This week’s property pick is a spacious three-bedroom villa in western Algarve, within walking distance of the beach in Praia da Luz. This home offers lots of space and light and features a heated pool set in a pretty irrigated garden.

Located in a quiet area of Praia da Luz, just a short walk from the beach and close to the town’s amenities, this villa offers a wonderfully relaxing atmosphere to come home to. Whether you are retired, coming home at the end of a hard day’s slog, or simply visit regularly, this is the definitive place to relax without the beach-front price tag.

The president of the Association of Portugal Hospitality, Luís Veiga, says the government’s ‘best year ever’ announcement for last year's hotel tourism sector should be taken with a huge pinch of salt, stopping one step before calling it a lie.

No records have been broken in hotel occupancy, Viega assured the media, adding that the figures for last year did not even reach 2007 levels.

Formula1 champion Ayrton Senna’s luxury Algarve villa is for sale.

Senna was three times world champion and was killed in an accident at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix at Imola, he had won the title three times in 1988, 1990 and 1991.

Investing in a holiday rental property is a rather different undertaking than buying a second home. The searching, viewing and purchasing process requires a different mind-set, with a focus on how to maximise income rather than on the purchaser's personal taste.

It's not something that comes naturally to every buyer, explains Chris White, Founding Director of boutique real estate agency Ideal Homes Portugal.

Great investment villa near Albufeira - This stunning three-bedroom villa on the outskirts of Albufeira has a feature swimming pool, terraces and landscaped garden. It boasts over 200m2 of comfortable living space - ideal for permanent living or rental investment.

Priced at just €410,000, which with the current favourable Sterling exchange rates, is just over £301,000, this spacious two-storey home is situated just five minutes west of Albufeira in the small urbanisation of Sesmarias.

Olhão has the lowest property prices of any Algarve county, making it an ideal ticket for entry into the coveted Algarve region of Portugal. Meravista.com looks at current market values in Olhão and how they compare to other areas.

Of the sixteen municipalities (counties) of the Algarve, Olhão, in the east, is the most recently inhabited. Straddled on each side by the ancient Roman cities of Ossónoba (now Faro) and Balsa (now Luz de Tavira), the town of Olhão did not come into being until the 17th century due to its astounding reserves of fish and seafood.

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Portugal offers a whole host of attractions to holiday home owners. It is less than three hours' flight from the UK, the popular Algarve region has more than 300 days of sunshine per year and property is excellent value, particularly given the current exchange rate.

It also offers a wide range of choice to second home owners, from modern, new build apartments and villas to vast, cut price plots of land covered with orange and olive trees and tumbledown cottages just crying out for sympathetic renovation.

But what is it that today's second home purchasers are looking for? Has the restoration dream given way to the convenience of new build luxury?