The economic uncertainty of the past twelve months has resulted in considerable changes to patterns within overseas property investment. Whereas the past decade was characterized by short term - high yield investment (resulting in destinations such as Dubai seeing record growth followed by considerable decreases in property values), the majority of investors now look for long term stability and sustainable growth.In short, investors are now looking for destinations which offer genuine long term stability, underpinned by sound economic fundamentals rather than hype and speculation. One destination which delivers on these criteria of sound economic fundamentals is Brazil, and in particular the popular resort area in country's north eastern region of Natal.
Natal is located approximately 2,500 kilometers north of the country's capital city of Sao Paolo, and is widely acknowledge as being the 'destination of choice' for holidays of both national and international tourists into Brazil. A superb tropical climate, coupled with the region's spectacular coastline, have made the area popular amongst property developers, who see the region as offering considerable potential for long term investment returns. Many miles of undeveloped beachfront property stretch for considerable distances either side of the main city of Natal, offering investors unrivaled opportunities to capitalize early on in the development process.
There are a number of factors which contribute to the overall appeal of the region to investors, and key to these is the overall economic performance of Brazil. In fact, such is the anticipated growth rate in Brazil, that a recent report from Goldman Sachs stated that they expect Brazil to become one of the top five global economies by 2050. This anticipated future growth, underpinned by considerable natural resources (Brazil is estimated to hold more reserves of oil than Saudi Arabia), has only served to increase the overall appeal of Brazil to overseas investors.
On the back of Brazil's strong economic performance, considerable investment is being made by the government into the tourist regions surrounding Natal. As well as a large number of development and housing projects being announced for the region, a large number of golf courses are also being built, designed to increase the overall tourist appeal of the region. At heart of this long term investment in the future of tourism in Brazil is the Tourism National Plan, put in place by the Brazil Ministry for Tourism. This long term strategic plan has proven to be the catalyst for a number of investment projects throughout Brazil, as it strives to achieve its target of increasing the number of foreign visitors to over 9 million.
Increased accessibility has also played a pivotal role within the increased appeal of the region to overseas investors. The new international airport in Natal, which is set to be opened in June 2010 will become the eight largest airport in the world, and already a large number of international airlines have committed to opening up new routes directly into the Natal region. With flights to Natal taking between 7-9 hours from the majority of European destinations, the number of visitors from the region is set to increase considerably in the years to come.
Brazil has undoubtedly caught the eye of overseas property investors in recent years, and over the course of the past twelve months a number of stunning new coastal developments have been announced in and around the Natal region. Offering beachfront locations which are simply unrivaled elsewhere, it is likely that the demand for property in Natal will only increase considerably over the next five to ten years.