Algarve property - Algarve property for sale

Algarve and property

Stretching approximately 100 miles across Portugal’s southern coast, the Algarve is the country’s Blue Riband destination. It enjoys over 300 days of sunshine annually, low rainfall and temperatures that reach a manageable 35C in summer and generally not less than a bearable 16C in winter. Unsurprisingly, it’s home to a cosmopolitan bunch of northern European “snow birds”, tempted south in search of winter sun and more golf courses than you can shake a stick at.

The central Algarve is golf nirvana. There are a dozen or so courses from which to choose – including Vale Do Lobo, Vilamoura and Vila Sol – on each of which it’s possible to buy and apartment or villa. Prices range from around the £200,000 mark for a one-bedroom apartment on a golf development, rising to £1 million and more for a villa, be that a “self” built one having first purchased a plot, or buying a new one off-plan, or even a resale.

New properties tend to be easier to find than re-sale properties, which often sell exceptionally quickly. The trouble is that even new properties are usually sold before a development is completed, meaning high prices. Most Britons prefer to buy on high-profile golf resorts such as Vale do Lobo and Quinta do Lago, which make excellent buy-to-let purchases. A small apartment elsewhere on the Algarve will set you back around £80,000 to £100,000.

Areas on the central Algarve worth having a look at if your budget is limited include Albufeira, situated around a 40-minute drive from Faro International airport. Home to a pretty town centre that leads down to an attractive beach through a dramatic cliff face, it is, to be honest, a little overwhelmed by British tourists in high season, but you can’t cock a snoot at the prices.

Albufeira is a long-established haunt for holidaymakers from the UK, and with over 300 days of sunshine a year, it’s a reliable best for a zap of weekend sunshine. Although there’s a taste of old Portugal in the narrow streets that weave down to the main square on the old part of town, tourism has a firm grip on the resort, bringing an array of European-style bars and restaurants concentrated in the Arelas de Sao Joao. During the summer months tourists flock to the area for the golf, blue-flag beaches (more than anywhere else in the Algarve) and temperatures that can hit 31C in the hottest months of July and August.

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Over half of the golfers that come to this nirvana of greens are Brits, with three main golfing centres offering spectacular courses: Salagados Golf Course, Pine Cliffs and Balaia Golf Village. Although a popular holiday spot, property price rises have been modest over the past year. While it doesn’t promise the huge returns in capital growth that some of the emerging markets do, Portugal has a strong rental sector due to the small army of Brits that holiday in the Algarve each year.

In the other direction, westwards – reached in an hour or so from Faro Airport thanks to the completion of the motorway network – is the significant town of Lagos. The largest city of note on the western Algarve, it has a strong seafaring heritage and grew rich in the 17th and 18th centuries on the treasures brought back from the “new found lands” in the east. Today, buying a property there need not break the bank – property for sale around €100,000 (£69,000) will buy a studio or one-bedroom apartment in one of several developments.

Airports: Lisbon/Porto/Faro International