The world’s largest and longest street party will erupt this week into a
bright flurry of feathers, booty-shaking music and white-toothed smiles.
Amid the throngs of carnival-goers will be thousands of Britons dressed in
little but flip-flops and the pink beginnings of a tan – many of whom will
decide to carry on after the party and invest in a second home in Brazil.
Most potential buyers head to the northeast of the country, where, along more
than 1,000 miles of coast from Salvador to Fortaleza, fishing hamlets are
being swallowed up by gated resorts with private pools, golf courses and
spas. In a reflection of the continent’s obsession with beautiful bodies,
some of the developments even have plastic-surgery clinics and
rehabilitation spas.
If you can put up with the flight (at least £400 and 8½ hours, often with one
or two changes), then the attractions are obvious: long, pristine white-sand
beaches, temperatures that reach 30C in January and February, low living
costs and properties that are up to a third cheaper than their equivalents
in southern Spain. Indeed, many of the developers andimobiliarias funding
the building boom cut their teeth on the costas and have crossed the
Atlantic in search of a stake in the country Goldman Sachs predicts will
have the world’s fifth-largest economy by 2050.
Property prices have seen stratospheric growth, fuelled by an emerging
Brazilian middle class, an international campaign to attract investors, and
the 2014 World Cup, to be staged across the whole country. “Some locations
have seen capital appreciation of more than 1,000% in five years,” says
Felipe Cavalcante de Melo Lima, president of the Association for the
Development of Tourism and Real Estate in the Brazilian Northeast. He
predicts a more modest 12% increase for this year.
“It is like southern Spain 10 or 20 years ago,” agrees David Gordon,
commercial director of Qualta Resorts, which is behind two of the largest
upmarket resorts in the states of Pernambuco and Rio Grande do Norte.
“Brazil is a fabulous alternative to Spain and is more affordable than the
Caribbean. People are fed up with the classic Costa del Sol pitch, which has
become one big ghetto of British people.”
There may not yet be a fully fledged expat community, but those Britons who
have moved there are seeking each other out to share tips on living in a
tropical climate. One couple already living their Brazilian dream are Chris
Cakebread, 46, and his wife, Collette, 50.
Two years ago, they fell in love with a banana-coloured granja, a smallholding
30 minutes’ drive from Joao Pessoa, in the state of Paraiba, the most
easterly part of the Americas.
The couple, who spend half the year in Worcestershire and half in Brazil, and
intend to retire The region boasts a seductive mix of sun, sea and samba, as
well as elegant old towns such as Salvador, above right there, paid £42,000
for the plantation-style bungalow, which had holes in the roof, no lavatory
and only an outside oven. They spent £12,000, and it now has a new roof and
a fitted kitchen.
“I watch the sun rise above the mango trees, then hop out of bed and lie by
the pool,” Chris says. “I love being in my Brazilian bubble.” The couple
regularly go for supper with Jeremy Baker, 68, and his wife, Gemma, 67, from
Birkenhead, who have retired to a similar property 15 minutes’ drive away.
Other British neighbours include a policeman from Dover, a Hollywood stunt man
and one who works as a volunteer bouncer at Tambaba, the world-famous
naturist beach – all of them trying to make a new life in the country. So is
it paradise? Almost.
“You can’t buy an electric kettle, so pack one in your suitcase,” Baker says.
“And the best way to get rid of the cockroaches that live in the coconut
palms is to pack sea salt in newspaper at the top of the trunk. When it
rains, this coats the tree and stops the pests wandering indoors.”
Given that Brazil is a vast and diverse country – the northeast region alone
is the same size as France, Germany, Italy and Britain combined – what and
where should you buy? To help you choose between a granja in the interior, a
villa on a golf course or a flat on the beach, here’s our guide to Brazil’s
northeast coastal states. Remember, too, that English is not widely spoken,
so, if you don’t speak Portuguese, you will need someone who knows both
languages to guide you through the buying process – and help you to deal
with everything from repairs and renovations to paying your electricity bill
once you have acquired your home.
Bahia
Five years ago, the state capital, Salvador, was regarded by most tourists as
a grimy, crime-ridden no-go area. Today, the old town is being restored: its
peeling pastel facades are getting a face-lift, the Hilton chain is moving
in and double-decker tour buses with adverts for village-style gated resorts
travel the cobbled streets. Even a couple of years ago, it was possible to
pick up a run-down property in the Pelourinho district, in the 18th-century
centre, for less than £50,000, but derelict townhouses now start at £150,000
or more; count on spending the same again on renovations. And check out the
neighbourhood by night as well as day: as in many Brazilian cities, crime
can be a problem.
You’ll need a good guide, and a number of long-term British residents in the
city are offering just such a buying service. Daniel Daly, who has lived in
Brazil for more than 20 years, (www.salvadordaly.com.br),
describes himself as a “professional baby-sitter” and charges a fixed fee of
£1,400.
Further away from the tourist hang-outs and steamy nightlife, you can buy a
smaller, less picturesque flat for £40,000. Prices for three-bedroom flats
in secure blocks in swisher middle-class suburbs such as Barra or Corridor
Atlantico start at £80,000, but can rise to £600,000 for the best locations
and sea views (020 7538 0102, www.propertybond.co.uk).
Most househunters, however, head north out of the city on Coconut Road to
one of the resorts lining the beaches where the turtles nest. The trend for
gated communities began about a decade ago at Praia do Forte, 50 minutes’
drive away, but prices have risen since the early days, and British buyers
looking for profit as well as pleasure are looking to newer condos
(communities) in resorts such as Sauipe, another 15 minutes or so along the
road. Off-plan flats around the golf course there start at £84,000 (020 7016
3740, www.sauipegolfterraces.com.br).
The developments south of Salvador tend to be more expensive. Situated high
on red cliffs near Trancoso, the Terravista resort has evolved from a hippie
hang-out and now has a Club Med on the site. Prices for villas next to the
golf course range from £128,000 to £926,000. Those bordering the air-field
have their own hangars for the private jet.
Paraiba
For many years considered one of Brazil’s poorest and least developed states,
Paraiba is largely overlooked by the package-holiday and property-tour
crowd. It has fewer flights, and a poorer infrastructure, but there is a
greater feeling of getting away from it all. “You can pick up a one-bedroom
flat for £25,000, but it will be in a secondary location, cramped and
without air conditioning,” says Esther Dyer, Property Bond’s representative
in the state (020 7538 0102, www.propertybond.co.uk).
“Most of our buyers are looking for a getaway in the sun, but not one in a
mass-built gated community.” Dyer spends increasing amounts of time driving
up dusty red tracks in search of granjas, on which you can build almost
anything you want provided you (or your caretaker) keep a few animals.
Prices vary enormously, but expect to pay £55,000 for a three-bedroom
bungalow with 10 or so acres. Plots of land near the coast are also popular:
there is one stretch at Praia Bela where five Britons in a row are all
building dream homes within earshot of the Atlantic Ocean.
Pernambuco
The beautiful colonial town of Olinda, which adjoins Recife, the largely
industrial state capital and site of the airport, is popular with
sightseers, but most buyers head for the coast. One of the most attractive,
upmarket schemes is the Reef Club, at Porto (020 7034 4757, www.thereefclub.com.br),
set in 500 hectares of Atlantic rainforest and mangroves, an hour’s drive
from the city. Buyers will have access to a planned VIP lounge at the
airport. There will be 4,000 residential units; flats start at £60,000, and
three- and four-bedroom Balinese-inspired villas cost up to £371,000. All
have views of the golf course, ocean or rainforest. As well as enjoying the
spa, health-conscious owners can opt into a bio-metric scheme that will
measure their calorific intake and blood-sugar levels.
Rio Grande do Norte
If you need more extreme help to keep in shape, then one of the 13,500
properties planned for Lagoa do Coelho, a 35-minute drive from Natal, might
be ideal. Purchasers will have access to dentistry and plastic surgery. AGS
Properties has one-bed flats from £53,000 (020 8144 4994, www.agsproperties.com).
Tourism and property prices look set to receive a further boost from the
planned expansion of Natal’s airport.
The hot spots are Ponta Negra and Pipa, where the beaches are consistently
voted among the best in Brazil. They attract a younger crowd, looking for a
laid-back lifestyle of kitesurfing and cocktails. Prices for hotel-style
flats at the Reef Club Pipa start at £60,000. A second phase of larger
villa-style holiday homes on the 350-hectare site will be released later in
the year.
In Pipa Paradise, a high-density community built on the clifftop above Praia
do Amor (Love Beach), two- bedroom flats start at £67,000, three- bedroom
villas at £145,000 (0845 643 1036, www.uv10.com,
or 0800 612 0901, www.experience-brazil.com).
Ceara
The most developed spot on the northeast coast, Fortaleza is fast becoming the
Torremolinos of Brazil. If that’s your sort of thing, two-bedroom flats
typically cost about £90,000.
How to buy
- To buy property, you need a CPF or tax identification number, which you can
get from the Brazilian embassy
- Buyers pay 3% of the value of the property in tax, and another 2%-3% to the
public notary on registration of the sale Tourists can stay up to 180 days
a year in Brazil. Any longer and you need a permanent visa
- When buying off-plan, always view the site and check there is a building
licence
Get a Brazilian
- Prices for villas next to the golf course at the Terravista Condominio,
Resort & Golf, between Arraial d’Ajuda and Trancoso, in the south of
Bahia, range from £128,000 to £926,000. This one is £343,000; 00
55 11 3709 4680, www.terravistabrasil.com
- A renovated three-bedroom townhouse in the historic centre of Salvador, this
former pousada (guesthouse) has solar panels ensuring a plentiful supply of
hot water, and two private terraces. For sale for £250,000; www.hotelredfish.com/houseforsale
- Due to be completed by 2010, this two-bedroom flat is in the first phase of
the Reef Club at Praia do Porto, 50 miles south of Recife. Owners can use
the spa, golf course and equestrian centre. For sale for £121,530, through
Qualta Resorts; 020 7034 4757, www.thereefclub.com.br
This two-bedroom apartment with sea view at Pipa Paradise, a gated residential
resort in the surfing hot spot of Pipa, comes with use of the on-site spa,
gym and pool. It is an hour’s drive from Natal airport. For sale for
£60,000 with Experience International; 0800 612 0901, www.experience-brazil.com
