It appears that the market is continuing to feel the positive impact of some key recent developments such as the return of the core British market, the appearance of new emerging markets which are driven by favorable and innovative legal and tax structures, as well as the increasing availability of mortgage financing.

The survey found an overall positive mood in the market with the activities of so-called ‘bargain hunters’ dropping considerably during the first four months of the year, while at the same time enquiries, offers and even transactions were all up.

The data was gathered from 10 leading real estate agents in the region and was complete in May, researching market confidence, performance and market trends.

It appears that the interest from the ‘end users’ is increasing constantly, these accounting for 80% of all enquiries. By far the most popular property types are still villas and apartments, with 77% of respondents reporting enquiry levels for these two types of properties being up.

The good news is that the market stabilization trend that started during 2012 seems to be continuing into 2013 as evidenced by the lack of change in the prices of apartments on the coastal strip and the prices for stand-alone detached villas decreasing by just 2%.

Despite the presence and penetration of the Internet in all facets of life, it only accounts for 27% of all leads, with walk-ins and word of mouth still accounting for half of the leads and 18% being generated by overseas agent contact.

While the growing sales volumes are being fuelled by the returning of the traditional British market, the Swedish make up 10% of the market with the Russians and Chinese making up for 15% between them, and this is a sign that the Government’s Golden Visa Scheme and the Non Habitual Regime are actually helping by stimulating demand.

Or at least that’s what a recent ‘tourist satisfaction study’ released by Turismo de Portugal says. The overall level of tourist satisfaction is very high, stating that 34% of respondents enjoyed a holiday that was above their expectations, and a solid 85% percent of those asked said that they would certainly or probably return to Portugal within the next three years.

The Brazilians are the happiest of nationalities who visited the Algarve, however it is the Brits who are most likely to return, but this can be due to the fact that the United Kingdom is closer to Portugal.

When it comes to the reasons why tourists like it here, eighty-four percent answered with ‘nature and culture’, and that the landscapes and beaches are top notch, which is rather true it has to be said, with hospitality coming in second thanks to the ‘pleasant nature of the local population’.

The other tourism-related areas, which include activities, infrastructure and tourist information, rate somewhere about fifty percent, however the study does highlight that ‘tourist information’ and ‘rent-a-car’ companies were actually ‘below expectations’. This view of the Algarve car rental companies might be in part due to the introduction of the A22 toll taxes and such, since those have created quite a bit of issues when it comes to contracts.

The Algarve received forty-six percent of total region tourists, while Lisbon forty-two percent, so the capital is a major pull still, and for good reason.

When it comes to planning their break, forty percent of visitors found the Internet to be the main research tool, followed by recommendation of acquaintances, friends and relatives with thirty-one percent.

The study involved asking more than eight hundred individuals at national airports with tourists from Spain, UK, Germany, France, Holland, Ireland and Brazil.