There are countless good reasons to buy a property in Portugal: high build quality, dawn-to-dusk cloudless skies, superb golfing facilities, low cost of living, cheap flights, consistent capital growth, excellent rental possibilities... No wonder that it repeatedly ranks amongst A Place in the Sun's top-three investment locations.

In May 2008, it was stated that Spain is being overlooked and buyers are instead looking towards the more authentic experience in Portugal.

 

During the Renaissance and the Voyages of Discovery, Portugal was one of the greatest nations on earth, with a trading empire than stretched from Asia to the Americas. Portugal's imperial heritage is visible to this day in its monuments and fabulous architecture, but until it joined the EU in 1986 it was an urchin on the doorstep of Europe.
 
Since then, its per capita income has risen from around half the European average to more than 75 per cent and rising. It has also poured generous EU grants into its rural economy for roads and other facilities, which today not only benefit native farmers... but also foreigners buying property amidst the citrus groves and whitewashed villages.

 

Not all buyers opt for rural idylls, though. In fact, something like 90 per cent of all property purchases made by foreigners are in the highly developed Algarve; the best part of 50,000 properties there are British owned.

If value for money is paramount, the stretch of Atlantic known as the Silver Coast, or Lisbon Coast (often labelled 'the real Portugal') is not as developed as the south, but it does have great beaches, atmospheric towns, and properties that are significantly less than similar examples on the Algarve. Finally, the 'Green Coast', in the extreme north of the country, is getting noticed for its spectacular verdant valleys, and the cheapest prices of all.

 

Location

 

Portugal is bordered by Spain to the North and East, and by the Atlantic Ocean to the South and West. Cape St Vincent is also known as "The Edge of the World" as it is the outer-most part of Europe.

 

Climate

 

In Northwest Portugal the winters are mild with fairly short summers. The northeast has longer winters and hot summers. In Southern Portugal the summers are warm with very little rain except in early spring and autumn.

 

Language

 

Portuguese however English is well-known.

 

For more information on Portugal and its background, take a look at Mission Impossible 2  and Visit Portugal!