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Portugal s Silver Coast offers value and beaches that are quieter and more, well, Portuguese |
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HOME >> NEWS >> Portugal s Silver Coast offers value and beaches that are quieter and more, well, Portuguese |
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 Areas of coastal beauty that offer affordable property are getting harder to find. Especially if you want to avoid costly eight-hour flights to far-flung islands. The Algarve is heavily developed (and expensive), but Portugal's Silver Coast offers value and beaches that are quieter and more, well, Portuguese.
The region, to the north of the Algarve, was named after the way in which the sun glints off the sea. It stretches between Lisbon and Porto and has only opened up to visitors in the past couple of years. Budget airlines fly into both cities on a regular basis, and the new A8 motorway cuts journey times considerably. Just an hour in the car is enough to reach the capital from the coastline's sweeping beaches and pretty countryside dotted with vineyards, orchards and old villages.
The region's main urban centre, Coimbra, is a university town with lovely architecture, but overseas visitors tend to make a beeline for the area around the medieval walled town of Obidos, a Unesco heritage site with an imposing castle, whitewashed houses and cobbled streets. It's 10 minutes from the coast but overlooks a picturesque lagoon, Portugal's largest.
Getting hold of property in the town is difficult as people tend to hang on to it. But the surrounding area offers opportunities to buy farmhouses (quintas), small village cottages or apartments in newer low-rise developments.
Three- to four-bedroom family homes with a pool cost from less than £100,000 up to £300,000. Property at the lower end of the range tends not to be directly on the coast, but in the countryside, around a 10- to 20-minute drive inland. Prices climb as you approach the sea, but you can pick up nice, good-size apartments or small townhouses within walking distance of a beach for less than £100,000. These tend to have more character and be less developed than the central Algarve or the Spanish coast, and this is partly to do with government restrictions on what and where you can build.
You can also find ruined farmhouses or small country manors in need of renovation from £60,000. One British agent, Richard Ells, who now works in the region and lives in the local town of Lourinha (his is a bespoke five-bedroom house with a pool, which he bought for £210,000), says he is often "gobsmacked" at what is available. He recently viewed a rural quinta with a vineyard 25 minutes from the coast selling for £50,000. "Many properties are owned by local families," says Ells, "but as the older generation dies, the young sell them."
The Silver Coast is quiet, but some resorts are getting their first leisure complexes and large golf developments. These tend to be aimed at upmarket buyers and prices are higher as a result, with two-bed apartments in the new Vineyards development on the expanding Campo Real complex fetching £158,000.
New-build resorts promise to bring new interest and cachet to a region, and prices are predicted to double over the next five years. So even if you're opposed to new-build golf resorts, you might not object to the effect they'll have had on the value of your rural idyll in five years' time.
People who want to buy here are looking for peace and quiet, history and culture, and somewhere their money goes further. "A certain type of person prefers the Silver Coast," says Connie Vitto of Quadrant Overseas Property, who has worked in the local market for 20 years. "They are likely to want to relocate or retire and tend to be prepared to travel further afield."
Vitto has properties on her books that include an apartment in need of work costing £37,500 and a renovated two-bedroom cottage near Obidos for £56,000. She claims most people view the Algarve as a holiday environment, rather than one in which to live, but the northern coastal communities are still so unspoilt and welcoming that they're seen as a better choice for long-term living.
Another popular option with buyers is to find plots of land to build on. Suitable parcels of more than 10,000 square metres can cost from £64,000 and planning applications usually take six months. Build costs average £550 to £750 per square metre.
This is a wide and still-beautiful area, but the Atlantic coast can be chillier and windier than Spain's Mediterranean shores. There's also need to speak some Portuguese in rural areas and possibly become more relaxed in the way you approach life. But isn't that part of the appeal?
Quadrant Overseas Property: www.quadrant-property.com; 01276 507 513; Silver Coast Property: www.portugal-silver-coast.com; 08458 334 674; The Vineyards: www.premierthevineyards.co.uk; 08005 200 617
Buyers' guide
* According to agents, many buyers go to Portugal looking for property on its Mediterranean coast and are disappointed to find the country is entirely on the Atlantic.
* Remember to add around 7 per cent of the property price to the overall purchase costs. This should cover legal fees, taxes and commissions.
* Many rural properties in the Silver Coast region don't have mains utilities. Water may be from a well and electricity supplied by generator.
* The pound is at an all-time low against the euro and may drop further, making European property more costly for UK buyers. Currency conversions should be based on the latest available rate to get a clear idea of what a property will cost.
Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/ |
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International Corporate Governance
This issue explores how governance attributes are directly related to the substantial variation - across both countries and companies - in ownership, investment and valuation. |
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