Property Investment Goes Mad On Madeira

Madeira has a few claims to fame despite the famous wine and cake.The world’s most expensive footballer – Christiano Ronaldo was born on the island.  His family still live there and his sister runs CR7, a clothing shop, in the capital Funchal.To Brits, that’s the second most famous fact about the island – the first being how to peace and quiet and relaxing subtropical climate makes Madeira a winter haunt of, shall we say, more mature sun seekers.

Madeira may be Portuguese governed, but the life and style harp back to the ripping yarn days of the British Empire.Perched atop an undersea mountain standing on the seabed 2000 metres below the surface, the capital Funchal is home to most of the island’s population.But the island’s popularity is now spreading to younger tourists and Madeira property investors, who demand more modern property and infrastructure, so Madeira is changing fast.

New developments of architect designed holiday resorts are clustering around Funchal. Many have futuristic style and fabulous ocean views that are encouraging a new generation to explore the delights of Madeira. Always a favourite of the British, the island has a large ex-pat population and many holiday property owners come from the UK.

Azulara,  which is on a steep hillside, will be a resort of apartments and villas with terraces that have wondrous views of Funchal.The one- to four-bed properties cost from £222,000. Many will be put to work as holiday rentals, a relatively new concept to Madeira.If you want to go more upmarket, four-bedroom villas with a pool on a golf estate come with a £1 million price tag.

Each property comes with an en-suite bathroom. The two and three beds also come with their own private veranda.The development itself has been expertly sculpted into the surrounding landscape with the apartments designed to make maximum use of natural light.The position of the resort allows the inhabitant exquisite 180 degree sea views from Funchal Bay to Camara Do Lobos. The apartments come with full air-conditioning, underground parking spaces, excellent management services and security systems.

As part of Portugal, Madeira has a Euro-based currency and allows UK property investors the same rights as any other EU country.Getting there is easy with direct flights from many UK airports and mainland Europe. Owners must pay an annual property tax of 0.7% of the assessed value of property and transfer tax is 8 to 10%.