Discover Portugal
Visit Portugal and Madeira
Nothing beats a discovery trip around Portugal and Madeira. Here we take a look at the more popular locations across Portugal and as most people ideally want to be near or next to the sea, we decided to concentrate these options.
Visit Algarve
The Algarve is the most popular retirement location in Portugal with over 100,000 foreign nationals from around the world who have now made the Algarve their home.
The Algarve is also the most popular area of Portugal for a second home, this is true for both foreign buyers and the wealthy Portuguese from the Lisbon and Porto areas. The Algarve is famed for its superior beaches, ancient architecture, fantastic seafood and good weather making it the right choice when compared to the rest of mainland Europe. The Algarve is also world famous as a centre for golfers with many high quality courses available.
Popular with the British
There are around 450,000 permanent registered residents in the collective region that makes up the Algarve. The density of foreign owners is high with the British making up the highest percentage with Germans in second place.
The Algarve is a popular tourist destination with the vast majority of the 7million annual visitors visiting the region during the Summer months of July and August. Heading into the Autumn the Algarve becomes quieter.
Algarve property market
Algarve is located with a border to the largest foreign property market in the world, Spain. Many foreign property buyers started off looking in Spain before deciding the more exclusive and refined Algarve was a more suitable option for their overseas property dreams. During the financial crisis Spanish property and Algarve property prices were hit hard with up to 50% declines happening in some areas. Since 2013 the Algarve’s property prices have been increasing, notably the high-profile Quinta do Lago area are recording some of the highest property prices in the world. Algarve property prices are influenced by the distance to the sea and the popular easy to walk into town locations. The Algarve has also seen growth in recent years with ‘Citizenship by Property Investment’ programme, better known as the Golden Residence Visa. At the end of 2021 the Golden Visa programme will end in all coastal areas of Mainland Portugal.
During the financial crisis Spanish property and to some degree Algarve property prices were hit hard with up to 50% declines happening in some areas, since 2013 Algarve property process have been increasing with the market being led by the high profile Quinta do Lago Residential Resort recording some of the highest prices in the world. Algarve property prices like everywhere are effected by the location with the sea and popular town locations holding the higher prices based on property buyer demand. With a lot of speculation about the end of the Golden Residence ‘Passport for Property Investment’ Visa being ended in Lisbon and Porto, then perhaps Algarve is set for some buyer interest from overseas looking for suitable areas to make their investment.
Visit Madeira
The Subtropical Madeira Islands.
A discovery trip to Portugal cannot be complete without a visiting the Subtropical Madeira Islands. The unique location of Madeira being 520Kms of the west African coast and 1140 Kms south west of the warm Algarve, puts Madeira firmly in first place as not only the best weather in Portugal but also the best winter weather in Europe. Madeira itself has a very low crime rate and its also known as the floating garden of the Atlantic as almost everything grows in the volcanic and green island. Madeira is all about nature and over 65% of Madeira is a nature reserve with world heritage status.
The Atlantic Ocean that surrounds Madeira is also surprisingly warm, ranging from 18 – 24 degrees making it ideal for water sports and fishing enthusiasts as well as attracting many species of whales and dolphins. Madeira is also not short of restaurants with over 1000 to choose from, however unlike the Algarve and due to the warm all year Madeiran weather and tourism, all restaurants remain open year round.
The cost of living in Madeira should also be considered, with generally higher grocery prices and cars also costing more than on the mainland. Those looking for a swimming pool should certainly consider the islands as Madeira has the lowest water costs in southern Europe, this is due to the pure mountain water constantly filtering through the volcanic rocks.
Property market in Madeira
The Madeira property market has behaved more calmly than that of the mainland of Portugal, it never suffered the large falls of the financial crisis and also never has such large increases like as seen is Lisbon and Porto.
The region of Madeira has always had a robust property market, however to put right context around Madeira’s property market is to first look at location demand. As Madeira is a mountainous extinct volcano it naturally follows that there are low and high areas of the island, properties with good views in areas close to the sea are considered more desirable then a properties in higher locations with good views. The south west coast of Madeira offers considerably sunnier weather conditions than the moist north and eastern part of the island.
The most desirable areas to find property in Madeira remain the cosmopolitan capital of Funchal with its bars restaurants and its generous sprinkle of quality nightlife. For those who like the countryside tend to prefer thestunning views of Riberia Brava and Ponta do Sol area along the striking coastline to Calheta. The east of Funchal is especially popular with Germans around Canico and Garajau. Expect to pay more for a well located coastline property or land when compared to high or northerly locations. In Madeira the sunny lower locations have constant buyer demand.
Visit Lisbon
Lisbon is a fascinating city full of history, monuments, impressive architectural bridges, vintage trams and local music called fado.
And these are just a few of the reasons that make it an extremely interesting city to visit and a place you will want to return to and consider for a relocation and property purchase. Lisbon also attracts a lot of summer tourism and many tourists visit for short city breaks while others choose to stay longer and explore the historic suburbs and local wine estates.
Lisbon is where you will find everything from the government of Portugal, the former royal palaces to the best designer shops like Gucci and Luis Vuitton, there is also a world class cultural scene for arts and theatre. However, if you want pretty beaches then Lisbon also offers some glorious sandy beaches close at hand like in Cascais and Estoril.
Lisbon Property Market
Nowhere in Portugal has attracted more property investment and property speculators in recent years than Lisbon
All of Portugal is attracting property investment and property speculators in the last years, the capital city of Lisbon has seen the strongest demand, Lisbon has been running at over 10% growth per annum since 2012 with little sign of a cooling market. Apart from being the capital of Portugal, Lisbon is also a highly prized and popular property destination for the wealthy. Being located on the west coast of Portugal and roughly central to Portugal the location is for many considered ideal. Traditionally the top holiday home and property investment locations are the traditional seaside areas of Cascais and Estoril as simply the ideal summer destinations. The Lisbon property market has seen particularly strong growth and has doubled in average values within a decade. The Lisbon property boom has been driven by the Golden Visa programme which is a citizenship route through property investment, with minimum investment levels of €500,000 or €350,000 for a refurbishment property. The Golden Residence Programme has been very successful and the Lisbon property market is said to have been underpinned by the Golden Residence Programme ensuring minimum property values of €500,000 in some areas. The Golden Residence Visa programme closes in Lisbon at the end of 2021, it is not known how this will effect property and demand. b
Visit Porto
Porto is the friendly second city of Portugal and located in the northern part of Portugal
The beautiful and historic city of Porto borders the Atlantic Ocean and is where the River Douro starts it journey through the vineyards filled valleys of Portugal’s historic interior. The city of Porto is where the sardines fishing fleets are located and nowhere is this fish celebrated than in Porto and the fishing harbour of Matasinhos. The north of Portugal has always been the industrial heartland of Portugal with boutique shoe production and countless furniture workshops making being important to the local economy.
Porto is city that has recently woken up to Tourism and this has been very notable with summer visitor numbers reaching new record levels as all the world is seeing Porto as a cool travel destination. Porto has a particularly vibrant and hip riverfront called the Ribeira where river cruises leave taking tourists to the stunning Douro valley where they can see the vineyards where the Port wine is born. Porto is also a shopping paradise with lovely small markets, quality shopping centres and some of the best restaurants in Portugal. The north of Portugal unfortunately does not offer the best temperatures in the Wintertime when a coat and umbrella are often needed.
Lately Porto has woken up to Tourism and this has been notable with summer visitor numbers reaching new record levels as all the world is seeing Porto as part of the new fashion for travel. With a vibrant and hip riverfront called the Ribeira where river cruises leave taking tourists up the stunning Douro valley where they can see the vineyards where the Port wine is born. Porto is also a shopping paradise with small markets, quality shopping centres and some of the best restaurants in Portugal. The north of Portugal unfortunately does not offer the best temperatures in the Winter wear a coat and unbrella are often needed.
Porto property market
The property market in the north of Portugal has grown substantially over the last years, from the City of Porto being driven by tourism investment with locals buying well located properties for holiday rentals to buyers seeking countryside properties or large vineyards for business investments, the north is really alive with property investments pouring in.
The growth in international property investment in the north of Portugal has been impressive with many properties being purchased by those looking for Golden Residence Visa or Portuguese ‘citizenship by property investment’ programmes, this has helped underpin the property growth in Porto. A very active area of the market is South African citizens with a farming back round buying farms for whole family migration. The Property market in the north really came alive in the last 5 years and is really ‘hot market’ around the Porto districts of Fosse and Boa Vista where properties are often quickly sold to foreign buyers. The north of Porto also offers good value for money and a low budget can go a long way towards finding a nice property for your relocation.
