Over the last few years the Portuguese government has made dramatic infrastructural improvements aimed at foreign tourists and overseas property buyers, including the recent confirmation that a new airport is to be built near Portimao to serve the proposed motor racing circuit nearby.

Faro airport has also seen additional carousels and extensions added to cope with an increased number of European flights, particularly from the UK, and work on Lisbon's Portela airport is expected to increase capacity by 50 per cent once renovations are complete.

Improvements to the Portuguese road networks have also opened the country up to overseas tourism and property investment. "The opening of the extension to the A22 motorway in 2003 has significantly helped access to the western end of the Algarve," says Nikki Loker from the Oceânico Group. "Previously, journeys from Faro airport to Lagos and beyond could take upwards of 2.5 hours, but with the motorway now running directly to Lagos, the western Algarve can be reached within an hour of the airport. Other Portuguse roads have also been improved to take account of the increased traffic levels. Both the Government and private companies have undertaken a programme of on-going investment into the Portuguese infrastructure." 

This investment has not only come in the form of transportation improvement but in the development of quality property projects, leisure facilities and even international schools for those looking to make a permanent move to Portugal.  

 "There has been a significant building programme, not only of villas and apartments for purchase but also hotels and apartments specifically focused on the tourist industry," says Loker. "As a result there is now a wider choice of better quality Portuguese property available. With growing demand from travellers for more discerning standards, the new property accommodation is designed to provide high-quality facilities for the annual break in the sun.

The last ten years has seen the variety of Portuguese property on the market broaden and the focus switch from individual villas to apartments within self-contained complexes.

"Owners have moved towards closed condominiums with more facilities and shared communal costs," notes George Wilkinson from Vila Castelo. "The introduction of the Euro has seen a change in European buyers, with the British market taking a higher percentage of the market." Mortgages are now also available to the foreign buyer of Portuguese property. British buyers of Portuguese property are able to secure a 70 per cent loan-to-value maximum amount over up to 20 years at a typical rate of three per cent.

"Portugal has an established and mature property market that has evolved over 30 years with a responsible approach to environmental issues and planning laws," says Connie Vitto from Quadrant Overseas. Even the Algarve area, Portugal's most developed coastal strip, has been protected from over-development by controlled low density zoning and planning laws restricting the development of Portuguese property a certain number of metres from the coastline.

Away from the Algarve, other areas of the country are becoming popular with overseas buyers of Portuguese property.

 "The resorts on the Portuguese west coast have seen a strong growth in popularity over the last couple of years," says Loker. "The areas just north and south of Lisbon are currently experiencing increased levels of development, with widespread press coverage on the Silver Coast attracting interest from UK and Irish property investors."

Lisbon is also attracting interest due to its competitive Portuguese city property prices and also because of its proximity to the Silver Coast. New city-centre residential apartment blocks with views of the eastern waterfront – given a facelift for Expo 98 and renamed Parque das Naçõesmake – have attracted much interest from overseas investors over recent years, and areas around the city and within a 30-minute drive from the beach are also in high-demand. 

The Alentejo region, situated between Lisbon and the Algarve, is another Portuguese area rapidly attracting interest from foreign property buyers. The area remains underdeveloped and offers places of historical and architectural interest, such as the city of Évora, a Unesco world heritage site, old fishing villages, beach bars and restaurants and wine tasting further inland.

For those interested in the purchase of Portuguese property three-bedroom beach villas with private pools are currently on the market in Quinta da Fortaleza. The villas overlook Cabanas Velhas Bay and the Atlantic Ocean and are priced from 750,000 euros through Vigia Group.

Alternatively, two-bedroom, three-bathroom townhouses near Carvoeiro in the Central Algarve are also on the market. Situated on a full-service spa, resort they are priced from 375,000 euros through Quadrant Property.

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Article first published 30 July 2007