Spain is out - Portugal is in...

[DAVID-S]

Agree that Spain still has a lot to offer investors or lifestlye buyers,
It is obviously a buyers market right now & you can get some exceptional deals.
Speaking of it being cheaper in Spain than Portugal i disagree,
For instance-
Spain has -Puerto Banús,
Algarve has-Val do Lobo,Quinta do Largo
in every country you find the affluent spots (already developed)
Then the rising hot spots,
You can find very cheap property in both countries if you go to
the underdeveloped places.
The difference i think being the Portuguese governing body has always looked at Spain & learns by their mistakes & how to build on this,
No land grabs,
No illegal buildings to be knocked down,
Quality of build is to a higher standard,no extras for a garage or pool
infastructure is in place before any building permits are allocated & all insurances in case the developer goes bust.
New laws-no buildings above three floors 1Km from the beach,
no building 800meters from the beach.
We are receiving enquiries 3-4 times a week from ex-pats living in Spain who want to sell & relocate to the Algarve + Spanish naturals,
Portugal is rated 9th safest place in the World,
Thats why you don´t see security bars on the Villas & apartments here.
Voted best golf destination in Europe 9 years running,
Most blue flag awarded beaches,
As for deals on Villas 25 mins from the beach 160.000,00€ can get you
a 4 bedroom villa (220m2 construction area) plus a ruin to build 250m2,for a 4 bedroom villa with panoramic views over all the Algarve (plot ruin 700m2)
I think the secret is staying away from the touristic areas if you want to get a bargain or for investment you need to be able to rent it year round so more so you need to be near the center of a tourist trap town.
P.s i do go to Spain everyear Seirra Nevada above Malaga,(snowboarding)as its nearer than Serra da Estrella-5 hours from Albufeira.
Good luck to everyone investing in Spain or Portugal.
I am ex-londoner residing in the Algarve for 18 years,

[broomrider]

Hello, Central Portugal is lush and green. Full of forests, hills and vales. Little troubled with tourists, who, in the main, want pubs, clubs, shopping and beaches yuk. There are hundreds of small rural villages to explore, with views to die for. The roads can be virtually empty. The people are kind, generous and work extremely hard to live. The small towns have everything required, including market days. If people could just stop a minute, searching for that materialistic thrill all the time and slow down. Central Portugal is the place. I could go on and on, but I dont want to encourage you all here do I.

[Seb Lacroix]

In my opinion Spain and Portugal are two very different markets. I have been in Spain for one year ( Barcelona ) and have travel around Spain. But what I can say about POrtugal is that it is still less touristic than Spain ( except the Algarve area ).

In Portugal even if the market is down it's nothing like Spain, don't have here all the illegal building problems that Spain is facing.

In Portugal you still have many oportunities to buy in the countryside, near the Atlanticborder.

I do love Spain, but as I decided to live in Portugal it's for some reasons, sun, cheap, properties potential ( rebuilding, lofts, renting etc...)


Enjoy Portugal

[lena green]

Morning All,

There is a good deal of comparisons going on here between Portugal and Spain but there is one thing you should know. The Spanish developers are moving here in droves.
One area what was a predominantly Portuguese development area, Cabanas, is now nearly all Spanish Developer owned. And why do the come here?
Large tracts of land with planning permissions are less costly than Spain. With the Spanish brining in their own men and own material from over the border (nearby) they can make a killing.

Many Portuguese from 'up north' own second homes in this area and throughout the Algarve and more sales are made locally than to foreigners. Also, property here, once built, stays built, we don’t move the goalposts a few years down the line and pull peoples villas down or build illegally, resulting in the same outcome.

You will find things in Portugal, stress free and a good investment. Spain is on its way out and Portugal is already in.
Also, it has been stated the Spanish are not as easy to get along with as the Portuguese.
There are pro’s and con’s for both places but Portugal has a very long standing relationship with the UK and that bodes well with local mentalities. Remember the Armada !! if we`d lost that battle, the UK would be full of Spanish Type Villas now and I would be eating Spanish Pie-Ella for Sunday lunch and not roast beef and spuds.!
If anyone requires info on Portugal, I live here and have first hand knowledge on where to invest to get a good ROI with attractive rentals.

The area around Silves has just undergone a major transformation with 100 million Grant from the EU, there is also a major world top class golf course just being finished now. All property practically sold out....500 of them and yes they may appear expensive at 4000 a metre but so is a Rolls Royce at 50,000+ a metre. Depends what you can afford, second class or quality.

At the present time its a buyers market in Portugal and there’s plenty about to buy if you know where to go…..and I do.

[Stefan]

Hi Australian Investor
The difference between spain and Portugal is obvious and the proof for that are many, one of them is that the Spanish are comming over to Portugal to invest. The Spanish market is known for: High density, low quality, Small units and low security (just to take a few example). I know that there are exeptions but this is generally how the market is in Spain and the main reason is the difference in the Building law (or how they practise it) in both countries. Portugal is known for low density, high quality and larger units (you get more m2 for your money). There are of course exepetions here as well but they are few.
Would I invest in Portugal today? No! I would wait till October - November, that will be the time when you have many units out for sale (that have been rented duirng the peak season) and also here the Vendors will realise that next years rental will be a disaster for many. The market will pick up late 2009 or early 2010, than you will be one of many that want to invest. This means that the vendors will have the indications by spring 2009 and wait to sell at that point (if my theory is correct???). So we can only speculate, but my oppinion is based on observing and talking to the network of investors that works cross Europe.

Good Luck

[lena green]

Hi there, this is a warning, please stop telling eveyone how great Portugal is. There are 2 million people in the UK looking for homes abroad and if they all came here ( I live here) I would never be able to get served at the bar!!
Yes, we do have fab beaches, but please keep it a secret they`re full enough already and don't tell anyone about our fish restaurants, fresh caught delicious but not enough to feed two million.....and our sunshine is permanently out...........out of the question for foreigners as we want it to ourselves.
Our villas, apartments and golfcourses are for us, not to share, so please don't come, I hate waiting to 'T 'off and don't want you livin' next door to me unless your nice. (which you probably are but I`m in the bar and don't have the time to get to know you).
Coming to live in Portugal is not an easy transition so give it some serious thought. You will have to forsake things you are accustomed to which could cause great stress on you, think carefully. You will be living without your current job and will have to get used to lying on the beach all day (not easy). You will have to adjust to cheap alcohol (difficult) you will have to drive very carefully, we have no speed cameras to help you break the laws, you'll really miss your home being broken into regularly (we can help you there). Your rubbish will be removed so regularly, they take it away before its put out, as much as you like and I know you will have a problem with this. The low taxes will bamboozle you, you'll think the friendly people are after something, they are......your friendship nothing more and you won't believe you get change every time you tender a tenner....lots of it.
So, with all these difficulties, I suggest you all stay away from Portugal its a best kept secret which we are'nt telling anyone about, especially that Sir Cliff Richards has been here since the sixties, grows his own wine and is a great hit. He's on a permanent 'Summer Holiday' and so am I. There just ain't no space left. Go away.
Ps. The wine is a problem as well, we grow our own and its very inexpensive and totally addictive, so beware of Portugal and what it has to offer, you may find if you ever get here, you never want to go home again.............

[Stefan]

I agree completely

Originally Posted by lena green

Hi there, this is a warning, please stop telling eveyone how great Portugal is. There are 2 million people in the UK looking for homes abroad and if they all came here ( I live here) I would never be able to get served at the bar!!
Yes, we do have fab beaches, but please keep it a secret they`re full enough already and don't tell anyone about our fish restaurants, fresh caught delicious but not enough to feed two million.....and our sunshine is permanently out...........out of the question for foreigners as we want it to ourselves.
Our villas, apartments and golfcourses are for us, not to share, so please don't come, I hate waiting to 'T 'off and don't want you livin' next door to me unless your nice. (which you probably are but I`m in the bar and don't have the time to get to know you).
Coming to live in Portugal is not an easy transition so give it some serious thought. You will have to forsake things you are accustomed to which could cause great stress on you, think carefully. You will be living without your current job and will have to get used to lying on the beach all day (not easy). You will have to adjust to cheap alcohol (difficult) you will have to drive very carefully, we have no speed cameras to help you break the laws, you'll really miss your home being broken into regularly (we can help you there). Your rubbish will be removed so regularly, they take it away before its put out, as much as you like and I know you will have a problem with this. The low taxes will bamboozle you, you'll think the friendly people are after something, they are......your friendship nothing more and you won't believe you get change every time you tender a tenner....lots of it.
So, with all these difficulties, I suggest you all stay away from Portugal its a best kept secret which we are'nt telling anyone about, especially that Sir Cliff Richards has been here since the sixties, grows his own wine and is a great hit. He's on a permanent 'Summer Holiday' and so am I. There just ain't no space left. Go away.
Ps. The wine is a problem as well, we grow our own and its very inexpensive and totally addictive, so beware of Portugal and what it has to offer, you may find if you ever get here, you never want to go home again.............

[lena green]

yes Portugal is more expensive but we don`t come in with a bulldozer and flatten your prized possession after a few years because it was illegally built although the documentation is real. Portugal has fab weather here on the Alargarve all year round, I know because I live here and if a home is needed at the right price see these <snip>Spain can`t beat that, plus its that much in debt it will probably be repossessed next month though who`d want it I don`t know. There are more empty flats in Spain than there were after the 'A' bomb hit Hiroshima !!