Real Estate in Portugal - NYTimes.com This five-bedroom six-bath villa has a coral-colored stucco facade that stands out against the volcanic stone hillside on which it was built. The house faces the town of Cascais and the Atlantic on the Estoril Coast of Portugal. Renovated in 2010, the 45-year-old house has a traditional terra cotta tile roof and bright white trim. The main entrance is through an arched doorway, which opens into a foyer with stone floors and carved stone pillars. Off the foyer is the library, which has a wooden ceiling, built-in wooden shelves painted dark green, a working stone-faced fireplace, and a door opening onto a terrace. A half-bath, off the entryway, is the only other room on this floor. A stone staircase ascends from the foyer to the main level, with the living and dining rooms and the kitchen. The living room has an arched, contoured ceiling painted white; a doorway from the living room leads to a bedroom and bathroom intended for the household staff. The kitchen, also off the living room, has glossy red cabinets, polished pine countertops and stainless steel appliances. The kitchen walls are lined to the ceiling with blue-and-white tiles. In addition to the maid's room beside the kitchen, there are four bedrooms with en suite bathrooms a short flight of stairs up from the living area. The four bedrooms have built-in wardrobes and doors opening to terraces that surround the house. In the master bedroom, the ceiling is arched, the walls are covered with floral wallpaper, and the floor is lined with traditional Portuguese terra cotta tiles. The master bathroom is carpeted, with under-floor heating and tiled walls. Another of the bedrooms was designed to resemble a Swiss chalet, with its ceiling, walls and floor all a knotty Scandinavian pine. The property has a long driveway leading to a cobblestone parking area. There are two garages, with indoor parking for as many as four cars. The Mediterranean-style garden surrounding the house has mature tangerine and fig trees. Both the sunrise and the sunset are visible from the many Lioz marble terraces. The swimming pool mimics the shape of a natural pond, and a small building nearby has a full kitchen and dining room for outdoor entertaining. The house is half a mile from the village of Malveira da Serra, which has a supermarket, doctors" offices and bakeries. The town of Cascais, an upscale bedroom community for nearby Lisbon, is nearby. Guincho Beach, a well-known surfing and windsurfing destination, is a five-minute drive. The area has several golf courses and equestrian centers, as well as a casino. The half-hour train ride from Cascais to Lisbon runs along the coast; the international airport is a 30-minute drive. The market has been relatively stable over the past year, said Antonio Lopes, a sales director for Lucas Fox Portugal. Prices have dropped 2 to 3 percent on average over the past 12 months, but "there are no wild fluctuations in values," Mr. Lopes wrote in an e-mail. In other parts of Portugal, like the Algarve, a southern coastal region, prices fell more steeply - as much as 15 percent in the past year, said Christian de Meillac, head of the Portugal team at the London-based real estate company, Knight Frank. According to Mr. Lopes, most of the vacation homes owned by foreigners in Portugal are in one of three areas: the Central Algarve; the historic district of Lisbon; or the Cascais area on the Estoril Coast, like this house. High-end apartments in Lisbon cost about 5,000 euros per square meter ($603 per square foot, at 0.77 euros to the dollar), Mr. Lopes said. In Cascais, apartments with ocean views bring 4,500 euros per square meter, and villas with ocean views can cost up to 6,000. This house is priced at 6,000 euros per square meter. Cascais and the surrounding villages are popular with foreign executives and government officials who work in Lisbon, said Charles Roberts, managing partner of the Lisbon-based real estate company IRG Lux and the listing agent for this property. Many buyers come from Northern Europe, and the international schools in Cascais attract families from the United States, Britain and elsewhere - including Brazil and other former Portuguese colonies. In addition, an increasing number of buyers are from China, Mr. Lopes said. The Algarve's most sought-after vacation spots have drawn buyers from Angola, Russia and Scandinavia, Mr. de Meillac said. "There is absolutely nothing in the law or otherwise to prevent foreigners from buying a property in Portugal," Mr. Roberts said. The process is straightforward, with the total transaction costs for the buyer amounting to about 7.5 percent of the purchase price. A large part of those expenses is a 6 percent transfer tax; the remaining 1.5 percent covers fees for land registry and the notary. The more complex the sale, the higher the notary fee will be. In addition to the notary, Mr. Roberts advised, "you should appoint a lawyer here in Portugal who speaks your mother tongue." English-speaking lawyers are easily found. Official tourism Web site: visitportugal.com Inside Portugal travel site: insideportugaltravel.com The Portugal News: theportugalnews.com Municipality of Cascais: cm-cascais.pt Portuguese; euros (1 euro=$1.30) Municipal taxes are around $20,000 a year, paid to the municipality. Charles Roberts, IRG Lux, 011351-214-643-636; irglux.com