We bet you can't help but fall in love with this country

"No man is an island," and neither is Portugal! Firmly bolted onto the southwestern part of Europe, Portugal makes up the better half of the Iberian Peninsula with its neighbour to the east, Spain, making up the other half of the partnership. But, and we can't stress this enough, the two countries could not be more different in terms of personnel, character, landscape and of course property.

Portugal's inclusion in the European Union back in 1986 gave its economy a significant boost and one of the areas that probably benefited the most was the property market. Portugal became a top destination for international real estate investors looking to live, work or rent out property and it has never looked back. Bordering the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Portugal has a large coastline and around 155 kilometres of it runs the length of the Algarve. Its clear waters and pristine sandy beaches combined with the people, climate, golf courses, cuisine and laid-back atmosphere, is a natural magnet for tourists and ex-pats alike.

Year after year tourists make a beeline for the Algarve looking to get away from the cold, grey weather of home for a few weeks under the Algarve sun. As well as accommodating tourists, foreign property buyers have also fallen in love with the country, wanting to own a retirement, holiday or second home in this beautiful part of the world. This demand for property translated into a growing number of resorts, apartments, townhouses and villas springing up across the Algarve over the years. And if you are concerned that you will only use your property for a few months of the year - remember those tourists who come back year after year, advertise your property for rent and gone are any concerns of it sitting alone empty and unoccupied.

But it isn't just the warm climate, blue oceans and white sands that draw in the buyers, Portugal is a safe country, it has relative political stability, low corporation tax and offers enticing tax breaks (click here for more information on these tax breaks) to those ex-pats wishing to call Portugal home. You can get here pretty easily too. With international flights coming and going from almost anywhere in the world into Faro, Lisbon or Porto airports it doesn't matter where you are coming from or going to you can do it from Portugal. 

You'll be pleased to know that while you are reading this (unless it's January or February) those of us in Portugal will be living and working while the sun is shining. We say it time and time again, but it's true, Portugal enjoys around 300 days of sunshine each year. Fancy having a BBQ on Sunday? You can. Want to play a round of golf next week? Book it. Left your umbrella at home? No problem. When you live here the weather does not put a dampener on your plans, but when it does finally rain you are actually pleased to see it! I know, I never thought I would say that either. With all this in mind, Portugal is a natural alternative for property buyers looking for somewhere as an alternative to the cold winter weather in northern parts of Europe or America.

The difficulty comes when choosing what to buy - the range of alternatives is so large. Just take the Algarve as an example, because that is where we specialise, there are beachfront apartments, city centre penthouses, villas near the coast, quintas in the hills, townhouses in resorts and everything in between. We aren't exaggerating when we say the Algarve property market has something for everyone. From residential property to resorts and holiday homes, if you are looking to buy in Portugal - and after reading this why wouldn't you? then we can help you find that knockout property that you have always dreamed of.