Real estate careers in Algarve

The market in Algarve

The Algarve took 42.4% of the value of all non-resident home purchases in Portugal in 2025 (INE), and Quinta do Lago reached about EUR 11,145 per sqm in January 2026 (idealista), the most expensive address in the country.

The Algarve, Portugal's southern coast, is the country's main second-home and retirement market and the region where foreign money weighs most: in 2025 it took 29.7% of all home purchases by non-residents in Portugal and 42.4% of their value (INE). INE put the regional median at EUR 3,352 per sqm in Q1 2026, second only to Grande Lisboa, with buyers from abroad paying EUR 4,003 against EUR 3,214 for domestic buyers. Asking prices set a new high above EUR 4,000 per sqm in June 2026 (EUR 4,069) and reached EUR 4,216 in September 2026, up 7.8% in a year (idealista). Loulé, home to Vilamoura and the Golden Triangle, is the dearest municipality at EUR 4,091 per sqm over the twelve months to March 2026 (INE).

Foreign buyers

The Algarve attracts more non-resident buyers than any other region: 29.7% of all non-resident home purchases in Portugal in 2025 by number and 42.4% by value, both up on 2024 (INE). In Q1 2026, buyers with a tax address abroad paid a regional median of EUR 4,003 per sqm, about 25% more than domestic buyers (INE). British and Irish buyers lead in the Golden Triangle, followed by Germans, Belgians and Dutch, while Germans, Dutch and Belgians stand out in Vilamoura (Engel & Völkers Market Report Portugal 2025-2026, reported by Postal, July 2026).

Main neighbourhoods

Lagos and Praia da LuzPortimão and AlvorCarvoeiro and LagoaAlbufeiraVilamoura and QuarteiraLoulé townAlmancilQuinta do LagoVale do LoboFaroTavira and Cabanas de Tavira

Agent licence

Real estate mediation can only be carried out in Portugal by a licensed mediation firm and under a contract (Law 15/2013, Article 3). Any provider established in Portugal, whether a company or an individual trading in their own name (empresário em nome individual), needs a licence from IMPIC, the licence number known as AMI. The law sets only two conditions: commercial good standing (idoneidade comercial) and civil liability insurance of at least EUR 150,000, or an equivalent financial guarantee. Good standing is lost, for example, after insolvency without a court-approved plan, or when a legal representative has a final prison sentence from the last five years for fraud, breach of trust, corruption or money laundering. When Law 15/2013 replaced the older regime it dropped the positive equity requirement and the proof of clean tax and social security status. IMPIC's fees are EUR 100 for the licence and EUR 265 for the annual regulation fee (prorated in the first year), and it must decide within 20 days, with tacit approval if it does not. Licences have no expiry date, but every January the holder must pay the annual fee and prove again that it meets the requirements (criminal record certificate for each legal representative, valid insurance and, for companies, the commercial registry code); for 2026 the payment deadline was 20 February 2026, and failing to pay or to prove the requirements leads to cancellation. Firms already licensed in another EEA country can register with IMPIC to set up in Portugal, or notify IMPIC within 60 days of a first occasional service. The full guide