The overseas property market has plenty of diversity, which may be both a weakness and a strength. For those failing to carry out the right research, the enticement of an investment without a full understanding of the type of person who might occupy it, for example as a holiday let, could end up in failure. Should errors be made over the location, accessibility to an airport, lack of proximity to a beach or size of a property, the money spent may not produce a good return.

On the other hand, those whop research well will be able to gain an understanding of the different markets out there and with it be able to work out what the respective requirements are for skiers in the alps, city dwellers in Paris who might commute via the Eurotunnel to work in London or spend a fortnight on the beach and in the sun.

In the case of Portugal, it has been suggested that a comparison with neighbouring Spain is far from apt. Instead, the opportunity it provides is that of a location that provides something different.

John Reilly, the managing director of overseas property agency Buy Abroad, said that this has come about from the absence in Portugal of the sort of Anglicisation that has taken place in Spain.

He commented: "People are looking for a country that offers a mix of traditional things like tavernas rather than fish and chips and English pubs."

Mr Reilly said that Portuguese property developers liked to describe this in terms of Portugal being more upmarket than Spain, although he suggested this was not quite the whole story, observing: "The reality is traditionally in the Algarve it's more expensive to buy there than it is in most regions of Spain, and therefore it's attracted a more affluent resident or investor."

But while the Algarve offers one attraction, the Silver Coast is another. This region is not a top-of-the range destination because unlike the Algarve it is not established. Instead, Mr Reilly noted, it is an up-and-coming location which an investor in emerging markets may be interested in.

He said: "Because of the prices [there] you are getting a lot more for your money compared to the Algarve. It's considered an up-and-coming area. For what you pay for an apartment in the Algarve you can get villa in the silver coast, in places like Nazere."

Indeed, there may even be a third possibility. Recently the Independent featured the Blue Coast, lying between the Algarve and the Silver Coast, in which has as yet seen little development but has a wealth of beaches, archaeological sites and a proximity to some national parks. The paper noted that there are farmhouses a little way inland that could be had for as little as £150,000.

Commenting to the paper, Connie Vitto of Quadrant Overseas Property, selling apartments in the town of Alcacer Do Sal, said: "It's an area of outstanding natural beauty with a spectacular coastline and long beaches."

So while the Algarve is the established upmarket / expensive location and the Silver Coast property is the emerging market of today, perhaps the Blue Coast will be the emerging hotspot of tomorrow.