what the future holds

While the future appears bright, there are some considerations that investors, both existing and prospective, should keep in mind. As the market evolves, it’s crucial to remain informed about the changing landscape.

More competition: The influx of new developments has the potential to create a more competitive environment, which could have positive repercussions by cleaning up the market’s exponential growth.

Social pressures: The cost of housing in Portugal has led to social pressures and inconsistencies in government policies. It’s a complex issue that requires careful management.

Travel restrictions: The 90-in-180-day rule for nonEU buyers, which has been in place since Brexit, has had a limited impact on 80% of buyers who continue to invest in the Algarve.

Changing zoning laws: The PDM, the local zoning laws, are expected to be updated, which could impact the ease of building new private properties. While this may exacerbate the lack of supply, it could further support higher property values for existing properties.

AL Licensing Laws: Recent changes in licensing laws impact how properties can be rented out on a short-term holiday basis. While privately-owned apartments are no longer granted licenses for shortterm rentals, this change primarily affects the lower end of the market.

Alison Buechner Hojbjerg is co-owner/director at QP Savills

WAS inspired by a plaque in an 800-yearold castle on top of a spectacular mountain. The castle reared over the modern village of Monsanto in Central Portugal and was half destroyed when its ammunition dump blew up in the 1800s.

However, the remains are still incredibly special and it is now one of central Portugal’s most important tourist and historical attractions. The plaque hinted at a book written by a man called Duarte de Armas, who was instructed by the king, Manuel 1, in the year 1509, to head out and document all the castles and fortifications on the border of Spain. He did just that and set off with his horse and squire and completed a year long odyssey around the entire Spanish border with Portugal. The results of his work can be seen in a book called Livro de Fortalezas.

I decided that it would be a great addition to my youtube channel to head out and film all these castles. I commenced with an evening down in Castro Marim castle on the eastern stretches of the Algarve. It was well-timed as they were in the throes of an annual medieval festival and literally hundreds of people were dressed up in period clothing and roamed the streets searching for mead.

A procession kicked off the proceedings and it was fascinating to observe medieval-style jugglers, musicians, dancers and the occasional snake wrapped around participants’ necks as they marched through the crowd. Towncriers and officials rang bells while scantily-clad dancers moved to the beat of heavy drums. Above it all, the age-old castle walls looked down as a red sun sank behind them.

My next effort was to do an overnighter near two more castles that were on the list and relatively close