Comporta's Development Challenges: PRICE EVOLUTION

Comporta, once a quiet fishing village on the Alentejo coast, has become one of the most coveted destinations on the luxury property market in Portugal and the world. This metamorphosis is reflected in a significant rise in the average property sales prices in the region. 

According to the National Statistics Institute (INE), in the third quarter of 2024, the median value of sales per square meter of family housing in Portugal was 1,709 euros. 

We have seen a considerable increase in the average price per square meter of construction in recent years, driven by the growing demand for luxury developments in the region.

This scenario highlights a clear trend: Comporta is no longer a well-kept secret, but a hub for high-end property investment, attracting national and international buyers in search of exclusivity and quality of life.

Anyone who has followed the evolution of prices in Comporta has seen a significant annual increase in value year after year, and now we are at a high level, which reinforces the question at the heart of the matter, whether for small investors or medium and large property investors. 

‘But if I buy now, at the current prices, will I be protected in 5 or 10 years' time and make a profit on the resale?’

This has been the ‘Million Euro’ question and it is quite difficult to predict the future but it is possible to analyze the international market and understand the reality of these international tourist destinations in comparison.

I'm sharing a benchmarking study I carried out, taking into account the main tourist destinations and sourced from Engel & Völkers' worldwide internet platform, considering a comparable high number of new or very well maintained villas for sale (study by asking prices) in order to have a sample that can be qualifying and representative of the numbers and reality of each area and thus draw some conclusions.

I have selected several indicators that I consider fundamental for this comparative analysis, such as the size of the houses, the number of bedrooms, the size of the plot of land, the average price and of course... the average price per square meter of construction (gross building area).

The main analyses we can take from this comparison are:

• Size of houses: we're in seventh place with an average of 345 sqm for each house for sale, with Marbella in first place with an average of 834 sqm and the Hamptons in second place with an average of 783 sqm;

• Number of bedrooms: Comporta average is 4.4 bedrooms, 8th place in the ranking, with the Hamptons in the top spot with an impressive average of 7.6 bedrooms per villa followed by Marbella with 7.2;

• Plot size: Comporta's average is around 5,500 sqm, which takes us to the bottom of the podium, and the Hamptons remains the leader with an average of around 9,900 sqm. Ibiza is in second place with around 7,200 sqm;

• Average house price: the average price of a villa in Comporta is around 3.7M€, while our American neighbors in the Hamptons reach an average of almost 18 million euros per villa. In this indicator, both the French Riviera and Marbella have very similar average values of 15M€.

• Average sale price per sqm of construction: Comporta with an average price of 10,666€/sqm occupies the penultimate place in the table with the French Riviera topping the list with an average sale value of almost 30,000€ per sqm, followed by the Hamptons with around 25,000€ and Marbella in the last place on the podium with around 20,000€.

Conclusion

There are several challenges for Comporta development, which I have summarized in similar articles, that will allow it to rise sustainably in the world ranking with better services, better infrastructures and a better development and sustainable strategy. 

The trend in Comporta, which we already feel a lot on a daily basis with the visits of clients coming from these competing destinations, will be to increasingly develop houses with larger private areas and a greater number of bedrooms.

Looking at the main tourist destinations considered in this study, I think we can easily conclude that Comporta path as a world tourist destination is only just beginning and still holds a lot of potential for all small investors with a view to increasing its value over the next ten or twenty years.