I did a one month recce in Extemadura Western Spain (now pitched as the next Tuscany) which is meant to be the cheapest spot in Spain, followed my another month in comparable (though prettier) Alentejo in Portugal. I was very surprised ,by the price differentials, all of which pointed to Portugal being, perhaps surprisingly. considerably cheaper. Does anyone have insight into the contemporary Portuguese market ? In Lisbon, the Algarve, Alentejo and other out-lying areas. The locals seem generally under-enthused, so are we to assume this is not a good time to invest in Portugal. Or are they some nice micro-markets ? Any feedback would be most welcome.

Hi Peter I am in the Portual Alentejo area at the moment and have just spent a while in the Extemadura Western Spain area - certainly the Spanish area is up and coming, there seems to be plenty (loads!) of free money rattling around the area. The Minister for Tourism is working hard to get these inland areas promoted, the Placensia area seems be quite a hit with many nationalities and nearly all of Madrid descended on the place last weekend. The problem we are told is that the youngsters still have to work in Madrid as there is not enough work in the area yet. As far as Portugal goes - lots of great history and attractions but the locals are depressed beyond belief (and poverty seems high but there are quite classy shops about and lots of electronic goods), the economy doesn,t seem good to me, I wonder if any others have any opinions on the Portuguese economy as I canºt find any signs of improvement. Roads and transport generally seems pretty dire but evidence of EU money being poured into tarmac.