Heat Is On Portugal Property Sales

The Met Office and recession are to blame for a massive fall in British tourist bookings – but the UK’s washout summer has boosted sales of property in Algarve, Portugal,The Met Office promised a ‘barbecue summer’ to stay-at-home Brits suffering from pressure on spending from the credit crunch, so many decided to stay at home and enjoy the heat wave instead of booking abroad.

Chief meteorologist at the Met Office, Ewen McCallum promised in the spring: “This year will be much drier than normal. Get the BBQ out. Spells will probably reach 30 Celsius.”As a result of the Met Office musings and tightening up on spending, 10 million fewer Brits are going abroad for holidays and bookings in the Algarve dropped 43% in the first three months of the year.Other popular holiday areas have also suffered – with Italy down 27%, Spain down 26% and France down 13%.

The Brits that have braved the Algarve have had perfect weather while those remaining at home have spent their time off dodging showers on mainly overcast days.Meanwhile the average temperature this year on the Algarve has been 72 degrees Fahrenheit – with a low of 60 in January and a high of 82 in July.

In fact our miserable summers have led to a boost for inquiries in Portugal, according to international real estate consultants Property Frontiers – with a popular development with British buyers being Condominio-Panorama, Lagos.The apartments are built high on suburban hills overlooking Lagos and with impressive views over the city and out to sea.

The newly released development is low risk for expats looking to retire or second homers as the flats are already completed and ready to move in, so there is no ‘off plan’ risk of the project halting.Prices start at £242,000, are 20% below market value and the developer will give the purchaser 7% cash back to cover purchase taxes for two-bedroom apartments. Other larger properties include three-bed apartments, duplexes and penthouse suites.

Lagos is one most popular Algarve areas with a variety of activities and attractions for all age groups.The Algarve is easy to reach from most UK airports on budget flights, with a flying time of about three hours to the largest local airport at Faro.