Actual Property is Booming within the Stylish Seaside Area of Comporta in Portugal

When it comes to vacation home destinations in Portugal, the Algarve, in the south, may have an international name, but the cognoscenti and well-heeled are increasingly gravitating to Comporta. An hour drive south of Lisbon, Comporta is part of the country’s Alentejo region and comprised of small villages that dot the coastline including one of the same name. It’s an area with a flat landscape that’s full of rice fields, pine trees, sand dunes, and farms.

“Ten years ago, no one had heard of Comporta, but now it’s on the map because there are so many real estate projects happening there,” says Alex Koch de Gooreynd, a partner at the real estate firm Knight Frank and an expert on Portugal’s real estate. But despite the development, he says that the various properties are well spread out and in line with Comporta’s barefoot living ethos. 

“Comporta will never feel crowded or overrun because there are so many regulations around building and protecting the land,” says Koch de Gooreynd. “This is not a place for wild nights out. People socialize in each other’s homes.” Also worth noting is that the region has become a favorite for designers and the fashion set including Alexandra Champalimaud and Jacques Grange, who both own homes there and are working on two of the new projects.

The biggest and buzziest real estate venture in Comporta is CostaTerra Golf & Ocean Club, from the Scottsdale-based Discovery Land Company, which has a portfolio of more than a dozen high-end residential clubs in the United States and the Caribbean (Discovery is founded and run by Mike Meldman, who is also a cofounder of Casamigos tequila).

Spanning 720 acres, the community was designed by Portugal native Champalimaud and has a natural aesthetic featuring neutral colors and locally made terra-cotta tiles. Amenities include a mile of beachfront, an 18-hole golf course, a restaurant and bar on top of a treehouse, and courts for tennis, pickle, and paddle ball. Members, as residents are called, can avail of Costa Terra’s Outdoor Pursuits program that offers surfing, horseback riding, fishing, hiking, and other nature-focused activities. Prices for the 300 residences start at $4.6 million, according to director of sales Adrian Wadey, and the first ones will debut in June.