Once viewed as a favourite retirement haven for Brits, the region is now attracting younger buyers
The Algarve, once mostly a preferred destination among retired or older British citizens, is becoming increasingly popular among younger British buyers and families. So says a recent article by the UK’s Evening Standard, which has looked into the reasons behind this recent shift.
“As well as its well-established flow of holidaymakers and retirees, the Algarve is becoming a destination for younger buyers and families from the UK. And this is fuelling new development,” the newspaper reports.
“More and more, we’re seeing a mix of demographics,” Patricia Casaburi at Global Citizen Solutions, an organisation which helps people buy and move abroad, told the Evening Standard, which reports that around 30% of the organisation’s clients looking to move to Portugal are British.
“In the last five years, the number of international schools (in Portugal) tripled, which is a huge indicator. They all have waiting lists.”
Casaburi added: “Other things you see are new gyms, coffee places – more co-working spaces. There are a lot of new developments coming out, like co-working and co-living spaces. The Algarve is not just golf courses anymore.”
British citizens interested in the Algarve are not only getting younger but also looking more frequently for permanent moves.
“We have always had a lot of British clients. In the beginning, they were only buying property, whereas now we have a bigger percentage of British clients that are doing the Golden Visa or another legal migration process – either to relocate here or to plan for the future,” Casaburi told the paper.
The fact that flying between the UK and Portugal is easy and that both countries are in the same timezone also makes the region more attractive to younger Brits.
“The cherry on the cake is that, after five years of legal residency in Portugal, you are able to apply for a Portuguese passport,” said Casaburi, adding that this has boosted visa applications.
“Some people move for the weather, some move for the possibility of an EU passport.”
The article goes on to single out the resort town of Vilamoura and the new inland Ombria resort as two of the locations attracting the most interest.
In Vilamoura, the Covid-19 pandemic led to a “boom in second home purchases, with more buyers working remotely,” the article says.
“Likewise, buyers who had bought future retirement properties began putting them to use earlier,” said Pedro Reimão, CEO of Vilamoura World, the group that operates many of the resort’s assets.
While Vilamoura’s biggest market has always been Portuguese buyers (around 50%), followed by Brits (30%), the resort is also seeing “greater international interest, particularly from Americans, Canadians and Brazilians.”
Meanwhile at Ombria, the resort’s focus on sustainability is also described as a “reflection of changing buyer demand.
“We have seen a drastic change in buyer priorities over the past years as consumers have become increasingly aware of the environmental challenges our planet is facing,” said Ombria CCO João Richard Costa. “The majority of our buyers put greater emphasis on sustainability.”
“Like Vilamoura, Ombria is seeing a rise in younger investors and businesspeople looking to work remotely. At Ombria, though, there is a higher proportion of international buyers, particularly from the UK, Netherlands, France, Germany and the US,” the article adds.
The full article, titled ‘The Algarve is not just golf courses anymore’: How Portugal’s retirement haven is getting younger’, can be read online at www.standard.co.uk.
