With Spain being in the property news for many of the wrong reasons recently, some investors may decide that if they are not going there, they might as well avoid the Iberian Peninsula altogether. To do this, however, may be to miss out on what Portugal has to offer. According to Simon Walker, sales director for overseas property investor portal Off Plan International, there are plenty of opportunities in the country, both of the off-plan and new build variety. Listing the country as "definitely one of the alternatives" to Spain, he explained that it was unlikely to emulate the error of over development that has afflicted some regions in its neighbour. He said: "It's less likely to be overbuilt and overdeveloped, it's less likely purely because of the physical size of the country. But mistakes can be made because people jump on the bandwagon so, as always with overseas property, you need to be careful and do some good research." One obvious variation in property was between the coast and inland, with British investors tending to go for the former - where the buy-to-let holiday market is - and the latter consequently offering more bargains as demand is lower. Mr Walker listed Lagos and Albufeira as key locations in which to invest, but some may wish to consider areas that may be boosted by the increase in golf tourist facilities. This week the Independent reported that this market is still performing well in popular tourist hotspots like the Algarve, which it said has 32 golf courses and 18 more in the pipeline. The Silver Coast has also been coming to the attention of investors in recent years, but the Algarve is still in top spot. Portugal Property agency Winkworth Portugal believes this will not change, with managing director Mary Mangan telling the paper: "The Algarve is where most people work or have invested in businesses, and there's a solid established expat working community. The Silver Coast is still very much an emerging market with all that that brings with it." Overall, the increase in property prices in Portugal in recent years appears to indicate a fairly stable market. This was certainly the view of Shelter Offshore, which has reported that in the five years to 2007 the rise in prices was around 17 per cent, according to data from Portugal's national institute of statistics. While Shelter Offshore suggested this was not such great news for anyone hoping to unearth a bargain in the Algarve or the major cities of Lisbon and Porto, it suggested there was a solid and sound market, with plenty of good deals to be found in other seaside locations such as Alentejo. If Portugal as a whole is an alternative to Spain, within the country there are alternatives as well.
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