VIDEO: Why I Return to This Perfect-Weather Destination Every Winter REAL ESTATE TREND ALERT
(FOR MEMBERS ONLY)  | | RONAN
MCMAHON | Dear Reader, I divide my life between bases all over the world — in my homeland of Ireland, Portugal’s Silver Coast, the historic town of Caminha on Portugal’s northern border with Spain, the booming city of Guadalajara (where I’m writing to you from)… But when winter rolls around every year, there’s one place that’s non-negotiable in my calendar. That’s Los Cabos. I’m returning to Cabo in around 10 days. Before I go back, I sat down to record a conversation with International Living Executive Editor Jennifer Stevens to explain why I spend so much time there. Jen’s a longstanding colleague and friend. And as part of a new series of conversations on International Living’s YouTube channel, we dove into why Cabo has become a key winter base for me — and why I own more real estate there than anywhere else on our beat. We also discuss why — thanks to the way I’ve set things up — spending time in Cabo doesn’t cost me a dime. In fact, I get paid to live the Cabo lifestyle. I explain all in the video. Click below to watch it now. | | | In this video, I sit down with International Living Executive Editor Jen Stevens to explain why I return to Cabo every winter. And why I’ve bought more real estate there than anywhere else in the world. Click here to watch it now. | As we discuss in the video, Cabo’s appeal is not hard to understand. This is quite simply one of the most beautiful places on earth. A place that, for nine months every year, has perfect weather. Never too hot, too cold or too humid… Just the ideal climate. I love spending time there. I wear short sleeves, play golf when I want, stroll the beach, dine outdoors, hike in the desert hills — and when I open my laptop, it’ll often be with an ocean view… This speaks to Cabo’s multi-faceted appeal. On one hand, you have world-class resorts, golf courses, marinas, restaurants and infrastructure. On the other, you have raw, unspoiled nature just minutes away — empty Pacific beaches, desert hills, towering cacti, glass-flat water on the Sea of Cortez, and small, authentic towns with rich culture and history. In Cabo, you can spend $5 on an incredible local meal… or $500 per person at a Michelin-level restaurant. You can lounge by the pool of a 5-star resort one day, then throw your gear in an SUV and head off-road into landscapes that feel closer to Namibia than North America. And crucially, this is not simply a vacation destination. Cabo is also a real, functioning city. A place where people live full-time. Where there’s community. Where grocery stores, gyms, cafés, art walks and trendy neighborhoods make day-to-day life easy and enjoyable. | | | | Cabo offers an incredible mix of lifestyle benefits: world-class beaches, desert adventure, sport fishing, surfing, incredible golf, art walks, farm-to-table cuisine born of local terrain…. | As I shared in the video, I didn’t fully appreciate any of this when I first bought in Cabo. I originally bought my first condo there over a decade ago purely as an investment — long before I ever imagined Cabo would become a lifestyle anchor for me. I bought that condo in 2015 in a RETA-only deal when our members could own two-bed ocean-view condos from $336,156 in the Copala community in the 5-star Quivira resort. By May 2025, the same type of condo listed for $729,000 — an uplift of $392,844 from the RETA price. Today, when I’m not using my Copala condo, I hand the keys to my rental manager, place a long-term tenant and collect around $3,000 per month in income. So yes — this condo turned out to be an exceptional investment. But it’s been much more than that. It changed my life. This condo was the anchor that opened up Cabo for me. Since making this first investment, Cabo has become a favorite place to be. And I’ve dug deep on this market… finding a run of incredible deals for our RETA group. I’ve repeatedly bought here alongside RETA members in these deals. (Details below.) I now own more real estate in Cabo than anywhere else in the world. I share all the details in my video conversation with Jen. We also dig into why Cabo keeps attracting new waves of people — remote workers, entrepreneurs, retirees, families — and how global “trigger events” have only accelerated demand for both rentals and resales. And perhaps most importantly, we talk about where the smart money is focusing in Cabo today. Watch the full video here. Wishing you good real estate investing, | | | Ronan McMahon P.S. A quick snapshot of some of our other incredible RETA member-only deals in Cabo… - $232,000 uplift: In August 2021, RETA members had the chance to lock down two-bedroom condos from $188,200 in Cabo Costa. We could also own penthouses from $249,000. (I got one.) By May 2025, a condo with an original RETA price of $197,300 was listed for $380,000. And in October 2025, a penthouse that had a RETA price of $249,000 was sold for $481,000 — uplifts of $182,700 and $232,000 respectively.
- $184,400 more: In May 2022, we had a deal at the Monte Rocella community, when RETA members had the chance to lock down condos from $234,600. I bought two condos alongside RETA members in this deal. By December 2024, a mezzanine third-floor condo, similar to those RETA members could buy for $252,600 at launch, was priced at $437,000. An uplift of $184,400.
- $605,214 uplift:In 2017, I bought our members a deal on luxury villas in Copala in the Quivira community. A villa that a RETA member bought in June 2017 for $385,115 was listed for resale at $988,000 in 2024. An astonishing uplift of $605,214.
- And we recently had our first deal in San José del Cabo, the refined heart of the southern Baja California peninsula. At the entry point of San José’s real estate market, a two-bed condo with ocean views starts at around $400,000 to $500,000, but prices quickly streak higher. And yet the RETA-only price was from just $298,400. That’s for a stunning two-bed, two-bath ocean-view condo in a dream location 10 minutes from the airport. I expect gains of around $186,600 just three years after delivery on these condos… and that’s being very conservative.
| | | | From the amenities area in Cabo Costa, you can enjoy expansive views of the ocean. RETA members have seen six-figure uplifts from the RETA deal in this best-in-class community. | |
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