For a long time now, the eastern Algarve has been a big draw for tourists and holidaymakers eager to explore its sleepy port towns, traditional cuisine and white, unspoilt beaches. It’s also long been attractive to overseas investors, drawn by the Algarve’s natural beauty, world-class golf courses and excellent climate.
According to Monte Rei, Portugal’s Algarve coast is one of the most popular second-home destinations in Europe, with the country quickly becoming the destination of choice for international property investors.
The eastern Algarve, unlike other regions in Portugal, has been largely shielded from over-development in order to maintain its traditional character and charm. There are incentives for buyers, too, with Golden Visas, the Non-Habitual Resident (NHR) tax regime and a growing economy all providing compelling reasons for investors to invest.
With political and economic uncertainty continuing to surround Brexit, UK investors will be keen to grab a rung on the Portuguese property ladder to ensure a Golden Visa. The citizenship legislation – which offers a permanent residency visa for those who invest, typically through the purchase of a property, a certain amount of money in the issuing country - was reduced from six years to five last year, making it even more attractive to prospective investors whose end goal is a European passport.
The Golden Visa scheme, which launched in 2012, grants investors a residency permit if they invest €500,000 or more, transfer a certain amount of capital or create a minimum number of jobs. Investors only need to spend on average 7 days per year in Portugal to qualify, with investments nearly always made within the property sector. Monte Rei’s real estate offerings meet the investment threshold required to make a person eligible for the Golden Visa.
Since the scheme launched, over 7,291 residence permits have been granted to non-EU residents, with some 6,879 opting to purchase real estate.
The NHR regime, meanwhile, makes Portugal one of Europe’s most tax-friendly destinations for foreigners, with a 20% flat rate for certain Portuguese source incomes from specific professions, as well as income from self-employment. This is as opposed to normal Portuguese income tax rates of up to 48%. The NHR, which is valid for 10 years, also enables anyone who hasn’t been resident in the country for the past five years to be eligible to receive pension income, rental income, capital gains on real estate and non-Portuguese income tax-free.
What’s more, investors in Portugal can benefit from an absence of wealth tax, inheritance tax and gift tax, all of which could help to make investment more lucrative.
Why does Portugal appeal?
Favourable weather nearly all-year round, a low cost of living compared to some of its European neighbours, high levels of safety and easy access to Europe and beyond are all factors in Portugal’s reputation as an investment hotspot.
Faro International Airport, not so long ago small in size and stature, has now become a regional hub and recently underwent a €32 million refurbishment to increase terminal capacity, modernise the airport’s infrastructure and improve the passenger experience. The hope is that this will bring many new investment opportunities to the region.
The eastern Algarve, in particular, offers the chance to experience two countries with ease. It sits perfectly along the border with Spain and allows seamless travel between the two countries, with Tavira – a typically charming Algarvian town – less than a one-and-half-hour drive from the historic city of Seville on the Spanish side.
What does Monte Rei offer buyers?
Set between the Serra do Caldeirão Mountains and the Atlantic Ocean, Monte Rei Golf and Country Club offers purchasers an array of attractive Clubhouse residences. These include two and three-bed apartments, penthouses and villas, as well as plots of land allowing buyers to employ their own architects and builders. Equally, buyers can work closely with Monte Rei’s experienced in-house team of architects, designers and project managers to create the home of their dreams.
Additional facilities include high-end dining, 24/7 concierge service, swimming pool, gym, tennis courts and a children's play area, while the golf offering at Monte Rei is ‘unrivalled in the region’.
Monte Rei recently started construction on its South Course, which – once complete - will be another 18-hole Jack Nicklaus Signature Course. It will make Monte Rei one in a select list of clubs worldwide to have two Jack Nicklaus Signature courses.
To find out more about the Clubhouse residences and the various residential amenities on offer, you can click here.
With the increasing likelihood of a no-deal Brexit, Portugal – heavily dependent on tourism from the British Isles – recently announced special arrangements for UK tourists to ease disruption if a crash-out exit happens.
Britain and Portugal also have one of the oldest and strongest alliances of any two nations in the world, with the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance - or Aliança Inglesa in Portuguese - ratified at the Treaty of Windsor in 1386. This, and the tourism boom of the last few decades, has meant close ties between the two countries, with a sizeable Portuguese community in the UK and a large British expat community in the Algarve, as well as a deep relationship when it comes to property and investment.
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