Comparing these two European\u00a0destinations\u00a0they would seem to be similar\u00a0– each has a Roman and Moorish history, a great climate and laid-back lifestyle. There\u2019s a wide variety of properties available in both the Costa del Sol and the Algarve; new builds, apartments, villas and traditional homes. But which of the two areas offers the better value?<\/p>\n
The current 2014Q3 Eurostat House Price Index has Spain at 72.09 and Portugal at 90.64.\u00a0Prices in Spain would appear to be\u00a0the lowest in Europe,\u00a0dropping by 28 per cent\u00a0since 2010, but\u00a0one should\u00a0bear in\u00a0mind that the sector was\u00a0overpriced to begin with.<\/p>\n
A look\u00a0at the bank valuations of\u00a0homes in the Algarve reveals that prices\u00a0there are actually lower. Algarve specialist\u00a0property portal\u00a0Meravista.com,\u00a0revealed last month that\u00a0prices were\u00a0were 1,223 \u20ac\/m2 compared with SpainHouses.net\u2019s reported average of 2,193 \u20ac\/m2\u00a0in the\u00a0Costa del Sol \u2013 making Costa del Sol \u00a0– almost 80 per cent\u00a0more expensive.<\/p>\n
Meravista’s database of 22,000 Algarve listings and Spain\u2019s Kyero property portal which has\u00a0200,000 Spanish listings,\u00a0offers more\u00a0insight into actual market values. Kyero\u2019s Q4 2014 House Price Index shows that the average price for a house in M\u00e1laga (Costa del Sol) is \u20ac296,800 (\u00a3217,410). Meravista reported that 60 per cent\u00a0of all houses in the Algarve are below \u20ac200,000 (\u00a3146,500).<\/p>\n
For those looking to buy an investment property, the Algarve\u00a0could also prove a better option than Spain.<\/p>\n The Eurostat HPI shows that Portuguese housing has steadily gained in price over the past three years while Spain is now slowing after a freefall.<\/p>\n Buyers in Spain also need to be aware\u00a0that some\u00a0300,000 properties are currently under governmental confiscation due to them being built illegally on agricultural land or too close to the sea.<\/p>\n Meravista is offering this traditional two-bedroom Portuguese farmhouse (pictured below) in a secluded and quiet valley on the outskirts of S\u00e3o Br\u00e1s, a rural region of white-washed villages half an hour from the coast. The house has spacious living areas and is surrounded by a mature garden. There\u2019s a covered terrace and a swimming pool too, plus stabling for two to three horses. Priced at \u20ac225,000 (\u00a3164,820). Of course when choosing a place to retire or relocate to, price is not the only factor to consider.\u00a0Comparing the Algarve to the Costa del Sol, there are two obvious differences\u00a0\u2014\u00a0the over-development of the\u00a0Costa del Sol\u00a0has inevitably\u00a0impacted on its charm and culture.<\/p>\n By contrast the Algarve\u00a0has more\u00a0open space, rolling hills and unspoilt coastal plains which when combined with the\u00a0Portuguese enthusiasm to preserve village life and traditions makes for a less congested landscape.\u00a0\u00a0However, the\u00a0features and conveniences of the modern world can be found\u00a0in the larger towns\u00a0of Albufeira and Portim\u00e3o.<\/p>\n This two bedroom, two bathroom villa (pictured above)\u00a0with a swimming pool and ocean views is in a quiet residential area, just a short drive from the centre of Lagos, Palmares Golf and the beautiful Alvor lagoon.<\/p>\n It’s asking price has been reduced by \u20ac105,000 (\u00a376,900) and is currently for sale at \u20ac280,000 (\u00a3205,110), so an ideal retirement property for those looking for a bargain.<\/p>\n The local lifestyle is undoubtedly\u00a0a unique selling point in the Algarve too. The Government\u2019s generous fiscal incentives, including a 10-year tax holiday for retired EU expats, and the Golden Visa scheme, which offers buyers from outside of the EU a residency permit in return for their investment, have also added to the appeal of moving to Portugal\u2019s southern coast.<\/p>\n For more information on properties for sale in the Algarve visit www.<\/a>meravista.com<\/a><\/p>\n For properties on the Costa del Sol visit: www.spainhouses.net<\/a>\u00a0or www.kyero.com<\/a><\/p>\n WARNING: It is advisable to use an independent solicitor when buying a home overseas and not one recommended by an agent.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n <\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”1_4″][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_map _builder_version=”3.0.76″ \/][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_4″][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Comparing these two European\u00a0destinations\u00a0they would seem to be similar\u00a0- each has a Roman and Moorish history, a great climate and laid-back lifestyle. There\u2019s a wide variety of properties available in both the Costa del Sol and the Algarve; new builds, apartments, villas and traditional homes. But which of the two areas offers the better value?<\/p> The current 2014Q3 Eurostat House Price Index has Spain at 72.09 and Portugal at 90.64.\u00a0Prices in Spain would appear to be\u00a0the lowest in Europe,\u00a0dropping by 28 per cent\u00a0since 2010, but\u00a0one should\u00a0bear in\u00a0mind that the sector was\u00a0overpriced to begin with.<\/p> A look\u00a0at the bank valuations of\u00a0homes in the Algarve reveals that prices\u00a0there are actually lower. Algarve specialist\u00a0property portal\u00a0Meravista.com,\u00a0revealed last month that\u00a0prices were\u00a0were 1,223 \u20ac\/m2 compared with SpainHouses.net\u2019s reported average of 2,193 \u20ac\/m2\u00a0in the\u00a0Costa del Sol \u2013 making Costa del Sol \u00a0- almost 80 per cent\u00a0more expensive.<\/p> Meravista's database of 22,000 Algarve listings and Spain\u2019s Kyero property portal which has\u00a0200,000 Spanish listings,\u00a0offers more\u00a0insight into actual market values. Kyero\u2019s Q4 2014 House Price Index shows that the average price for a house in M\u00e1laga (Costa del Sol) is \u20ac296,800 (\u00a3217,410). Meravista reported that 60 per cent\u00a0of all houses in the Algarve are below \u20ac200,000 (\u00a3146,500).<\/p> For those looking to buy an investment property, the Algarve\u00a0could also prove a better option than Spain.<\/p> The Eurostat HPI shows that Portuguese housing has steadily gained in price over the past three years while Spain is now slowing after a freefall.<\/p> Buyers in Spain also need to be aware\u00a0that some\u00a0300,000 properties are currently under governmental confiscation due to them being built illegally on agricultural land or too close to the sea.<\/p> Meravista is offering this traditional two-bedroom Portuguese farmhouse (pictured below) in a secluded and quiet valley on the outskirts of S\u00e3o Br\u00e1s, a rural region of white-washed villages half an hour from the coast. The house has spacious living areas and is surrounded by a mature garden. There\u2019s a covered terrace and a swimming pool too, plus stabling for two to three horses. Priced at \u20ac225,000 (\u00a3164,820). Of course when choosing a place to retire or relocate to, price is not the only factor to consider.\u00a0Comparing the Algarve to the Costa del Sol, there are two obvious differences\u00a0\u2014\u00a0the over-development of the\u00a0Costa del Sol\u00a0has inevitably\u00a0impacted on its charm and culture.<\/p> By contrast the Algarve\u00a0has more\u00a0open space, rolling hills and unspoilt coastal plains which when combined with the\u00a0Portuguese enthusiasm to preserve village life and traditions makes for a less congested landscape.\u00a0\u00a0However, the\u00a0features and conveniences of the modern world can be found\u00a0in the larger towns\u00a0of Albufeira and Portim\u00e3o.<\/p> This two bedroom, two bathroom villa (pictured above)\u00a0with a swimming pool and ocean views is in a quiet residential area, just a short drive from the centre of Lagos, Palmares Golf and the beautiful Alvor lagoon.<\/p> It's asking price has been reduced by \u20ac105,000 (\u00a376,900) and is currently for sale at \u20ac280,000 (\u00a3205,110), so an ideal retirement property for those looking for a bargain.<\/p> The local lifestyle is undoubtedly\u00a0a unique selling point in the Algarve too. The Government\u2019s generous fiscal incentives, including a 10-year tax holiday for retired EU expats, and the Golden Visa scheme, which offers buyers from outside of the EU a residency permit in return for their investment, have also added to the appeal of moving to Portugal\u2019s southern coast.<\/p> For more information on properties for sale in the Algarve visit www.<\/a>meravista.com<\/a><\/p> For properties on the Costa del Sol visit: www.spainhouses.net<\/a>\u00a0or www.kyero.com<\/a><\/p> WARNING: It is advisable to use an independent solicitor when buying a home overseas and not one recommended by an agent.<\/strong><\/p> \u00a0<\/p> [mappress mapid=\"105\"]<\/p> \u00a0<\/p> \u00a0<\/p> [mappress mapid=\"106\"]<\/p> \u00a0<\/p> \u00a0<\/em><\/p> \u00a0<\/em><\/p> \u00a0<\/strong><\/p> \u00a0<\/strong><\/p> \u00a0<\/p> \u00a0<\/p> \u00a0<\/p> \u00a0<\/p> \u00a0<\/p>","_et_gb_content_width":"","_analytify_skip_tracking":false,"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[33],"yst_prominent_words":[149,7980,3688,7976,7974,10682,7975,10167,10549,114,7977,391,10119,7979,150,82,7978,10683,10520,189],"class_list":["post-17747","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-overseas","tag-overseas-2"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-01 12:02:06","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category"},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newclone.retiremove.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17747","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newclone.retiremove.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newclone.retiremove.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newclone.retiremove.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newclone.retiremove.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17747"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/newclone.retiremove.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17747\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24205,"href":"https:\/\/newclone.retiremove.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17747\/revisions\/24205"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newclone.retiremove.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17835"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newclone.retiremove.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newclone.retiremove.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17747"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newclone.retiremove.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17747"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newclone.retiremove.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=17747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Meravista-Portugal\"](\"http:\/\/newclone.retiremove.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Meravista-Portugal.jpg\")
<\/a>An example of a home offered for sale by Meravista is this semi-detached, three bedroom villa built in 1999. It\u2019s in a popular part of Olh\u00e3o on an estate close to a village. It has an outdoor kitchen surrounded by a tropical garden and is on the market for \u20ac220,000 (\u00a3161,150).<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\nMost people seeking a\u00a0home in the sun\u00a0will have\u00a0Portugal\u2019s Algarve and Spain\u2019s Costa del Sol in their sights. So which one is better value? JANE SLADE investigates<\/strong><\/h3>
<\/a>An example of a home offered for sale by Meravista is this semi-detached, three bedroom villa built in 1999. It\u2019s in a popular part of Olh\u00e3o on an estate close to a village. It has an outdoor kitchen surrounded by a tropical garden and is on the market for \u20ac220,000 (\u00a3161,150).<\/p><\/a><\/p><\/p>