The Algarve started to become a hotspot for northern Europe tourism as far back as the 1960s and since then British, Irish, Dutch and Germans have been regular visitors to the region. The market for holiday homes in the area has developed slowly and responsibly over time and is stable and robust today with new and old homes alike sharing a very high build quality – much higher than many other popular second home markets.

Apart from the fabulous natural beauty, year round sunshine and pristine beaches, the Algarve has justly become famed for its vast established network of world class golf courses and no area has more per square mile than Vilamoura (6 courses within 5 minutes drive of eachother).

Vilamoura occupies an excellent location on the Portuguese Algarve – close enough to Faro International airport to be convenient (15mins) but far enough to remain completely undisturbed. It boasts daily connections year round to most of Europe’s major cities and many smaller airports, such is its wide appeal.

As one of the Algarve’s largest and most complete leisure communities it truly has something for everyone to do in the area. It is very popular with families looking for a destination where everyone can enjoy themselves day and night.

World class golf, sports and leisure facilities sit next to a great mix of exclusive shops, bars, restaurants and clubs. All this with Portugal’s largest marina and even a well established casino. In summary, one can enjoy the following in Vilamoura:

· Vilamoura property built to the very best specifications

· Six world class golf courses for players of all standards including "The Old Course", "Millennium Golf", "Pinhal Golf", "Laguna Golf", "Victoria Clube de Golfe" and "Vila Sol Golf"

· The largest Portuguese marina with 1,000 berths

· Several miles of beautiful beach and promenade with fantastic services

· Sports and leisure facilities such as horse-riding, tennis, bowls etc

· Police station, fire station, medical centre and security services

· Over 90 bars and restaurants catering for everyone

· Over 70 gift shops and boutiques

· International casino with major performances nightly

· Programme of regular events and festivals

· 500 acres of nature park

· 7 nightclubs

· Cinema

Holiday homes in Vilamoura provide owners with the perfect lifestyle investment. Not only is the Portuguese Algarve a very stable economy (as mentioned above) but Vilamoura is very well estalished and attracts tourists all year round. Over 300,000 rounds of golf are played here every year! This means that demand for self catering accomodation is high and with supply of property kept low, home owners can be assured of a healthy yield on any buy to let investment.

In addition, due to the ever increasing demand for berths, waterfront property and leisure facilities, the Vilamoura marina will be expanded over the next few years. Plans have been approved, licenses granted and the master developer aims to have everything completed by 2012.

This presents an attractive opportunity for those interested in real estate as waterfront property in the area commands a premium price and exceeds average capital appreciation in the long term.