Portugal still attractive to lifestyle investors

Portugal remains a promising overseas investment destination for UK homebuyers.

According to overseas property specialists PropertyInvestment.co.uk the European nation remains particularly attractive to lifestyle buyers.

"Portugal has beautiful beaches, great countryside, there is culture and architecture and there's Lisbon as well, which is just fantastic," said Ewan Mcgarrie, chief executive of PropertyInvestment.

"It is still a very popular choice for lifestyle buyers and it is also a very popular place for people to retire to."

However, the country has lost some of its allure for professional investors.

"It is harder now [to secure maximum returns]. There was always a tradition in Portugal for the seller to under-declare selling price but that has gradually been eradicated as a culture," continued Mr Mcgarrie.

"The fact that a lot of golf developers went out there meant that they packaged together huge golf developments, it is all quite expensive. This market now is not saturated but it is not stimulating the kind of demand that once it had."

However, the overdevelopment of Spain has allowed its smaller neighbour to move into the spotlight.

"Spain is obviously a bit more mixed - it is a far bigger country. Portugal, as a whole, has not suffered to the same degree as Spain in terms of large developments," explained Mr Mcgarrie.

"They are not as widespread as in Spain; some parts of Spain have just become a concrete jungle sadly."

As a result Portugal is likely to remain attractive.

"It is increasingly the case that people think with their investors cap on because some have made what they thought were good lifestyle purchases in Spain only to see those assets gradually eroded away.

"A lot of property prices in Portugal are cheaper than Spain because of the overdevelopment that has taken place in Spain," concluded Mr Mcgarrie.