Property in the 'florida of europe' hits 'rock bottom'

Portugal’s Algarve property market appears to have bottomed out, but confidence in the future of the market is on the up, according to the latest 10-10-10 Algarve Residential Tourism Survey 2013.

Seven out of 10 Algarve property agents believe the market has hit a low and is now rising, and the latest findings reveal consumer market confidence, offers and transactions were all up in 2012 compared to 2011 and there were plenty of reasons for optimism.

Andrew Coutts, CEO of the ILM Group that draws up the survey along with Algarve surveyors Property Lynx, told OPP Connect: “After four or five years of market turmoil, these are the first signs, according to the survey findings, that clearly say that we are coming out of the bottom – but only in certain parts.

“Calling the bottom of the market is very important and then generally the more pioneering come in and are confident because they believe it is the bottom.”

The spread of overseas property buyers in the Algarve is increasing, the survey suggests. The UK still heads the list at 46%, but new buyers are coming from countries outside the core eurozone. Now, more than 40% of buyers come from around 10 countries/regions each with a 2-6% market share, including Canada, South Africa, Switzerland, France, Russia & CIS, Sweden, Norway and Benelux.

Another agent said: “The Algarve is the "Florida" of Europe - a rare gem, which Portugal seems to like to keep very secret. The government finally seems recently to notice that instead of scaring potential buyers away, they need to attract them.”

One positive move had been the changes in Portugal’s Golden Visa programme, which helped promote the country, especially in areas that already had a connection with it, such as in Portuguese-speaking nations such as Brazil and Angola. The survey was conducted during the first two weeks in February 2013 among leading real estate agents in the Algarve.