset and inherently valuable. Folks will always need homes to live in, land to farm, restaurants to eat in, etc.

4. It can produce income. You don't need a PhD in financial reporting to understand the income stream from real estate. It's basic math. (You do need to make sure you properly count costs when comparing opportunities.)

5. History tells us it's the best investment. Even when the housing market takes a short-term dip, history has shown that it always recovers and continues on its path of appreciation, outpacing inflation and, when you buy in the right place, rocketing to new levels. A team of expert economists from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, the University of Bonn, the Deutsche Bundesbank, and the University of California recently studied the return of four major investments—Treasury bills, bonds, equities, and real estate—from 1870 to 2015 (that's 150 years of data crunching) and discovered that real estate came out on top.

Essentially, this means that with real estate you can have the benefits of stock market appreciation, while protecting yourself from the same levels of volatility.

This is particularly important if you're close to retirement. While the stock market generally does recover from crashes, it takes time. Time you might not be able to afford if you're planning to start drawing from your savings soon.

Those big data studies are interesting. But they miss the real reason all my money is in real estate and cash I'm waiting to allocate to real estate plays.

6. It's easier to pick winners. You are probably familiar with the various studies that have shown monkeys throwing darts are as good at stock picking as trained human professionals. That's not the case with real estate. For one big reason...our competition is emotional. We buy based on numbers, but the person we might sell on to is buying their dream home. It's not a fair fight. They are emotionally invested.

7. You can buy with leverage. Real estate also has the huge benefit that we can buy with leverage, or other people's money. If you wanted to invest in a condo for $200,000, you could do it with as little as $40,000 down, using a mortgage or financing to cover the remaining 80%. And you'd still get to keep 100% of the profits from capital gains.

Rent out your home and the income can cover the entire mortgage payments, and make you plenty more besides...essentially giving you free real estate.

And once you pay off your mortgage and build equity, you can use it as leverage to acquire additional rental properties and increase your cash flow by multiples. In today's market, with interest rates lower than ever, this is a major benefit to have. We are in an unprecedented zero-interest-rate environment in the developed world. We can use incredibly cheap money to buy high-yielding undervalued real estate.

8. Real estate is the most versatile asset you can own. It offers so many different ways to maintain and grow wealth. You can rent short-term or long-term. Use it as leverage to secure a loan or refinance and free up money. Sit and hold and watch it appreciate in value...or buy cheap and flip it for a profit. You might even decide to live in it yourself, or use it as your winter getaway. There are countless possibilities.

The 5 Best Places to Profit Right Now

There's no magic trick to finding profitable real estate opportunities. It takes countless hours of research...lots of travel to check out new locations...strategic thinking...and a strong knowledge of different real estate markets.

I spend six months out of every year on the road. My scouting schedule takes me across North, Central, and South America; Europe; and Asia. Much of that travel and research comes to nothing.

For every opportunity I recommend, there are 200 more that don't make the cut. Sometimes it's because the numbers don't add up...or that a market that looked promising turns out to be less exciting when I've put boots on the ground. But at any given time, there are locations around the globe that I'm strongly focused on.

Tulum, Mexico

I've visited Mexico's Riviera Maya more times than I can count over the last decade. It's home to some of world's finest beaches, with sugar-white, powder sand and sparkling blue Caribbean waters.

I've watched it grow from a destination known only to the most adventurous tourists to one that's rapidly on the up.

More tourists and expats are coming here every year. But, there are still new pleasures to be discovered. Every time I visit, I find another secret beach...a stretch of sand dotted with palm trees, that's deserted except for the odd curious iguana...the only sound, the swish of the surf.

Stretching from Cancún to Tulum, the Riviera Maya is Caribbean coastline at its finest. And it's here that members of my service Real Estate Trend Alert have done extremely well by buying right.

Vacationers fly into Cancún's busy international airport. Some stay in Cancún. Others head down the coast, along a modern highway toward the city of Playa del Carmen or the hippy-chic town of Tulum. They come to golf...dine in hip and top-class eateries... shop in boutiques and high-end clothing stores...and more. It's developed here, comfortable, and feels First World.

And, those vacationers head out to explore the region's natural beauty. This is a wonderland of tropical flora and fauna. The world's second-longest coral reef, teeming with brightly colored tropical fish, hugs the coastline. You can dive and snorkel, or swim with turtles. Or, you can trek through a rich jungle interior to visit Mayan ruins. It's a heady blend of modern comforts, a gorgeous environment, and ancient history. And all that appeals to both the vacationers and the expats who are flocking to this coast.

But, the Riviera Maya wasn't always so developed. Development came first to Cancún. Until the late 1960s, Cancún, a city of almost 700,000 today, was just a coconut plantation, home to some local fishermen and plantation workers.

The Mexican government saw its massive potential though. So, they began to invest and promote heavily to make Cancún a success. They got to work installing roads, water, power, and other infrastructure. The first hotels opened in 1974. In the same year, the new international airport also opened. Early investors in Cancún made a serious killing.

Now, the opportunity to do well lies farther down the coast.

A Path of Progress is the name that I give to the phenomenon whereby an event occurs that will push land and real estate values higher. The particular event changes from case to case.

Sometimes it's government investment, like in Cancún. Other times, a new airport or road opens, making a beautiful but previously hard to reach place accessible. Or, it could be a new industry opening in a particular location that brings more people and money to an area. Whatever the particular event, when you know how to identify and get ahead of the right Path of Progress, it signals profit ahead for a savvy real estate investor.

And on the Riviera Maya, the Path of Progress that saw Cancún boom, that rolled next to Playa del Carmen, a 40-minute drive down the road, and turned into one of the hottest destinations on the planet, has now moved onto Tulum.

Tulum is the end of the line for the Path of Progress we're following on the Riviera Maya. Literally. You've got the Caribbean Sea on one side...a huge, protected biosphere reserve on the other...and strict planning and permitting rules on land south of Tulum. There's only so much development that can happen. And, once Tulum is maxed out, there's nowhere else for development to go.

The population's growing rapidly...the town's expanding...and tourist numbers are rising. There are new stores and eateries every time I visit. Tulúm is being transformed into a vibrant, chic destination. Nice rentals fill for $300 a night in high season and 400-square-foot studios list for $210,000. A new road is set to improve access to the beach and ease congestion. This is badly needed, as traffic is becoming an issue as Tulum draws more and more visitors.

RETA members have been able to profit from that transformation.

I first visited Tulum in 2004 and I kept going back. For a long time though, the market was at too early a stage. There were some wealthy folks building condos for friends and family, but nothing that stacked up as a RETA deal.

We got busy as the market hit the next level. In October 2017, I brought RETA members the opportunity to buy in the Tao Tulum community from $154,500. Last year, I accepted an offer for $225,000 on the condo I bought as part of that deal. That $225,000 is probably a bit less than market price. That's fine. My personal philosophy is that I'll take any offer that is double the amount of cash invested.

As for premium condos, with that Tao Tulum deal RETA members could snap up those for just $230,556. When I last checked prices, a premium condo in Tao Tulum was listing for $449,000. That's $218,444 more.

Our next deal was in May 2019 with Gran Tulum, a chance to own in the closest master-planned community to Tulum Beach from just $175,000. I was back in Tulum last month and paid a visit to Gran Tulum to check on progress there. On the very same morning, I got the latest price list from the developer...

The entry price is now $263,000 and most units are listing for $275,000 and upward. That's an $88,000 paper gain and I believe there's more to come...

Other projects set to become our neighbors are big names...great projects from the highest-end developers in the area. It looks like their two-bed pricing is set to start at more than 50% higher than our RETA-only price, per square foot. Anyone buying from one of the other projects will likely get a studio for the same price as RETA members and I paid for a premium two-bed in Gran Tulum.

I also bought in another Tulum deal—the opportunity to own spacious two-bed homes in Edena for just $149,000. Today, the asking price for two-bed homes in Edena is $189,000. In fact, I've seen one broker recently advertising them for $199,000.

Those are some rapid paper gains...

Our RETA-only price on three-bed homes in Edena was from just $169,000...no one else had this price and we also had exclusive developer financing and payment terms.

Then there's Natal, a community where RETA members had the chance to own two-bed condos from $143,000 in October of last year. At the time of launch, I figured these would be worth $190,000 three years after delivery. That was before the new road from town to the beach, which runs right past Natal, was put in. Now, that projected capital appreciation looks conservative.

The last condo I looked at for sale close to Natal was a two-minute drive from where we have our opportunity in Natal and had an asking price of $210,000. It was just 330 square feet. The condos we could buy range upward of 865 square feet including terrace.

These are the sort of profits you can target in the Riviera Maya. (To be clear, I recommend that you buy and hold over the medium-term. These aren't quick flip buys.)

The Riviera Maya draws millions of people from all over the planet. Cancún airport saw 25 million passengers last year...put that in the context of any tourism market in the world and it's just enormous.

Europeans come in droves during their summer, North Americans escape their winter, Latin Americans are drawn at holidays like Easter...there are direct flights from Russia, Japanese and Chinese tourists are coming...there's always people visiting.

That translates to one of the strongest markets on my RETA beat for short-term rentals. You can rent by the night, by the week, by the month. Peak season is getting longer and longer as more tourists visit from across the globe. Premium season—the holidays—sees the best rentals snapped up months in advance.

That's why...with the right type of condo in the right location on the Riviera Maya...you can get fantastic double-digit rental returns.

On Thursday, July 1st during the How to Profit from the Global Real Estate Boom online event, I'll reveal a new neighborhood in Tulum I'm zoning in on for big profits.

Los Cabos, Mexico

If you haven't been to Los Cabos on Mexico's Baja California Sur, let me paint a picture for you. Los Cabos is where the bright-blue Sea of Cortez, which teems with colorful fish and marine life, meets the mighty Pacific Ocean. There are miles of Pacific beaches. Dramatic night skies across the desert-and-cacti landscape. Pro-designed golf courses with dramatic clifftop views. A marina filled with yachts and sport fishing boats. Luxury malls with designer labels: Burberry, Cartier, Carolina Herrera, Tag Heuer.

The mega-rich and celebrities have been coming to Los Cabos since the 1940s and 50s. I'm talking names like John Wayne, Clark Gable, Henry Fonda, Bing Crosby, and Burt Lancaster. They came when Los Cabos wasn't a destination for anyone. When there were no modern roads or planes to bring you here. They traveled in private planes or by boat. They spent their days deep-sea fishing, sunbathing on deserted beaches, and relaxing poolside at one of the few hotels here (five-star of course) with fancy cocktails.

They put Los Cabos on the map as a luxury jet-set destination. And helped to transform it into the destination it is today. They brought money, prestige, and their celebrity friends. Los Cabos was transformed from a little sandy outpost to one of the world's most glamorous destinations. The sort of place where you could pay $350,000 easy just for the rights to three weeks a year in a time-share. And an additional maintenance fee of $10,000 for those three weeks.

Folks who come here want to come back again and again. Me among them. It's a place where I love to spend time.

In 2015, along with fellow RETA members, I bought in the Copala community in the 5-star Quivira Resort—billed as the "Pebble Beach of Mexico." Our RETA price in Copala at the time on the type of condo I bought was $336,156. Since then we've seen values rise and similar condos listing for much more—I'm talking six-figure gains.

When you drive through the gates of Quivira you'll see the lavish homes, a luxury hotel and a long stretch of gorgeous beach spread out in front of you. There's the headline-grabbing oceanfront golf course, which reputedly cost more than $40 million to build...an award-winning spa...a gym...hiking trails...a beach club. There's a choice of gourmet restaurants on site. The Market (an urban marketplace "inspired by the food halls of Europe") offers Mexican, Asian, or Italian cuisine; shakes and salads at the wellness bar; coffee, gourmet chocolate, and ice cream.

You get all of these amenities in a stunning setting of rolling hills and low cliffs that sweep down to a cream-sand beach with crashing Pacific waves.

We've also seen strong paper gains from another Quivira community, Mavila. In June 2018, RETA members could lock down a two-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bathroom Mavila condo for just $259,800. In March 2019, the project was unveiled to the Cabo brokers' community. The retail price on similar remaining condos was from $357,000—a paper gain of $97,200.

These gains are thanks to a major transformation of Cabo—a gigantic investment that was planned by various groups and interests. More than $4 billion is being pumped into the area. It's being spent on installing new infrastructure, new golf courses, and 20 new resorts. Among those are some big names: resorts like Montage, Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons, Hard Rock, Nobu.

And, they're not spending all that money in the vain hope that tourists will come. They're working hard to fill their rooms...and pressuring government and tourist authorities to help them. It's paying off. The airport's being expanded and new flight routes added. They're targeting high-end tourists with lots of money to spend. They'll get them...and their efforts are transforming Cabo.

I've seen this kind of transformation before, first-hand. Berlin's real estate boom after the Wall fell. Dublin's emergence as a multinational hub in the late 1990s. Panama's explosion in 2004/2005. Fortaleza in northeast Brazil in 2009. Values skyrocketed. Truth be told, relative to its size, I've never been in at the ground floor of a surge like the one I'm seeing in Cabo. It's so big, it's one of a kind.

And, it's creating opportunity for savvy real estate investors—an opportunity no one else is looking at. While this big transformation is happening...and these mega-resorts are barreling ahead...there's a shortage emerging of other kinds of rental accommodation.

There's an accommodation shortage at every level—by the night, by the week and by the month. Try to book a comfortable place at short notice and you'll hit a wall. You can get a cheap condo...in an older building with limited amenities, tired furniture and outdated fixtures—the kind of place you'll hide rather than brag about to your friends—for $100 a night or so. And, you can find places for $500 a night plus...all the way up to a whopping $15,450 a night.

But there's a sweet spot where demand is big...that's not being catered to. That's where we can swoop in and make a killing on rental income...

There's a new market of vacationers coming to Cabo—upper-middle-class tourists who are happy to spend up to $200 a night to stay in nice digs. They can get here more quickly and easily than ever before, thanks to new flight routes. And, there's a shortage for comfortable condos for the corporate market.

By locking down the condos these tourists and corporate renters will want to be in, you could make a killing.

The best part is, those luxury resorts do the heavy lifting and the big spending to get more tourists down here. We can profit from their efforts by buying at a tiny price. And, by targeting a sector that's all but overlooked in this frenzy.

I'm working on deals for members of RETA that will play this transformation. We'll target the upper-middle-class vacationer or second homeowner with a budget of $250,000 to $500,000 to buy, or up to $200 a night to rent.

By getting in at the ground floor, we are positioning ourselves for some serious capital gains ahead of this transformation. And to profit from rentals.

When you register to attend How to Profit from the Global Real Estate Boom I'll tell you more about our potential opportunities in Cabo and reveal and area where you can still buy ocean-view condos for less then $200,000.

Panama City and the Pacific Riviera

Before I started Real Estate Trend Alert, I invested in Panama. The year was 2005 and Panama was riding high.

The country's booming economy was sucking in folks from around the world...looking to profit from its incredible growth. And I was there to profit, too. I bought a one-bedroom condo pre-construction in Panama City for $147,630. I sold shortly after completion for $220,000...and made gains of $72,370.

That was an incredible buying moment...and one that wouldn't be repeated quickly in Panama. Though I kept a close eye on Panama's development, it took me another decade before I was ready to make a recommendation to Real Estate Trend Alert members.

But in the last few years I have made several...a second great buying moment has arrived.

Panama City is among the world's fastest-emerging global hubs—think "early in" Singapore...

It's a safe, stable, and fast-growing international center of finance and commerce...a city at the crossroads of global trade attracting people from all over the world.

My insider connections run deep in Panama and the last year has been especially good to RETA members there. For example, members who bought beachfront condos in The Palms building are already sitting on paper gains of $100,000. Members bought in The Palms in 2017. In August 2019 a similar-sized condo in the same community, farther back from the beach with only a side view, listed for $299,000—a $100,000 paper gain in just two years.

In April of last year, I brought members the opportunity to lock down beachfront condos in another project called Surfside.

Surfside is the hotel and residential complex that will bring this true beachfront community to the next level. It's the market maker for what I believe will be a red-hot rental demand. Plus there's serious potential gains on the table. Our RETA-only price was just $214,300 and I figure on gains of $135,700 within five years of delivery.

We were benefiting from what I call "the Great Bailout." This is a huge drive by the Panamanian government to promote and develop tourism along the country's Pacific Riviera. The Panamanian government is effectively footing the bill for a vast chunk of the construction. They want more tourists to come to Panama. They want places for them to stay. And nowhere is better than completely beachfront in a spectacular master-planned community emerging as the go-to destination close to the city. I got the developer to pass on a chunk of the savings to RETA members in the form of a massive discount.

In June 2020, we had our opportunity to buy luxury condos in the Gardens project from $137,000—again thanks to the Great Bailout. I figure those condos will be worth $300,000 five years after delivery.

In September 2020 I brought RETA members to chance to get in on the Suites project. From just $219,000 we had a plug-and-play deal on two self-contained luxury hotel suites. Fully furnished and equipped. Turnkey. Offering incredible income and capital appreciation potential.

All our Panama opportunities stem from the same trends...

This is an emerging world-class city. The rapid growth of both the economy and the city is driving demand for real estate, yet like other global hubs such as Hong Kong and Singapore, the best land is incredibly scarce.

That's why building islands in the Bay of Panama made perfect sense...that's why the ordinary rich will pay top dollar to rent a luxury home and have a country club lifestyle in Santa Maria...it's why owning a condo steps from the sand is a no brainer.

With RETA-only deals in Panama, members have the chance to own in, and close to, an emerging global hub city for a fraction of what it would cost you elsewhere, and with much greater potential for profit...

Panama City is now a thriving metropolis, a global hub, and a regional powerhouse.

It's earned its nickname "Baby Singapore." Both cities benefit significantly from their strategic location for shipping and trade. Singapore sits between China and India, while Panama lies between North and South America. Panama's famous Canal connects the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. It's one of the world's greatest maritime corridors.

Like Singapore, Panama has created a robust wealth fund and poured money into infrastructure. It evolved a foreigner- and business-friendly law and tax system and is now a key player in global trade, banking, shipping, and big business.

Today, Panama has the world's second-largest free trade zone. It's the biggest recipient of foreign direct investment in Central America. And, it's attracting more and more multinationals, looking for a friendly regional base.

As a result, it has one of the best performing economies in Latin America and one of the fastest-growing economies worldwide over the last 15 years. According to the World Bank, Panama's economy grew by 5% in 2019 and is projected to grow by another 5.4% in 2020.

Yet, by global standards, real estate in Panama is silly cheap. A screaming bargain. If you know where and how to look you will find once-in-a-lifetime opportunities...

In global hubs like Singapore and Hong Kong there are three big drivers of real estate prices. Panama City has all three: Population growth, scarcity of land, and high demand.

Population Growth: In 2010, there were 3.3 million residents in Panama. That number is now at more than 4.2 million. And it's projected to hit 5.8 million by 2050, with more than half of the population living in and around Panama City. This is a massive increase in a relatively short period.

Panama City has established itself as a go-to place for young professionals and business entrepreneurs in Central and South America, and this population increase is driving demand for housing. We saw this happen in Hong Kong, where the population grew by 25% since 1997—and real estate prices grew a lot more.

Land Scarcity: Panama City has another decisive factor determining real estate price growth: land scarcity. The city has a shortage of prime developable land. On one side, it is hemmed in by the Pacific Ocean, and on the other it is constrained by large parcels of protected land and watershed for the Panama Canal. There's very little room for urban sprawl other than far east or west of the city which leaves a very long commute. And this will put huge upward pressure on existing real estate prices.

High Demand: In cities across the globe, debate rages about changing urban zoning, occupying abandoned properties, and building out onto the sea. Meanwhile, real estate prices continue to climb.

Panama City is facing the same scenario. As population grows and developable land runs out, an enormous real estate squeeze will hit. And when the big squeeze kicks in, it will push real estate prices only one way: up.

During How to Profit from the Global Real Estate Boom I'll be speaking to Alfredo Aleman, a Panamanian real estate developer with an incredible track-record and responsible for many of the RETA members-only deals I just mentioned above.

At the event he'll reveal the exact beach community best positioned to profit from Panama's new birth as a tourist destination.

Portugal's Algarve (and Beyond)

More than any country in Western Europe, I've been drilling down into Portugal. Over the last few years, I've spent many months scouting here.

On each visit I've found opportunities. It began with the crisis of 2008/09 which hit Portugal hard and—after a few years of no movement in the real estate market—gave RETA members the chance to snap up bank fire sales and double their money around the Algarve on the country's southern coast.

Those bank fire sales are thinner on the ground these days as Portugal recovers from the crisis, but there are still some Algarve opportunities— and opportunities elsewhere in the country have emerged...

Every time I visit now I'm impressed by the green shoots of progress. Portugal is getting its act together and doing smart things...the kinds of things that drive growth and create buying moments. There's a sense of optimism, a confidence that has helped the country go from a global backwater to a trendy tourism destination.

A decade ago, you'd struggle to convince most real estate investors to invest in Portugal, at least outside of the Algarve. There were many good reasons for this, among which were rent controls.

Take the example of one owner of a large building with 30 apartments and commercial spaces in one of Lisbon's downtown plazas. He was getting a total of just €3,800 a month in rent thanks to these rent controls—in a European capital city in the 21st century. The tenant in one of his commercial spaces was paying only €4 per square meter; the market rate was €80 to €100 per square meter. Without the controls, his rental income would have been €40,000 a month.

These rent controls are a crucial reason many old buildings in Portugal's towns and cities became dilapidated. With rents so low for so long, building owners weren't motivated to invest in maintenance, repairs, or upgrades. Buildings were abandoned...left to rot.

Then, in 2012, those rent controls were abolished. At the stroke of a pen the rules of the game changed. With rent controls gone, many landlords saw a rapid rise in income, with some rents rising eightfold, from €60 a month to €500. Buildings that were viewed as worthless wrecks now have huge potential as boutique hotels or fancy apartment blocks.

This triggered a building frenzy in prime central parts of Lisbon and Porto.

A big driver of profits is tourism: Tourism was on a tear in Portugal prior to the pandemic and I expect it to continue growing as Portugal grows up as a country and sells itself around the world. Portugal's got a little bit of everything: Atlantic beaches, great golf, history and culture, amazing food, stunning mountains...and low costs.

The south gets around 300 sunny days a year, which is a major attraction for northern Europeans in the winter months. It's right on the doorstep of 300 million plus people who can get to Portugal on short, cheap flights. City breaks are a big thing in Europe. They're short vacations, often weekends, in cities. Marketed heavily by no-frills airlines, they're a major driver of the tourist industry.

All this is going to drive tourism in Portugal.

When you look at Portugal as an investment opportunity you need to remember how young this modern iteration of the country is: until 1974 this was a hopelessly run dictatorship. It's just now finding its feet as modern country, and it's doing so fast. I see untapped potential and it's exciting.

Portugal is an extremely attractive place for mobile people. It's safe, secure with good transport and infrastructure. The education system is good, and the cost of living is incredibly low.

Portugal has been successfully attracting mobile people, businesses, and money. The authorities have been smart about this with their Golden Visa and non-habitual resident regime (which offers tax breaks to Europeans). The Golden Visa is a fast-track visa program for investors from outside the European Union.

One way to get a Golden Visa is to invest €500,000 in real estate, or €350,000 if the home is more than 30 years old or located in an area of urban renovation. That €350,000 value can include the purchase price of the home and the remodel budget.

In return, investors get residence in Portugal with the right to free travel in the 26 countries that make up Europe's Schengen zone. The Golden Visa can lead to permanent residence after five years and eventually a second passport.

The Golden Visa program is about to undergo some major changes, which will come into effect in January 2022. Talk is that the minimum investment will go up, and that an investment in some parts of the country will no longer qualify for a Golden Visa. So, there's a short window to take advantage of the program in its current format.

I've been traveling to Portugal since 2002, for family vacations and golf. (The Algarve is one of the best golf destinations in the world.) So, when the 2008/09 crisis hit Portugal hard, and things began to unravel, I knew exactly where to focus, on the Algarve.

But RETA members have had stellar opportunities throughout Portugal.

And there's a kicker: Portuguese banks are lending to foreigners as much as 90% at interest rates as low as 1%. This has created amazing opportunities to use leverage to double our money with profitable plays.

With 300 days of sunshine a year, stunning beaches and world-class golf, Portugal's Algarve attracts millions of tourists each year. It's in the south of the country facing the Atlantic, although it boasts a Mediterranean climate. It's a place of culture, great food, stunning beaches and world- class golf courses.

This is where I've dug deepest into opportunities...

The short-term rental market in the Algarve is anchored by a red-hot, 10-week peak season. You can add the two weeks at Easter and schools' (in northern Europe) spring and fall breaks. (The Algarve is very popular as a family destination.) May and September are good months to rent to golfers, young couples, and retirees. Figure, all told, on 10 weeks of peak rentals and then 10 weeks scattered through the rest of the year at an off-season rate. And the season is getting longer as Portugal's tourism sector booms. Plus, Scandinavians are coming in increasing numbers in the off season to escape their winter.

I've been visiting the Algarve since 2002 and this southern stretch of coast has delivered for RETA members since the first bank fire sales came along in the wake of the 2008/09 crisis.

That took a while. In August 2014, Banco Espirito Santo collapsed. The bank of Portugal stepped in with a €4.9 billion bailout. Real estate loans were moved to a new bank, Novo Banco and finally reality set in and fire sales started.

As recently as September 2020, I was still pinpointing fire sale opportunities on the Algarve. The play was—and still is—simple. Novo Banco were the first to start offering cheap mortgages on competitively priced real estate on its books. The other banks followed. Today, each one is hungry to do business and foreign investors like us can get mortgages of 80%, even 90% at a fixed 2% or even less.

If you can get the bank to finance your play on an undervalued property you could do very well.

The opportunity on the central Algarve is to lock down a villa, something undervalued, old or unloved, and do so with a mortgage at those modest fixed rates. Done right it's a way to double your money.

The central region around the marina of Vilamoura is the Algarve's "Golden Triangle." It was the first part of the Algarve to develop, starting in the 1960s. Today, you'll find 5-star hotels, multi-million-dollar yachts and luxury resorts.

Also in the central Algarve, Faro is worth a mention, too. For most of the millions of tourists, it's just where the airport is, but this city has an old town that is showing signs of gentrification. Look for a historic building within a short walk of the train station, old town and marina and you could do well from short-term rentals. You'll target many of those passing through who need or want a night in Faro, close to the airport. Remember, we're talking millions of passengers each year.

Before the 2008/09, crisis development was radiating out from the central Algarve in two directions—east and west.

The western Algarve is the only place in Portugal I currently see opportunity in pre-construction. (It's also a place attracting a lot of U.S. expats right now.)

In the west, you have the town of Lagos, set on a hill overlooking a modern marina. Lagos is arguably the most historic town on the Algarve. This was home to Henry the Navigator and the adventurers of the Age of Discovery. It's a pretty and happening place, compact, low-rise and walkable. From spots all over town, you can catch breathtaking views of the Bay of Light, fringed by miles of golden sand, with the town of Portimao on the other side.

You can walk from town to semi-secret sandy coves, long stretches of golden sand, cliffs, sea stacks, and bluffs. The coastline and climate remind folks of Southern California.

Lagos has got a chronic shortage of hotel rooms and deals here are getting snapped up as fast as I find them. For example, I found a two-bedroom condo for €210,000 ($231,034) in a four-story building with a shared pool. This is a property that will easily top the listings on websites like Airbnb if you market it right. I reckon it could make €25,000 ($27,504) a year in rental income. In five years, I expect this condo to be worth €300,000 ($330,049).

That's a gain of $99,015.

On the other side of the Algarve, to the east, traveling toward Spain, the Algarve is less developed. Prior to the crisis, a Path of Progress was rolling this way but amid the banking meltdown it ground to a halt around the historic town of Tavira.

Around Tavira you'll find wide-open Atlantic beaches and lots of protected land. The town's historic core is preserved and last October RETA members had an opportunity to lock down a condo in a renovated 16th-century convent there. In a nutshell, for as little as €21,000 down you could have bought a turnkey two-bedroom condo, which I predict will appreciate in value and would rent out for as much as $5,400 a month in high season.

When you tune into How to Profit from the Global Real Estate Boom you'll meet Chris White, an expat living in the Algarve with extensive knowledge of the real estate market there. If you've ever dreamt of owning in Portugal, this session is a must watch.

Costa del Sol, Spain

The Costa del Sol is beautiful, almost endlessly sunny...and one of Europe's top tourist destinations.

This strip of stunning coast has all the ingredients of a successful internationalized place. The weather is amazing: it has 320 sunny days each year. The beaches are stunning and it has appeal for a broad cross-section of people...you have historic towns and cities, incredible locally produced food, world-class golf courses and marinas, shopping and entertainment.

Crucially, it's easy to get there. In 2004 Malaga airport saw over 12 million passengers. In 2018 it was more than 19 million. The numbers coming just keep climbing. It's a short hop from almost anywhere in Europe. You're looking at a flight time of typically one to three hours. (Which also makes it good as your European base.)

Go back 70 years or so and the Costa del Sol was a hard-to-reach playground for the international jet-set. It could take days to get there. Things really began when a Spanish-born prince of German origins bought land and created the famous Marbella Club in 1954. A guy named Alfonso of Hohenlohe-Langenburg.

European aristocrats were joined by Hollywood royalty...Grace Kelly, Ava Gardner, Marlon Brando, Orson Welles, Brigitte Bardo, Frank Sinatra. Audrey Hepburn lived full time in a private villa in the Marbella Club.

In 1964 the runway at Malaga airport was extended to accommodate wide-bodied jets and there was an explosion of tourism with new hotels and resorts opening. Northern Europeans, mainly British and Scandinavians, poured onto the Costa del Sol.

When the tourism industry first took off in this part of Spain, the towns and cities close to Malaga airport developed first. Less-than-attractive high-rises sprang up in towns such as Torremolinos and Fuengirola, catering to tourists who wanted to fly in and fly out on a cheap beach vacation without ever experiencing local culture.

But more upmarket tourist destinations were developing farther west along this coast, in towns like La Duquesa and Estepona. That was helped in large part by a new highway that was built in 1998. Before that highway, it would have taken you an hour and 40 minutes to get from Malaga airport to where we have our opportunity. Today it's less than an hour.

For 15 years, real estate prices in Spain soared. Then the worldwide economic crisis rolled through the country and burst the real estate bubble.

That was 2008. For four years I watched and waited, keeping tabs on what I knew would develop into incredible deals for us. It took a while for the fire-sales to begin, but our patience was rewarded and I recommended quality inventory at incredible discounts...

One RETA member I was talking at the end of 2019 got in on our La Duquesa deal in 2013. His price when he bought: €86,900. When I spoke to him, his condo was worth €185,000 to €215,000.

When I checked online I came across a listing for an apartment in La Duquesa. A two-bed unit listing for €245,000. RETA members were able to buy here at fire-sale pricing of €86,500 for a 914-square-foot, two-bedroom, two-bathroom unit on the second floor with a terrace of 194 square feet. Pool view condos started at €102,000.

In June 2015 I recommended an opportunity to buy condos in Señorio de Gonzaga with extremely strong rental potential. Members could buy a two-bedroom, two-bathroom condo for €129,000. I expected that you could get 30 weeks or more of short-term rental once your rental was established, at an average of €1,100 ($1,250 at the time) per week or €33,000 ($37,200 at the time) gross a year.

Last summer, one of these condos was sold for €254,000. In fact the RETA member involved did everything remotely...never even visited. She bought a penthouse at €129,000 in Señorio de Gonzaga, she furnished it by email, rented out the property short-term, again, all remotely, and she sold at a profit (€254,000) by email.

Another couple bought a ground floor apartment in Señorio de Gonzaga to use for family holidays at €129,000. It's now worth €250,000. I'm told they and their children and grandchildren have really enjoyed their stays in Marbella.

There were more deals...

One RETA member bought property to qualify for Spain's Golden Visa. He wanted to be able to travel freely in Europe. He has since sold two of the three apartments he bought at nice profits. He bought a Los Flamingos apartment at €225,000 and sold at €390,000. He bought a Casares Beach apartment at €186,000 and sold it for €299,000. He bought at Duquesa Village and has this rented short-term...

In April 2015, I recommended condos at Valle Romano, 20 minutes from the luxury destination of Puerto Banus and five minutes from Estepona. Members could buy a two-bedroom, two-bathroom condo at Valle Romano for €98,000. In the community where these condos are, which is set around a golf course, there's a luxurious clubhouse that sits at the top of the hill and looks out over the Mediterranean. One RETA couple bought a three-bed, two-bath condo for €116,050. Now it's worth €185,000. They used the property for vacations at first and now for full-time living.

Bottomline, members of our group have had success with long-term renting, short-term renting, and buying for residency. Some have used their IRA's to purchase, some live full time, others just vacation...

By buying the right deals at the right fire-sale prices they are sitting pretty.

On Thursday, July 1 I'll be speaking with Spanish real estate expert Geoffrey Donoghue at How to Profit from the Global Real Estate Boom...

I'll be sending your more details of the event and more free reports like this over the coming days. Stay tuned.