An overview of the real estate market of the Algarve (Portugal)

The coast of the Algarve is washed by the Atlantic Ocean and stretches for about 150 km. The tourist season lasts longer here than in other regions of the country, as it is the southernmost part of Portugal. The high season here starts at the end of April and lasts until October. In 2013, 69 beaches of the Algarve were awarded the Blue Flag. In addition, the region has received five World Travel Awards tourism Oscars this year, including Best Golf Destination. In summer, the weather in this region is quite comfortable - there is no sweltering heat, and in winter the air temperature does not drop below + 15C. Visitors don't just come to the Algarve in summer. Thanks to the pleasant year-round climate and well-developed golfing infrastructure, many Europeans come here in winter. The Algarve is considered the European capital of golf. How to get To the city of Faro, which is the administrative center of the Algarve region, direct flights from Moscow are carried out only in the summer, and this direction is served by the airline "Transaero". Faro can also be reached with a transfer in Lisbon. Direct regular flights from Moscow to the capital of Portugal are operated by TAP Portugal and S7. In addition, Faro is easily accessible with connections to other European cities. The most convenient connecting flights are via Frankfurt (Lufthansa), Amsterdam (KLM) and Barcelona (Iberia). The Algarve real estate market is the second most expensive real estate region in Portugal. The most expensive housing in the country is sold in Lisbon . In the capital of Portugal, the average cost per square meter, according to the portal Global Property Guide, in the second quarter of this year was 1251 euros, in the Algarve - 1222 euros. The average cost of real estate in Portugal in June 2013 was 1,014 euros per sq. m. After several years of decline, which began after the financial crisis of 2008, the real estate market in Portugal, including the Algarve, weakened. As in other resorts of the country, housing prices began to fall here, although not as sharply as in popular Spanish resorts. In the country as a whole, since 2008, real estate has fallen in price by 30%, and in the luxury segment - by 15-20%. From a peak in 2007 to the second quarter of 2013, prices in the Algarve fell by about 22%. The construction sector in the Algarve is practically frozen. From January to September 2012, the number of transactions decreased by about 30% compared to the same period in 2011. Banks continue to restrict the issuance of mortgage loans, so most of the properties here are bought without the help of a loan. To stimulate the country's housing market, in October 2012, the Portuguese authorities introduced a program that allows foreigners to obtain a residence permit in exchange for purchasing real estate worth 500,000 euros or more. Thanks to innovations in the first half of 2013, home sales began to increase at the expense of foreign buyers. In the Algarve, about 60% of property buyers are foreigners. Traditionally, British, citizens of the Scandinavian countries, Germany and Italy buy housing here, but thanks to the emergence of a residence permit program when buying real estate worth 500,000 euros or more, the number of buyers from China and Russia has begun to increase here. To date, the most popular real estate in the Algarve is used by residents of France and Belgium. The tough tax stance of the French government has revived the Portuguese property market very much. Geography of the offer You can buy a studio apartment in the Algarve on the coast from 60,000 euros, townhouses with three bedrooms cost from 220,000 euros, and the cost of detached houses or villas starts from 450,000 euros. Among buyers, of particular interest is the purchase of townhouses or apartments in gated residential complexes located next to golf courses. The cost of such townhouses starts from 350,000 euros. There are residential complexes not only within cities, but also along the entire coast, they form a kind of micro-districts. The most famous resorts of the southern coast are Albufeira, Portimo, Vilamoura, Vale do Lobo, Quinta do Lago. In the eastern part of the Algarve, real estate is slightly cheaper compared to the western one. Albufeira is rightfully considered the tourist capital of the whole of Portugal - most of the visitors to the Algarve come here in the summer season. This ancient resort and port city is one of the most attractive holiday destinations in the Algarve, located in the central part of the region. In Albufeira, real estate costs 1200-1500 euros per sq. m, luxury housing - 2500 euros. In Vilamoura , which is located between Faro and Albufeira, there are five world-class golf courses, as well as an excellent infrastructure for recreation, which has water parks, shops, restaurants. Spacious apartments in Vilamoura will cost from 175,000 euros. Portimo is one of the most popular and fastest growing resorts in high demand among Russian buyers. There are magnificent beaches, the only port in the Algarve where cruise ships call, a large number of restaurants and discos, casinos, etc. The resorts of Quinta do Lago, Vale do Lobo and Almancil, which are home to a large number of Britons, represent the so-called Golden Triangle of Portugal - the most expensive and prestigious area of this region. The cost per square meter here varies from 2,000 to 3,000 euros, and elite housing costs an average of 3,500 euros. In Vale do Lobo, for example, you can find a two-bedroom apartment for 250,000-400,000 euros, a new townhouse with three bedrooms - for 500,000-700,000 euros. The city of Lagos is one of the most affordable in the western part of the Algarve - a two-room apartment here costs about 100,000 euros, and a house can be bought for 300,000 euros. In the eastern part of the Algarve region, a one-bedroom apartment costs approximately 70,000 - 90,000 euros, and a villa - 300,000 euros. HomesOverseas.ru would like to thank Marina Leifer from Best Homes of Portugal and Irina Polyanskaya from Status Home for their participation in the preparation of this article.