Opportunities exist in Portugal's rural housing market
Britons have a good chance of being able to uncover a gem when looking to buy property in Portugal.
That is the view of Emma Brunton, author of the blog Emma's House in Portugal, who said residential real estate prices in the country have fallen to the level they were at five years ago and, in some cases, are even lower.
This means there are plenty of "great bargains" waiting to be discovered by opportunistic overseas buyers.
One of the most noticeable trends of the current recession - which has hit Portugal hard - is that some families are willing to sell plots of land and disused properties to supplement their incomes.
These can be snapped up by overseas buyers and used as an investment property or as a holiday home.
Difficulties in the Portuguese market are certainly not a unique trend right now, with the recent Global House Price Index by Knight Frank showing the year to March 2012 was the weakest in terms of real estate value growth since the depths of the recession in 2009.
That is the view of Emma Brunton, author of the blog Emma's House in Portugal, who said residential real estate prices in the country have fallen to the level they were at five years ago and, in some cases, are even lower.
This means there are plenty of "great bargains" waiting to be discovered by opportunistic overseas buyers.
One of the most noticeable trends of the current recession - which has hit Portugal hard - is that some families are willing to sell plots of land and disused properties to supplement their incomes.
These can be snapped up by overseas buyers and used as an investment property or as a holiday home.
Difficulties in the Portuguese market are certainly not a unique trend right now, with the recent Global House Price Index by Knight Frank showing the year to March 2012 was the weakest in terms of real estate value growth since the depths of the recession in 2009.
PUBLISHED : 13TH JUNE 2012
