A few years ago most people in Britain would have been hard pushed to place the Cape Verde Islands on a map, but now this archipelago is listed as one of the top 20 locations to buy property abroad this year, interest in this former Portuguese colony is growing rapidly especially with the property developers.

Cape Verde has been billed as the next hot tourist destination above the likes of the French Riviera, Costa del Sol and Tuscany. Situated just off the west coast of Senegal, the Cape Verde Islands have the highest standard of living in West Africa and when Cape Verde’s Prime Minister suggested that the Islands be given a “special status” relationship with the European Union it was clear to many that the Cape Verde archipelago may be joining the likes of the Canary Islands, Azores and Madeira in shifting itself economically and culturally towards Europe.

The property boom that the Cape Verde islands is starting to experience looks set to last for a while. Cape Verde is the closest tropical islands to Europe and is blessed with year round sunshine, stunning white beaches, exotic landscapes and a friendly and happy local populace. With the opening of an international airport on Cape Verde’s capitol city of Praia on Santiago island the current seven hour flight from London via Lisbon will become a direct flight of little over five hours encouraging more and more people to the area.

The interest in Cape Verde is definitely hotting up with many people agreeing that the islands are where the Canaries were 20 years ago and the property market is booming. With 9 islands to choose from (Santa Luzia being a national park with no residents at present) the average property is selling for around €40,000 for a studio apartment by the sea on the busier islands and on the quieter islands two or three bedroom villas, five minutes from the beach complete with communal pool and fruit gardens of lemon, palm and papaya trees are on offer for only around €140,000.

Many people are deciding to invest their money in off plan property in Cape Verde. It is now possible to get mortgages to buy property in Cape Verde and one developer is offering a bank guarantee to all investors. It is not too complicated to borrow the money in the Uk for your dream Cape Verde home but if you are purchasing off plan you need to check that the seller has got a good reputation and planning consent. The Cape Verde legal system is still the same as the Portuguese system so it is well established.

The main islands that property investors and being encouraged to look at are Santiago
Sal and Boa Vista, which is where the main bulk of the property development is underway. Buyers have many options open to them as to what they do with their new Cape Verde property. Keep as a holiday/retirement home, resell at a profit, rent out to ex-pats or even lease the property out to travel companies who will in turn rent the property to holiday makers on package tours. With potential rental returns of up to 11% a year and the value of property likely to increase by around 25% a year, purchasing property in Cape Verde seems to be a very good investment.