By Pedro Rodriguez
Expert Author

Portugal has enjoyed a steady increase in the number of foreign buyers over the past 10 years or so. Property prices have risen steadily. Portugal and the Algarve in particular saw a huge rise in property investment.

Portuguese buyers are very cautious right now due to the economy of the country and are not buying as they used to.

The forecast for the Portuguese market is not very optimistic for the foreseeable future.

The foreign investors however are still looking towards Portugal as a sound investment base for property purchase. New quality developments in all parts of the Algarve have raised the standard of construction and there is a healthy competition amongst property developers trying to satisfy the demand for good locations and quality design and finishing’s.

The top end of the market is to be found in Vale de Lobo and Quinta de Lago. Huge investments especially in this particular area have proofed extremely successful. But you do need a few Million Euros to find a home, which may be outside most people’s budget.

The new marina of Albufeira has also attracted a great deal of new developments but represents a totally different market to the above. The price of properties is measured there in the thousands rather than Millions of Euros.

It is quite unusual to have two so different property markets in the same country. For obvious reasons the great majority of Portuguese buyers are unable to purchase properties at the price level the foreign buyers can afford to do.

This situation offers new opportunities for the foreign buyer to purchase a villa or an apartment in a “less popular area” (in the opinion of non Portuguese) for a more realistic price. The desirable property locations, as is very often the case, are often quite artificial and depend quite frequently on the flavor the time. As a result the prices are in no way realistic, and often bear no resemblance to true market value.

About the Author:
Pedro Rodriguez was born in Valencia and has spent his early professional with Woodstock Homes PLC. For the past 18 years he worked in commercial and residential Real Estate. He is now involved in the publicity and advertising of properties which are for sale direct from the owners. Our site can offer you some further information and insight on buying or selling a property or business in Portugal. http://www.sellandbuydirect.com