While neighbour Spain suffers from a catastrophic property downturn, Portugal continues to prosper by focusing its appeal on an increasingly upmarket clientele.
Prince Edward tip-toed into trouble recently when he went to the Algarve to present Duke of Edinburgh awards to local children.
His visit - paid for by developer Andre Jourdan - was seen as a publicity stunt for Jourdan's latest development, The Residences, in the purpose-built resort area of Vilamoura.
Upmarket: High-spec developments in Portugal, such as those in the Vale do Lobo resort, are popular
The Residences is the newest and smartest development in the Algarve, intended to provide everything you need on site - from several championship golf courses on your doorstep, shops (yet to be built), property management and spa and restaurant facilities.
It is one of a number of Algarve developments looking to entice those who still have money to spend.
It is also the first development in Portugal to embrace the concept of privately owned apartments managed by a five-star hotel, in this case the Tivoli Hotel, including discounted access to the hotel's facilities and a managed rental scheme.
Stuart Robson, chairman of a Newcastle-based advertising company, and his wife Denise have traded up to a three-bed penthouse in The Residences from the timeshare they had in the longestablished Vale do Lobo golf resort.
'We found that Vale do Lobo has become overpopulated,' says Stuart. 'Portugal was becoming very much our second home, and we had been looking for four or five years to buy something. We thought we wanted a villa.'
When the properties were nearly built, however, they looked again.
'We realised we didn't want to worry about a management company. We just wanted to lock up and leave. And with the concierge service here, it's like having your own apartment in a five-star hotel.'
The Robsons paid 'around £508,000' for their apartment, and developers claim the whole development is 80 per cent sold.
But this includes investors who bought and are looking to resell, which suggests room for negotiation.
If you join the rental scheme, run by the Tivoli Hotel, it markets your property in return for 50 per cent of the return.
The Robsons also pay a service charge of about £4,500 a year. The Residences have a spacious feel, both in the apartments - with 10ft ceilings and 8ft windows - and in the landscaped and pool areas.
The Portuguese have generally been more discerning about over-development than the Spanish - with ever-tightening planning restraints.
Nothing built now in the seaside area is higher than three storeys, and provision of green space has to be taken into account.
No building can be closer than 500 metres to the sea front. In the more developed heart of the Algarve, some areas are not a pretty sight - particularly in Albufeira, with its infamous 'strip' and all its fish-and-chip shops.
But even here the focus has changed. The Eden development, planned for completion in 2011, is a classier proposition.
Being built by Grupo Duarte on the edge of Albufeira, Eden also has a hotel tie-in - with Radisson.
It has one and two-bedroom apartments, three-bedroom townhouses and four-bedroom villas. Prices start at £230,000.
Elsewhere, the Vale das Flores development, under construction in Vale do Lobo, with its pools, spas and sports complexes, also has a hotel on site - Le Meridien Dona Filipa - although it does not have any direct involvement with the development.
Prices are from £390,000 for a one-bedroom flat to around £1.5 million for a villa.
For these and more properties www.ExclusiveAlgarveVillas.com
Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment