Mortgage Rates Froze U.S. Housing, But These 3 Overseas Markets Still Pay Double Digits

American mortgage rates have done something unusual to the housing conversation: they’ve made buying feel like a lifestyle decision again instead of an investment one. Home sales slow, headlines fixate on the rate print, and property quietly drops off a lot of portfolios.

Ronan McMahon of Real Estate Trend Alert argues that’s a geography problem, not an asset problem. His focus is international property, and he says the opportunities simply aren’t in the United States right now. They’re in destinations pulling in buyers from across the globe, where he’s actively borrowing from 2.6%.

Elevated borrowing costs are largely a U.S. phenomenon, which means capital that looks stuck at home can be put to work on very different terms a border or two away.

Why Property Abroad Works as an Income Asset, Not Just a Second Home

McMahon says 80% to 90% of his net worth sits in real estate across nine countries, chosen deliberately as a wealth-building vehicle rather than a lifestyle purchase. His reasoning: many overseas markets aren’t well studied, so applying lessons from mature U.S. and European markets to emerging ones can put a buyer ahead of local pricing.

In the right market at the right moment, he says that can mean gross yields in the 12% to 14% range alongside years of double-digit appreciation. His planning horizon is at least 8 years. Shorter flips happen, but conservative investors should underwrite for the longer hold.

He also limits where he’ll buy at all, sticking to countries where foreign owners have the same legal protections as locals and where rule of law is genuinely enshrined. That filter alone rules out most of the world.

Panama City Turns Corporate Tenants Into Rental Yield

Ranked third on his list, Panama City is a true global hub attracting multinational corporations and internationally mobile professionals. The play is top-of-market luxury condos leased long-term to corporate executives or affluent locals, with entry near $400 per square foot, a steep discount to comparable global hub cities.

Short-term rentals face extensive regulation here, so income comes from stable long leases. Financing also looks different. Low rates aren’t available, but buyers can get pre-approved for developer financing and pay the developer over time, which trades interest rate risk for counterparty risk. McMahon handles that by favoring multi-generational developer families who’ve survived multiple crises, and by reviewing their financials before committing.

Guanacaste Benefits From Costa Rica’s Liberia Airport Upgrade

Costa Rica’s northwest corner ranks second, and accessibility is the catalyst. Liberia Airport has scaled from a small operation into a real international gateway, feeding retirees, second-home buyers, vacationers, and remote-working families into towns like Tamarindo and Playa Flamingo.

Expect roughly $400,000 to $500,000 for an amenity-rich condo or home aimed at affluent international renters. Borrowing is in dollars at rates comparable to the United States, so this market favors buyers deploying capital rather than leverage. McMahon’s warning here is what he calls the margarita effect: a friendly stranger in a beach bar is not due diligence. Lawyers, accountants, and rental managers are non-negotiable.

Lagos, Portugal Pairs Cheap Mortgages With Year-Round Demand

His top pick is Lagos on the western Algarve, a historic old town beside a modern marina with beaches that have ranked among the world’s best. Demand arrives from northern Europe, the United States, and the Middle East, and owners can run short-term, long-term, or a mix with personal use.

Financing is where Lagos separates from the other two. Buyers can borrow from roughly 2.5% to 2.6%, and non-EU citizens, including Americans and Canadians, hold the same purchase rights. The one real constraint is age: depending on the bank, the mortgage must be paid off by 75 or 80. On short-term rentals, McMahon points to gross yields in the 12% to 16% range, netting closer to 7% to 8% after taxes and costs, with appreciation on top. His own baseline is doubling invested capital every 5 years.

McMahon walks through the full mechanics in his free book, The Big Book of Profitable Real Estate Investing — how to qualify for a foreign mortgage, structure ownership, handle the tax side, and build the local team that runs the property when you’re not there.

A Lower-Cost Option for Buyers Who Don’t Want Tenants

Not every buyer wants to be a landlord. For those who want weather, food, and community without rental income, McMahon points to Sicily, where a nice home can start around $70,000 to $80,000. He’s skeptical of the widely publicized 1-euro home programs; spending $50,000 to $100,000 on an already renovated property in a better town tends to deliver far more value.

Investors who want rental income without a passport can get there through real estate sector stocks or real estate investment trusts, trading some of the yield for liquidity and no maintenance calls. What overseas property adds is currency and geographic diversification a domestic portfolio can’t replicate on its own.

Execution is where these deals succeed or fail. A yield model built in a spreadsheet at home has to survive another legal system, another tax regime, and a team you’ve never worked with. Watch the developer’s financials, the local rental rules, and the strength of your people on the ground, because those are what turn a stunning location into an actual return.

Should You Invest $1,000 in Pfizer Right Now?

Before you consider Pfizer, you'll want to hear this.

MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Pfizer wasn't on the list.

While Pfizer currently has a Hold rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.

View The Five Stocks Here