Faro Property

1n the year 2004 there was a radical change in the taxation laws in Portugal which meant that foreign buyers could no longer purchase property there via an offshore company which enabled them to save thousands of pounds in tax. This was met with a great deal of resistance and naturally gave rise to concern that it would seriously damage the housing market, and in particular the second home purchases in the Algarve region.

Happily this has not proved the case as the market is still very strong with the Algarve riding high and prices still increasing significantly with demand keeping pace with supply.

The real estate market here has been stable for the past 20 years and looks likely to remain so for the foreseeable future, with villas and apartments offering an excellent medium to long term investment opportunity.

So why does Portugal, and the Algarve in particular, continue to be so attractive to both holidaymakers, investors and those looking to buy their dream home abroad? This can be attributed to several factors: property prices here are still lower than in the most popular regions of France and Spain: it is not expensive to fly here with a large number of cheap flights to choose from with airlines constantly under cutting and offering special deals: and the opening of the Via do Infante, which took twelve years to complete, and has provided a fast toll and congestion free route across the entire Algarve region from Villa Real to St Antonio do Lagos.

Add to this the fact that the Algarve offers 200 kms of coastline, 3000 hours of sunshine every year (which is more than Florida gets), a low crime rate, no threat of terrorism (unlike Spain or Florida), low pollution, strict planning regulations protecting the region from over development, a regulated and easy to follow property purchase process and not forgetting 24 excellent golf courses!