Villas for Sale Villa Designs Holiday Rentals Amenities Spa & Wellness Location Village & Community Contact

Archive for 'Property'

Top 10 reasons to relocate to Portugal’s Western Algarve

1. Climate

3,000 hours of sunshine per year, cooling ocean breezes to moderate the summer heat, and seasonal rainfall all contribute to a great climate. No wonder Andalusians have been snapping up holiday homes in the area!

Boca-de-rio-beach-2

Boca de Rio Beach
 


Read more

Is there a “value premium” in sustainably built homes?

Quantitative research has been lacking to support this contention. However, as reported in award winning US blog Jetson Green, recent research conducted by the Earth Advantage Institute, an Oregon-based non-profit organization, found that new homes with a green certification (US Green Building Council’s LEED in this instance), sold for 8 per cent more than new homes without a certification. Moreover, existing homes with a green certification sold for 30 per cent more than homes without such a certification. The research was carried out in several districts in Washington, Oregon, and was based on sales between 1 May, 2010 and 30 April, 2011. While there were differences from district to district, the overall results strongly supported the notion that both new and existing homes with a green certification have higher sale values.

Adobe_cornerfast cash loans today

The contribution made by thermal mass is not fully recognised


Read more

No shortage of finance for Portuguese property purchases

Despite the general slow-down in the Portuguese property market, there are plenty of lenders ready and able to finance purchases by non-residents. However, the loan-to-value (LTV) ratios are lower and the interest spreads are higher than a couple of years ago, with affordability is a key issue.

Vila_183_A

Yours for 25% down


Read more

British family opt for eco home in AlmaVerde, Portugal

Increasingly buying a property overseas for environmental reasons is becoming the norm and that’s exactly what the Keet family did when purchasing their four-bedroom home in AlmaVerde, Western Algarve.

167_Ext2

Read more

Buying a second home in the Algarve

Case study: Brian & Debbie

In 2004, Brian Layton, then 61, and buoyed by the prospect of selling his Hampshire water cooler business, set out on a search to find a second home in the sun for himself and his extended family.

Algarve, Portugal buying a second home

Brian & Debbie - buying a second home in Algarve


Read more

Agenda for promoting sustainable building in Portugal

The following is a condensed version of comments made by John Tranmer, Managing Director of AlmaVerde Village & Spa at the SB10 regional conference on Sustainable Building held at the Hilton, Vilamoura on 17 – 19 March, during the Plenary Session VII Financing and procurement.

john_tranmer

John Tranmer


Read more

The challenges and rewards of sustainable development

The following notes were originally prepared for a panel entitled “The Challenges and Rewards of Sustainable Development” at the OPPLive! Property Show at London’s ExCeL on 23rd October, 2009, chaired by Gordon Miller of www.whatgreenhome.com.

What is sustainability?

Here are some commonly used definitions:

Sustainability, in a broad sense, is the capacity to endure. In ecology, the word describes how biological systems remain diverse and productive over time. For humans it is the potential for long-term maintenance of wellbeing, which in turn depends on the wellbeing of the natural world and the responsible use of natural resources.


Read more

AlmaVerde at the Buying Homes Abroad Show in Stockholm

Event date: 19 -20 September

In past years, the market for Algarve leisure real estate has been propelled by the British and Irish, but the recent demise of sterling and the plight of the Irish economy have prompted developers to start looking in other directions.

Scandinavians have not been buying Algarve property in numbers, but there is anecdotal evidence that they are now becoming more active. There are now flights to Faro on Norwegian Air Shuttle from the capital cities of Oslo, Stockholm and Copenhagen, and Scandinavian currencies have remained relatively firm against the euro.


Read more