Join the carnival

As the locals prepare to samba, British buyers are starting to make a real song and dance about Brazil’s sultry northeast

The world’s largest and longest street party will erupt this week into a bright flurry of feathers, booty-shaking music and white-toothed smiles. Amid the throngs of carnival-goers will be thousands of Britons dressed in little but flip-flops and the pink beginnings of a tan – many of whom will decide to carry on after the party and invest in a second home in Brazil.

Most potential buyers head to the northeast of the country, where, along more than 1,000 miles of coast from Salvador to Fortaleza, fishing hamlets are being swallowed up by gated resorts with private pools, golf courses and spas. In a reflection of the continent’s obsession with beautiful bodies, some of the developments even have plastic-surgery clinics and rehabilitation spas.

If you can put up with the flight (at least £400 and 8½ hours, often with one or two changes), then the attractions are obvious: long, pristine white-sand beaches, temperatures that reach 30C in January and February, low living costs and properties that are up to a third cheaper than their equivalents in southern Spain. Indeed, many of the developers andimobiliarias funding the building boom cut their teeth on the costas and have crossed the Atlantic in search of a stake in the country Goldman Sachs predicts will have the world’s fifth-largest economy by 2050.

Property prices have seen stratospheric growth, fuelled by an emerging Brazilian middle class, an international campaign to attract investors, and the 2014 World Cup, to be staged across the whole country. “Some locations have seen capital appreciation of more than 1,000% in five years,” says Felipe Cavalcante de Melo Lima, president of the Association for the Development of Tourism and Real Estate in the Brazilian Northeast. He predicts a more modest 12% increase for this year.

“It is like southern Spain 10 or 20 years ago,” agrees David Gordon, commercial director of Qualta Resorts, which is behind two of the largest upmarket resorts in the states of Pernambuco and Rio Grande do Norte. “Brazil is a fabulous alternative to Spain and is more affordable than the Caribbean. People are fed up with the classic Costa del Sol pitch, which has become one big ghetto of British people.”

There may not yet be a fully fledged expat community, but those Britons who have moved there are seeking each other out to share tips on living in a tropical climate. One couple already living their Brazilian dream are Chris Cakebread, 46, and his wife, Collette, 50.

Two years ago, they fell in love with a banana-coloured granja, a smallholding 30 minutes’ drive from Joao Pessoa, in the state of Paraiba, the most easterly part of the Americas.

The couple, who spend half the year in Worcestershire and half in Brazil, and intend to retire The region boasts a seductive mix of sun, sea and samba, as well as elegant old towns such as Salvador, above right there, paid £42,000 for the plantation-style bungalow, which had holes in the roof, no lavatory and only an outside oven. They spent £12,000, and it now has a new roof and a fitted kitchen.

“I watch the sun rise above the mango trees, then hop out of bed and lie by the pool,” Chris says. “I love being in my Brazilian bubble.” The couple regularly go for supper with Jeremy Baker, 68, and his wife, Gemma, 67, from Birkenhead, who have retired to a similar property 15 minutes’ drive away.

Other British neighbours include a policeman from Dover, a Hollywood stunt man and one who works as a volunteer bouncer at Tambaba, the world-famous naturist beach – all of them trying to make a new life in the country. So is it paradise? Almost.

“You can’t buy an electric kettle, so pack one in your suitcase,” Baker says. “And the best way to get rid of the cockroaches that live in the coconut palms is to pack sea salt in newspaper at the top of the trunk. When it rains, this coats the tree and stops the pests wandering indoors.”

Given that Brazil is a vast and diverse country – the northeast region alone is the same size as France, Germany, Italy and Britain combined – what and where should you buy? To help you choose between a granja in the interior, a villa on a golf course or a flat on the beach, here’s our guide to Brazil’s northeast coastal states. Remember, too, that English is not widely spoken, so, if you don’t speak Portuguese, you will need someone who knows both languages to guide you through the buying process – and help you to deal with everything from repairs and renovations to paying your electricity bill once you have acquired your home.

Bahia

Five years ago, the state capital, Salvador, was regarded by most tourists as a grimy, crime-ridden no-go area. Today, the old town is being restored: its peeling pastel facades are getting a face-lift, the Hilton chain is moving in and double-decker tour buses with adverts for village-style gated resorts travel the cobbled streets. Even a couple of years ago, it was possible to pick up a run-down property in the Pelourinho district, in the 18th-century centre, for less than £50,000, but derelict townhouses now start at £150,000 or more; count on spending the same again on renovations. And check out the neighbourhood by night as well as day: as in many Brazilian cities, crime can be a problem.

You’ll need a good guide, and a number of long-term British residents in the city are offering just such a buying service. Daniel Daly, who has lived in Brazil for more than 20 years.

Paraiba

For many years considered one of Brazil’s poorest and least developed states, Paraiba is largely overlooked by the package-holiday and property-tour crowd. It has fewer flights, and a poorer infrastructure, but there is a greater feeling of getting away from it all.

Pernambuco

The beautiful colonial town of Olinda, which adjoins Recife, the largely industrial state capital and site of the airport, is popular with sightseers, but most buyers head for the coast. One of the most attractive, upmarket schemes is the Reef Club, at Porto, set in 500 hectares of Atlantic rainforest and mangroves, an hour’s drive from the city. Buyers will have access to a planned VIP lounge at the airport. There will be 4,000 residential units. All have views of the golf course, ocean or rainforest. As well as enjoying the spa, health-conscious owners can opt into a bio-metric scheme that will measure their calorific intake and blood-sugar levels.

Rio Grande do Norte

If you need more extreme help to keep in shape, then one of the 13,500 properties planned for Lagoa do Coelho, a 35-minute drive from Natal, might be ideal. Purchasers will have access to dentistry and plastic surgery. AGS Properties has one-bed flats. Tourism and property prices look set to receive a further boost from the planned expansion of Natal’s airport.

The hot spots are Ponta Negra and Pipa, where the beaches are consistently voted among the best in Brazil. They attract a younger crowd, looking for a laid-back lifestyle of kitesurfing and cocktails. A second phase of larger villa-style holiday homes on the 350-hectare site will be released later in the year.

Ceara

The most developed spot on the northeast coast, Fortaleza is fast becoming the Torremolinos of Brazil.

http://property.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/property/overseas/article3245446.ece