Inside Cabo's Real Estate Boom

In this episode of Notes From the Field, Ronan McMahon shares his biggest insights after spending more than a month on the ground in Cabo, Mexico—one of the most dynamic real estate markets in the world today.

Broadcasting from Guadalajara, Ronan reflects on four and a half weeks exploring Los Cabos, from the wild Pacific beaches of Cabo San Lucas to the charming historic streets of San José del Cabo and the rapidly evolving neighborhoods overlooking the city.

Along the way, he explains why Cabo has become a global magnet for wealth, tourism, and investment—and why the market continues to deliver extraordinary returns for early buyers.

Ronan also breaks down the neighborhoods driving Cabo’s growth, including the rise of El Tezal as a vibrant residential district and the massive concentration of luxury resorts along the famous Tourist Corridor.

For investors who entered the market early, the results have been dramatic. Homes once purchased for around $420,000 are now listing for over $1 million, while condos bought just a few years ago have seen gains of 60% or more before even taking possession.

But beyond the numbers, Ronan explains why Cabo has become something even more powerful:
 a thriving international hub attracting entrepreneurs, creatives, and affluent residents from around the world.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• Ronan’s biggest takeaways after 4+ weeks of boots-on-the-ground research
• Why Cabo is becoming a satellite market of California
• The neighborhoods where the biggest gains have already occurred
• Why demand for rentals continues to surge
• How luxury resorts and infrastructure are reshaping the region
• Where Ronan is looking for the next investment opportunities

If you’re interested in international real estate, emerging markets, or lifestyle investing, this episode provides a rare inside look at one of the most exciting coastal markets in the Americas.

Transcript

Welcome to your notes from the field. This is where I bring you my latest boots on the ground research, research you can profit from. And greetings from Guadalajara. It is just about seven fifteen in the evening here. I have my windows and doors open. There's lovely cool air and the sounds of the the city streaming in. It's March.

That means for Guadalajara, two things. First of all, it's starting to warm up a bit. And secondly, the trees just come into to full bloom just right around town and right around my neighborhood now. We just have these incredible, bright, explosive hakarinda trees heavy with flowers that just rain down this beautiful purple petals. There's also a yellow tree.

You know, many of them around. This is a very, very leafy city with big, bright, explosive yellow trees. And there's also a tree that I was calling a cherry blossom. It looks very much like, to me, like a cherry blossom.

It looks like the cherry blossoms of Washington DC are are are of Japan, but it's another type of tree that that flowers in a in a similar way. So Guadalajara is lovely. It's a lovely time of of year to be here. And, thankfully, the problems of just close on two weeks ago now, You know, if you were unless you were buried under a stone, you saw the news feeds coming out of this part of Mexico, which was scary images of blocked streets and burnt out buses.

And, you know, after after two to three days, things pretty pretty much got back to normal. So we'll we'll keep our our fingers crossed that that things stay that way. And, of course, my return to Guadalajara from Cabo was delayed by a couple of days because of those events of of of a couple of Sundays ago. And I guess what that meant was three more days for me in Cabo, and three more days on top of a previous four weeks where I had boots in the ground, basing myself in Cabo.

It was my home base. It was where I traveled to Toto Santos for from. It was where I traveled to La Paz from. It was where I traveled to the the East Cape from.

And, so this dispatch is my notes from the field, my big takeaways from my four four and a half weeks in Capo. So I guess if you're if you're new to our reefer beat or if you're new to to our world, just to orient where where I'm talking about. So Los Cabos sits at the tiny bottom tip of Baja California Sur. So just take a straight line south from San Diego and go to where that land ends.

You know, I think it's maybe a twenty three hour drive from from San Diego, an hour and a half flight, but it's just straight down there. And so what you have in Los Cabos is you have two sides. You have a Pacific side and a Sea of Cortez side. You have two towns, San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas.

So my base was on the Pacific side of Cabo San Lucas, are my are my primary base. I also spend time in in in in Toto Santos. So I guess, first of all, why do I physically put myself there? So, you know, Cabo is the place on our beach where I own more real estate than than anywhere else on earth, and Cabo and Cabo is also a place where I physically put myself, where I choose to put myself for a period a period of time every year.

And just what I just absolutely love about the Pacific side of Cavos, San Lucas is the, you know, the cool air that comes off the Pacific. These are wild, expansive Pacific beaches. You know, you can't swim there. You know, you there the the the locals will tell you you can swim, but you can only swim once because if you go into that water, you know, you almost certainly aren't coming out.

So it's a place to to hike, you know, to walk along empty beaches, to feel cool air coming off the Pacific at night. You know, at night, I can lie in bed in my home with doors open and just hear the just the pounding of the waves and the pounding of the ocean. I absolutely love it. I find it truly energizing.

But again, that's that's a very, very personal thing. You know, the Pacific side can also be be windy. It can also be cold for people. You know, these are all very, very subjective things. But once you round the point and once you get to the sea of Cortez side, then you have, you know, you've quiet sandy beaches, you've glass flat coves, you know, you can snorkel, you can just lounge around in in in in in the ocean.

You it's warmer. It's noticeably warmer. It's noticeably less breezy. And, you know, for me, if I'm going for for a beach day, even though I live on the the Pacific side or the Pacific side is where where I have my base.

You know, I'll go to Playa Santa Maria, which is on the on the Sea of Cortez side. You have two towns in Los Cabos. You have Cabo San Lucas, which, you know, has its origins. The the backstory to the two towns is is actually quite interesting because, you know, San Jose del Cabo was the the the charming frontier town of the Pueblo Magico that that Mexico's tourism promotion bodies first set their sights on because you have an absolutely charming town.

And then in front of it, you have a amazing curve of beach and a hotel zone. So the the original plan for developing Los Cabos was very San Jose del Cabo heavy. Also, the the main international airport is is in San Jose del del Cabo. There's also an airport in Cabo San Lucas, but that's mostly domestic and private.

So if you're coming in from the US and Canada, you're almost certainly flying into San Jose del Cabo. But what happened is they found tourists went to Cabo San Lucas and saw the iconic arch, and people just wanted to be there. So that's where a lot of the tourism developed because while the the bureaucrats, say, had had earmarked San Jose del Cabo as the first place for development, a lot of the tourists wanted that iconic arch view. So Cabo San Lucas developed in a kind of a hodgepodge way because it didn't have the planning of San Jose del Cabo.

You still see that everywhere in Cabo San Lucas, you know, terrible roads, potholes, you know, kind of a a noisy party district. In parts, it's it's rough around the edges. But you also have wonderful restaurants now, and you've you've a you've you've you've you've a nice marina. You know, I I I really like Cabo San Lucas.

Again, it's it's a place I call a home, but when you first land there, it can be a bit, jeez, you know, this is a bit spring break central, and it is in that downtown part of part of of Cabo San Lucas. And then San Jose, then the corridor between San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas, that's just back to back now with luxury resorts from from the edge of San Jose del Cabo to Cabo San Lucas. It's probably just maybe a twenty eight or twenty nine minute drive from from either edge. So if you if you don't have to hit traffic, you can go from one to the other in in that time.

And it's just wall to wall in between with these luxury golf and hotel resorts and is one of the biggest concentrations on earth of of luxury resorts. You know, I'm talking ten and twenty grand a night hotel rooms, twelve to fifteen million homes on golf courses.

And that's, know, that's your that's not the top end. That's your standard home in these luxury golf resorts. And then you come to to San Jose del Cabo, which for a while, Cabo San Lucas took the limelight.

And over the past couple of years, you know, San Jose del Cabo has just really come into its own as a very, very chic, foodie, arty, just very, very Baja chic, bohemian destination. It's one of these really rare places where you have a whole bunch of things. You know, I guess, kinda like what I spoke about about about Lagos in Portugal for the recent deal. You know, San Jose del Cabo has an incredible Pueblo Magico, an incredible, charming, historic Mexican town that's packed with great restaurants, with, you know, art galleries, which is cool stuff. It's all walkable. It's all, you know, the the evening experiences to to to walk around town.

And then that's just progressively got nicer, more upmarket, more stuff coming. But you also have a beach just in front of that amazing beach with amazing with a great hotel district and a more modern part of town that also has a different range of stuff.

And then just outside of town, you you have Puerto Los Cabos.

Then the big thing, like, me, one of the most compelling and enticing things about getting to spend time in Cabo is that when it comes to weekends, I get to go to to Toto Santos or I get to go to to the East Cape. And, you know, to put in context, last year, I had a milestone birthday when we were together with lifetime members at the gathering in Playa del Carmen, and my wife said to me, you know, we're gonna be near Cancun Airport. It's your fiftieth birthday. We can fly almost anywhere in the world from Cancun. You know, where do you want to go?

And where I wanted to go was to come home to Cabo, you know, take a day or two to to to rest from from the gathering, and then go to Todos Santos, which is just, like, fifty minutes down the road from from our home in Cabo. So even when given the choice of being able to go anywhere for a milestone event, you know, that that's where I chose. And again, what's so special about there, for me, I think it's just the the weather, the light, the energy from the ocean, the food, the the the the the chilled vibe. You know, this is just a very, very special place, you know, if that's the type of thing that that that you're looking for. And, you know, this speaks to my point that we've been covering very heavily in the the master class I've been doing with Margaret that, you know, first, you need to map out what your profile is and then find the places that that that match to that. So I guess the question is, where is the market in Cabo? Where is it going?

How are things looking for the opportunities we've got in on, and how are things looking in terms of a a future deal pipeline?

So I guess, you know, first of all, the the where I stayed was primarily in the Movila community in Cavira. The the condo I call a home or a base, my travel this year has been a a bit up in the air. I was unsure when I'd be able to get to to to Cabo, so I rented that out long term. So in essence, I was homeless in in in Cabo for this for this duration.

So where I primarily stayed was in Mavila through a mix of Airbnbs and and house swaps. And Movila is a deal or is a place where Reefa members could get in in twenty eighteen. You know, I stayed in a home in the Movila community that Reefa members could have bought in twenty eighteen for four hundred and twenty thousand dollars, and it's currently listed for one point one million dollars. So reefer members got in four hundred and twenty thousand dollars.

This owner currently has this home listed for one point one million.

Uplifts in the condos are similarly well, they're they're not quite as impressive. So, you know, the put it put it this way, the base inventory has doubled or a bit more. The middle inventory is maybe up seventy seventy, eighty percent. So, you know, those those homes, the the most premium inventory went from four twenty to to to one point one.

Maybe one point one is a bit ambitious. It looked a bit ambitious to me. I I would have felt that home has a a kind of a million dollar ceiling, but we'll we'll we'll see. The owner certainly seems to to think one point one million is is is achievable.

So again, what we've seen is the most premium inventory has appreciated at the strongest and fastest rate.

And that's a observation that also holds in the community where where I bought, which is Copala, which is also in the same master plan. It came earlier.

I got in there along with fellow members. We bought or we bought in twenty fifteen, took possession in twenty nineteen. Retail members only price on the condos was from three hundred and thirty six thousand dollars, and those condos now are up over up into the the seven hundred. But the even bigger uplift has been on the three bed condos, which appreciated significantly more, and on the homes. Again, homes here that retail members could buy for under four hundred thousand dollars are going for for north of north north north of a million.

And, you know, the thing about this purchase and the thing about Cabo, I bought in Cabo first as a pure investment. This is just a you know, it's just this incredibly fortuitous thing and I think all also just a function of being out there and doing different things and be willing to to dip my toes in different waters, I found, you know, one of my perfect places. But I never set out to spend time in Cabo because remember, for my logistics, I'm based in the Western Hemisphere, and I'm based in Europe. But a Caribbean base makes a lot more sense than Cabo.

Cabo is off the beaten track. If I'm in the the Caribbean, I can easily move back and forth between between Europe and and the Americas. But I bought in Copala just purely a function of the the the the retail the case for Cabo, the what I could see as being the inflection point that Cabo was at in terms of kicking up to to a whole new level. So I bought for investment, but then I started spending some time there, and I found that this was the place for me or, like, a place for me.

And I also found around the same time that, you know, heat doesn't suit me. You know? That seems like the most obvious thing imaginable, but that penny took a time to drop, and it was only in spending time in these places with cooler air coming off the ocean that I just realized how much energy I get from that and just how much more clear thinking and energized and vibrant I I I feel. So we have done extremely well in in that part of of Cabo.

The big takeaways, you know, are we gonna have another deal there?

Yeah. Really, really hard to see. You know, there's neighboring communities coming up. Everything seems to be, like, at a two million dollar entry price now.

The it's it's like and, you know, thinking about Azul, thinking about Cap Cana and, you know, kinda Cap Cana now is at the moment the Cabo was at when we got in, you know, just this week, Reefa members have been buying in Cap Cana with entry price under four hundred, but most importantly, premium unit you know, premium condos up in the mid six hundreds. You know, the the days of that in Cabo are long gone. That that now is coming in at a two million dollar dollar deal in Cabo. So while I don't expect we'll have more deals like this, you know, in terms of beach and golf and resort community.

It's very worth a study that that worked because of the formula because Cabo was at that inflection point where it was rising to a whole new level. There was a path of progress event with more flights coming to coming to to Cabo, more air connectivity. There was just this flood of new resorts coming in.

And then there was also the movement to the Pacific side because, by and large, the Pacific side had been ignored. So there was also a micro path of progress to to to the Pacific side.

So then our more recent deals have been in the the El Teixal neighborhood. And El Teixal is essentially think of it as the hill that overlooks Cabo San Lucas. So when you're when you're in El Tezal, if you got a Primo El Tezal view, you can be looking to to the arch in Cabo San Lucas or looking to the Sea of Cortez in front, pan to the left, and you're heading out towards San Jose del Cabo. And this is where a lot of the the the recent development has gone.

That's where Monte Richela is, you know, where I took possession of of two condos when when when I was there a couple of weeks ago. That's where Cavocosta is. That's where El Mirador at at Cavocosta is. And this community is really consolidating.

So what happened was that, you know, there there there's been this there was development and infrastructure and amenities are now catching up or or have caught up. So, you know, first the first thing that came to that hill was primarily these condo communities. Now we've just seen this big influx of, you know, little plazas, you know, just all these areas with great restaurants.

You know, just you name it is now in dash in El Te Sal, and El Te Sal breaks out into kind of a a few distinct neighborhoods.

There's road improvements. There's still a lot of work to be done on the roads up there. But the the big change I felt this time is that this is a real vibrant community. You know?

When you go for dinner, when you're up there and you're, say, poolside looking at the arch, you know, maybe you'll go to to Cabo San Lucas from from time to time. I mean, it's only eight minutes away. You're you're looking right down on it. But what's incredible is that the the vibrancy that's built up up there in in in El Teixal.

And, again, the the big buying trick and key is those views and those amenities. And this is where our retail deals just have been particularly strong and particularly strong by design. So for example, in in Monte Richela, in front of of of the two condos I bought, and both of those have, you know, appreciated by sixty sixty percent or more before I took delivery two weeks ago. So, again, remember, when I'm taking delivery, I'm only into the deal for for fifty percent, and it's already increased in value by by sixty percent.

So, again, this is on paper, but it's like a cash on cash, a hundred and twenty percent.

But the amenities, just these big luxurious feeling amenities, big pool, big infinity edge that just looks to just looks to the arch, and big fire pit area. You know, they do you see fire pits in a in a lot of places, they're they're a cool feature. But in Cabo, they're just something else because, you know, certainly, this time of of of year, the the night air is cool. And, again, I I'm repeatedly talking about cool and cold.

I mean, the context is, you know, you're lying poolside during the day. I'm saying this just has a has a chill to it at night. You know, you're you're still talking about in the middle of the day, you know, seventy five or seventy seven degrees and bright sunshine. It's still pool weather.

But just at night, it's lovely to put on long sleeves or long shirt and feel feel the warmth coming from from from the fire pit. But those amenities are are standout, and that area of of of El Te Sal is really maturing and growing up. And by maturing and growing up, I mean, it is becoming its its own center. It's a place where you will live, hang out by the pool, maybe you jump in the car, and drive for eight minutes to Playa Santa Maria, which is just an incredibly perfect cove, or maybe you'll go down to the Cape for a fancy beachfront brunch over over overlooking the arch.

You know? I'm not saying you're not going to leave El Teixal, but everything you want from great restaurants, bars, You know, you just have to go to the edge of El Teixal to choose from three or four just absolutely world class giant luxury grocery stores.

You have the fresco. You have the the premium Storiana, both just down there at the the end of the hill. You have Costco. And so it's all there, and it's becoming very much a district that's very appealing for the many, many, many people who are moving to Cabo, in search of opportunity and in search of work opportunities and also in terms of of expat communities.

And just let's be very, very clear on one thing. Cabo is a boom town. It is a unrelenting juggernaut of a absolute boom town. And that's just creating huge amounts of of of wealth for foreigners like us who've come in and invested in real estate, but also for a whole business community, small business community, professionals.

It's a very vibrant and affluent place. And again, I'm I'm not just talking about the the visitors to those luxury hotels and golf resorts. The the local community in Cabo, those who are, you know, in the tourism sector, in the internationalized business space has be has become become extremely affluent. So it's a very comfortable affluent place both within these local communities, but also in terms of the expat communities.

And when I say local communities, almost no one is is from from Kabul. You know, my my niece and nephew are in my the kids of my brother-in-law are in school in Cabo and in their class, and their their their parents moved to Cabo just before they were born, so their parents aren't even from Cabo, but they were born in Cabo. And, I mean, there's three or four people in each of their classes who are who are from Cabo. Their parents are from the US, from Italy, from you know, it's kind of funny, know, from Russia and Ukraine, from just everywhere, from Venezuela, from Colombia, from from Canada.

And it's very, very vibrant. And it's attracting a lot of those people that just bring creativity to the food scene, to the business scene.

So that I think that's one of the places that really are one of the things that just really sets Cabo out as a very livable place. It's just a vibrant, real place. Now, absolutely, it's got all these resorts and it's got all these you know, I I I love to golf in places like Chileno and Palmia when I'm lucky enough to to have a to have a friend bring me out in in in these places. And those are well, well, Chilean or is Palmya is actually quite a quite a local established community.

But, you know, place like Chilean, they're very touristy and, you know, they're very but, you know, so the affluence in Cabo goes well beyond those those luxury resorts. So the future is really, really bright. You know, the future is really, really bright in terms of demand. The future is really, really bright in terms of of rental potential.

The future is really, really bright in terms of, you know, Cabo's continued evolution as more of a satellite market of California, more of a more of a you know, it's not a Mexico market. It's a satellite market of California, but also interestingly, it's attracting more and more affluent from Mexico and from from from Latin America. You know, this is a big thing that I've particularly noticed, you know, in some of the the luxury communities, whereas if I go back ten years ago, it was, you know, nearly all US and Canadians. You know?

Now there's more Latins. There's more Europeans. There's more people from all around the world. Just the the whole word is out about the whole Cabo package, and the whole Cabo package stacks up in particular to that very, very affluent market.

So it's great news for those of us who bought real estate, great news for for finding renters, and also great news in this this market has legs and will continue to have legs, you know, multi decade legs. You know, I'm sure there'll be there'll be ebbs and flows along the way. There'll be like any great market evolution, there'll be times when supply gets a bit too much, and then the market needs to slow to to to absorb that to a certain extent. We've seen a little bit of that in in in El Tezal, and the market's all already catching up, but take a medium term perspective to be able to buy, own, and hold the real estate that we get at RITA member only pricing in these places.

You know, it's it's it's about as as blue chip as as you can get. And San Jose del Cabo just absolutely continues to be as as enchanting and fabulous as as as ever. You know, just the the town is wonderful. The beaches are are wonderful.

The the proximity to the East Cape, the proximity to Puerto, Los Cabos. And again, you know, there's just so much new stuff popping up. You know?

Friends invited us out for dinner. I didn't know where we were going, but it was this place called Bahena in Puerto, on the edge of Puerto Los Cabos. You just drive along this dirt road and, you know, you kind of follow a sand road and you just come into this just one of the most spectacularly beautiful rooms, restaurants I've ever seen, you know, with views out to the sea of Cortez as the sun was setting with just these art installations dotted around the building with just incredible food. And just these things, it's just relentless, the pace at which these these new things these new things pop up.

You know? Now I would say all of this feeds great for our investment case. Your general cost of living in Cabo has been increasing significantly over time, you know, and you can still find inexpensive tacos place, and you can still find inexpensive stuff in Cabo, but more and more it's becoming, you know, a a a affluent market. So, again, you know, this is great for us as real estate investors because, you know, this is the clientele that will make great tenants for short term rentals.

You know? This is also the clientele that brings high paying jobs. You know? I mean, I've been hearing hearing stories about all sorts of, you know, skilled people from sommeliers to golf coaches, you know, being enticed to Cabo with very, very hefty rent rent allowances.

So whether we're renting long term or short term. But San Jose del Cabo, you know, it truly merits its ranking as number one place in in in our index. It's just such a rare thing to tick all those boxes of capital appreciation, potential rental, potential quality of life, weather, security.

You know, it's just it just comes out top by almost every measure. I pretty much every measure you could imagine.

And that's why, you know, the two zones I'm honing in on for for upcoming deals, you know, I'm, know, looking for the the right deal in El Teixal. You know, still, that would be incredible amenities, totally unobstructed or unobstructed or unobstructable views.

But the big one that I'm working on is is San Jose del Cabo. It's tough. The there's the geography of San Jose protected by Puerto Los Cabos on one end and by the hills and, you know, the the highway up to the airport. And then on the Cabo San Lucas end, you're just into luxury resort after luxury resort after luxury resort.

But there there is an area I'm honing in on which has, you know, really the the kind of the the golden formula. Fifteen minutes to the airport, awesome views of the Sea of Cortez, you know, three to five minutes to to town and to the beach. So I'm working on it, and you'll be the first to know if and when it materializes.

And, you know, congratulations if you've got in on our our our deals there. I'm looking forward to seeing who my neighbors are going to be in Monte Richelo. When when I took possession, I'm in building six. I, you know, I think maybe there was another four people, but it was great to bump into retail members when I was up there taking possession who who were also taking taking possession.

And, you know, the future is bright for Cabo, and the future is bright for our involvement in Cabo.

And, you know, my gains from multiple, multiple purchases are have been very, very significant, but what I wouldn't trade for anything is the time I get to spend in in in Cabo because it really has just changed my life to to be able to swap dreary winter weather with this just bright sunshine paradise. So there you have it. I'm packing my bags for the gathering.

Can't wait to see many of you in Panama for the gathering. And from there, I head to Japan.

Japan is a trip. It's a trip that I'd originally scheduled as my honeymoon, my wife and our honeymoon in twenty twenty. We got married in late twenty nineteen, and the honeymoon was scheduled for April twenty twenty. Of course of course, COVID took care of that, and we're finally got around to to rescheduling it. But I I will have an eye out. We're gonna be doing some off the beaten track travel, and we're going to be going to some of those areas that just have incredibly inexpensive real estate. So looking forward to sharing what I see and what I find there, But most of all, really looking forward to to seeing and celebrating and sharing our collective journey with, you know, so many Rita Lifetime members together next week at The Gathering in Panama.

Take care.