Portugal property: Keep the peace

It may be one of the largest regions in Portugal but the Alentejo is also one of the least populated. It covers an area that stretches from the Algarve up to Lisbon's Tagus river, yet just 10 per cent of the country's citizens lives among its green hills, vast plains and long coastline.

Most of the land here is devoted to agriculture, wine production and cork forests. Property ranges from tiny, single-storey village houses and rambling farms (or quintas) to gorgeous manor houses and new apartments in coastal complexes. What you won't find is the mass urbanisations or mega-resorts of the Algarve or southern Spain.

The nearest airports are Faro or Lisbon, from which you can reach pretty much any part of the region within two hours' drive. But the future holds big changes for the area, which is now a government-targeted growth area for tourism. A new airport is soon to open at the town of Beja and several developers are eyeing up key locations for golf courses. Planning restrictions will limit what can be done here and, certainly for the moment, the Alentejo still feels like a forgotten corner of Europe.

Robert Pierce of local consultancy The Property Finders agrees. "It's an extremely rural area," he says, "undiscovered by major property investors and really still in its infancy." He adds that the Alentejo offers plenty of opportunity for those who want to buy into small resorts on the coast or find an isolated plot in the heart of the "real Portugal".

"It's a lot cheaper than the Algarve," says Pierce. "Building costs are half what they are there. I'd expect to pay around £70,000 for a farmhouse with land, with a view to spending a further £70,000 on restoration work, bearing in mind restoration means rebuilding. A lot of housing in the area is cheap but you will need to throw money at it." Pierce adds that unless you're a Portuguese speaker, dealing with building contractors in an area where many people don't speak English "can be daunting".

Kirstin Honeywill, who runs Portuguese Homes' Alentejo branch from the town of Vila Nova de Milfontes on the coast, says she sees lots of clients looking for country properties but recommends they try to buy near a small town or village to have access to facilities. She claims the Alentejo is attracting Lisbonites looking to buy grand estates and also points to several glamorous residential resorts being planned around the beautiful Tróia Peninsula.

"A lot of my clients compare the area to the West Country or Wales," says Honeywill. "People who buy here love the countryside and the quieter pace of life." She admits that many of the properties available are ruins but that what you get with them is an awful lot of land for your money. Honeywill says total wrecks can be found for as little as £20,000, with places in better condition or with land from around £70,000, and large manor houses starting at £180,000, but heading up to more than £600,000 for something very grand. She claims the best buys are often traditional or restored houses on the edge of towns with gardens and maybe a pool.

"Quintas are popular but a lot of buyers are now going for beach resorts or village houses," she says. A property like this in need of work would cost from around £65,000, while something in good condition would fetch around £70,000 to £150,000.

"The Alentejo will never be another Algarve," she says. "The Portuguese are well-aware of what happened there and won't let it happen again."

Portuguese Homes: +351 918 710 553; www.portuguesehomes.com

The Property Finders: +351 282 789073; www.thepropertyfinders.com

Buyer's guide

* Estate agency is still uncommercialised in this region. Buyers often decide how much they want for a property even if selling via an agent, which means they may under- or overestimate its value.

* Modern-style villas like those on the Algarve aren't permitted by planning regulations in the Alentejo. New-build property on individual plots must be sympathetic to the local area.

* Rural property usually won't have mains water or sewerage. You'll need to get a well and a septic tank put in if there isn't one already.

* There are few skilled employment opportunities in the region, so if relocating you'll need to be financially very self-sufficient.