Portugal and Spain have always been favored as Europe’s major hotspots when it comes to golfing. And Portugal is encouraging foreign visitors to take up this thrilling sport thriving in the most ideal place. Golf has always been the best thing in Portugal, and exceptional developers are offering great courses therein with the assurance in quality of properties tendered on the courses. In spite of Portugal’s popularity as another fine destination for the holidays, its tourism industry still has more catching up to do with the more stable investment markets of other European destinations such as Spain, France or England.

If golfing is your intimate passion and you want to make an investment around it, be careful on choosing where to buy. There are several real estate agents who like to advertise properties near golf courses and leading on a first-time investor with the idea of a very suitable place in good proximity to nearby golf courses, where he can get a swift round anytime. The insinuation is incorrect as most golf courses operate by the policies inherent to owners and exclusive to them. Prospective investors need to check this out more closely. Sometimes golf clubs may offer pay and play policy that allows locals to play per round basis. But apparently, this is bound to change over time once the course is well-established and all neighboring properties are sold. And only owners, guests and the people renting the properties on the course will be qualified to play.

On the other hand, eager property investors who are looking to buy a house in Portugal might also consider Porto, the country’s second largest city. The city’s property market is becoming gradually more popular with foreign buyers, which make a reasonable alternative to Algarve and Lisbon, as reported by the Times. Moreover, property prices in Porto remain considerably lesser than those in the country’s capital. The prices of properties are at 25% less than Lisbon, at least. As a matter of fact, other properties actually go as much as half the price lower from the capital. Porto is a pleasant place to live, and part of the town’s rehabilitation drive is the refurbishment of several old buildings adding beauty to the site.