NAS22

Dear all,

My partner and I are thinking about buying a property in the Silver Coast. I have been to Lisbon several times and have also been to Obidos, which is very pretty and we liked very much. I have seen a few properties around Leiria in different areas and I am a bit concern, not to say suspicious. The houses seem very well priced, not to say to well priced, almost a bit to good to be true. My question is......well if anyone can be kind enough to ask - Is Leiria a good place to live? Is there any no go areas? What's the best place around Leiria? Thank you so much in advanced.

Knoxy_UK

When you say the houses are "well priced" are you comparing them to UK houses, or compared to different areas in PT?

coffeeman

Hi and Welcome,
I think the further up the coast you go the cheaper it will get for you the Silver coast is a nice place to be not as hot in the summer and like you will see prices are cheaper aswell. I have a flat on the silver coast have had for 10yrs now all good with all depends on what you are looking for.
good luck with the house hunting.

captainflack

Well priced depends on what you are comparing to. As with any country, some areas are more expensive than others for various reasons.

Areas that are closer to Lisbon and Porto are generally more expensive because that's where the jobs and facilities like airports are. The Algarve is more expensive also because it's the most established holiday area, and has a large expat population which makes it easier for foreigners to live there.

Proximity to jobs might not be an issue if you're viewing it as a holiday home, in which case Leiria is a perfectly nice city and the area around it certainly cheaper which would let you buy somewhere bigger for your money. If you plan largely on keeping yourselves to yourselves, the relative isolation is probably a positive rather than negative.

But if you're going to be coming and going frequently, or have family that will, then the distance from airports is a negative factor. Similarly, the distance from big cities will limit social life to some degree as you won't necessarily want to drive 1.5-2 hrs to go for a night out in Lisbon, and are unlikely to have a big circle of local expats if you intend hanging out with fellow Brits.

There are areas down the Silver coast closer to Lisbon which are still good value but within easy reach of Lisbon airport (which is at the north of the city), though they're likely to be pricier than Leiria.

NAS22

Thank you all for the replies! I was in fact comparing to the Algarve, it seems like a big difference in price. I am probably being very naive, but I actually though being lets say 1 hour from Lisbon would make the houses in the Silver Coast much more expensive than the Algarve. It's the reason why I was suspicious, as to me being closer to a city like Lisbon and places like Obidos seem much more attractive. Nothing against the Algarve by the way. I love it and have been many times.

EMR

The difference is due to demand and the number of overseas buyers.
The climate, length of season, rental potential etc etc.
The Silver coast is not the Algarve which appeals to some but not all.

carvoeiro

we house hunted along the silver coast
inland house prices were very reasonable
nearer the coast 30% lower than the Algarve -
regarding proxiity to Lisboa - Porto generally the Portuguese think 30 mins is a very long commute so don't live there and work in the big cities
So really only local people and retired people living there
there were some good bargains to be had - but what eventually put us off was the rain and wind in the wintertime - anywhere South of Lisboa has much milder winters
i thought Leiria was a fairly large - by comparison with anything in the algarve - and fairly busy city - nice to have nearby - its a few years ago but it seemed to be very spread out -
- lots of little satellites attached to it - i was never really sure where it began and ended - but i didn't like the idea of living there
however we also found many of the smaller places very quiet out of season
i liked Obidos too
sorry to add but it was a few years ago when we considered this area - a general feeling we got in quite a few places was that it was a bit unloved - many new unsold or unfinished buildings dotted around - this might explain partly why the prices are lower in some areas - Portugal as a whole is a difficult place to sell houses in comparisson with the UK - a year is not unusual - but we got the impression if we bought in the wrong place it might take forever to move on