Attractive life on the Portuguese coast.

Not long ago the City of Comporta was little known, but it has begun to grow and now may be the time to make a purchase. Costa Terra Golf and Ocean Club, set to open next June, has a full mile of beachfront. Portugal is not new to tourism, and vacation home buyers from all over Europe, the United States, and other countries are flocking here. Tourists are attracted by the year-round temperate climate, great fresh food, high quality of life and diverse attractions including beaches, historic sites and activities such as golfing, surfing, yachting and hiking. As well as affordable prices compared to similar destinations in Europe.

Algarve

Algarve, located in southern Portugal, is the country's most popular destination for vacation homes and is preferred for its many beaches and dozens of golf courses, said Patrick Bonnet, director of marketing at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Portugal Property. But those who want to avoid the crowds with which the region is oversaturated turn their attention to Comporta, the coast to the north.

Comporta

Comporta, located in the southern wine region of Alentejo, an hour's drive from Lisbon, is an area that includes a village of the same name. Here the panorama is flat and wild, almost wild, with the beach stretching for more than 30 miles. Rice fields, pine trees, agricultural farms and sand dunes are everywhere.

Comporta was little known not so long ago, but today it is experiencing a surge in construction with several new residential developments from local and international construction companies, as well as newly built private homes.

Paulo Barreto, a real estate consultant at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Portugal Property who owns a house in Comporte, said much of the land was once owned by Espirito Santos, a well-known banker family in Portugal. They were nationalized in the 1970s during the Carnival Revolution, but privatized again in the late 1980s. Comporta has been able to avoid public attention because much of it is in a nature reserve where the government restricts construction. Accessibility is also significant: the highway linking Lisbon to Comporta, which cut travel time by about half, was only built in the late 1990s.

Costa Terra Golf Club and Ocean Club

A small group of high-profile buyers, including renowned French designer Jacques Grange and German artist Anselm Kiefer, helped bring international attention to Comporte when they bought vacation homes there more than a decade ago. Mr. Grange described the region as the Hamptons on the east end of Long Island before it became built up. "There's nothing here for almost miles, and that's the reason to be here," he said.

One of the newest and largest residential projects in Comport is the Costa Terra Golf and Ocean Club, developed by Discovery Land Company, based in Scottsdale, Arizona. The complex covers more than 900 acres of land, 224 acres of which are designated for conservation, and stretches for more than a mile along the oceanfront. The restaurant and bar at the top of the tree house overlooking the sea is already open, as well as a spa and villas for potential buyers. Most of the club will be open next June, said sales director Adrian Wadey.

Mr. Wadey said prices for homes in Costa Terra start at $4.6 million. So far, it has marked the sale of 71 homes. Alexandra Champalimaud, a renowned interior designer, is the principal designer of Costa Terra. "I use neutral and white colors and use locally produced tile," she said.

Atlantic Club of ComportAG/h3>

Another new and significant residential development in Comport is the Atlantic Club of Comport, which will open in late 2023. It includes 21 single-story villas ranging from 3,000 to 6,500 square feet; prices start at $3.5 million. The homes are being built around a courtyard with landscaped gardens and will have swimming pools, said Dietrich Rogge, founder and CEO of Rockstone Real Estate, the Munich-based company behind the project. "Life in Comport is centered around homes where people spend time and gather with friends and family," he said. "For this reason, there will be no restaurants or public spaces for socializing at the Atlantic Club.

Muda Reserve

Portugalreal estate company Vanguard Properties is behind another development in Comport called Muda Reserve. Consisting of 175 villas with private pools and 50 large farmhouses (prices for villas start at 1.3 million. dollars), Muda is currently under construction and will also include a restaurant, church and co-working space, according to Vangard's head of communications, Duarte Zoyo. All of the farms have been sold, he added.

Vanguard is also building two other nearby properties that will have residential homes and hotel rooms, as well as a golf course at each, he said.

Also contributing to Comporta's growth as a vacation home destination is the construction of new private homes that are not part of common apartment complexes. Mr. Barreto said many homebuyers purchase lots of land with older built homes, tear them down and build new ones. "They are all inland, often around rice paddies, and some extend over 50 acres," he said. A 1,000-square-foot home costs about $400,000 or $500,000, Mr. Baretto said, and larger estates can cost up to $5 million.

But the appeal is not just in the prices. Comporta residents, including Mr. Barretto, Mr. Grange and Ms. Champalimaud, said the place offers a laid-back lifestyle, with people spending most of the day at the beach or lounging by the pool in warmer weather. They also gather at their homes for dinners - usually on seafood with copious displays of Portuguese wine - that last several hours.

Comporta, Pegu and Carval are a few of the main beaches that are rarely crowded. "There are times when you'll be out there alone," Ms. Champalimaud said. It used to be that eating out was not a tradition. However, with the addition of new restaurants in recent years, things have changed.

"People who live here like to go to different places, and now there are options for modern cuisine," Mr. Baretto said. For example, Kavalarisha, one of Ms. Champalimaud's recommendations, offers sophisticated interpretations of local dishes such as mussels in chicken broth with coriander and marinated fish with avocado puree. One of the most significant indicators that Comporta is becoming a popular destination was the opening of the Sublime Comporta Beach Club at Carvalhal Beach, which is part of the Sublime Comporta resort.

"Five or 10 years ago, the concept of a beach club in Comporta was totally incomprehensible and would have caused amazement," Mr. Barreto said. "Nobody really pays much attention to it these days.".