Overseas property PORTUGAL: Buy into 'the real Portugal'
Author:
Independent on Sunday, The
Portugal's Algarve recently topped a poll by Channel 4's Place in the Sun programme as the best place to buy overseas, and it's not hard to see why. This stretch of coastline has all the ingredients necessary for a second home or even for permanent relocation: sandy beaches, golf courses, traditional fishing villages and great transport links with the UK all make it a firm favourite with British buyers. But, as its popularity drives up prices, is it still possible to find a bargain on the Algarve?
Winkworth's Ian Wilson believes so. 'There are areas where you can still get in at a good price and where you definitely won't lose money,' he says. The Algarve is the first overseas destination for Winkworth, which began trading there nine months ago. It has four branches, with plans to expand further. Wilson first moved to this part of Portugal in 1987, working for another agency, and understands the area's special appeal for British buyers: 'It has everything. It's not as built up as Spain, its beaches are way ahead of theirs and the climate is very temperate. The summers are lovely and hot, yet we still get Atlantic breezes, and it never gets particularly cold in winter.'
Many Winkworth clients are older buyers looking to permanently relocate but, increasingly, younger buyers are putting a toe in the water with pure investment purchases and plans to move permanently at a later stage. A typical budget is around pounds 250,000 which, in the popular tourist destinations in central Algarve such as Vale do Lobo and Quinta da Lago, now buys very little. It will get you more depending on how far east or west you are prepared to go.
...
