Townhouses in Portugal's Quinta do Lago development hit the market this week. Orna Mulcahy reports.

A dozen townhouses in a new development within the exlusive Quinta do Lago resort on Portugal's Algarve go on sale in Dublin today with prices starting at €635,000.

Vale dos Pinheiros is a small "village" of golden-hued houses set in lush gardens in a wooded area close to the beach within Quinta, the 2,000-acre resort that includes three golf courses, the five-star Quinta do Lago hotel, several lakes and access to over 3 kms of beach. The sales are being handled through HOK where Catherine O'Connor and Stephanie Patterson are dealing with enquiries.

The scheme has 55 large one and two-bedroom houses and around 20 have already been sold, with the developers keeping a further tranche for rental purposes. Vale dos Pinherios is the first townhouse development to be carried out by the Quinta do Lago company which controls the resort and which has been owned since 1998 by Irish businessman Denis O'Brien.

Three years in the planning and two in the building, the "village" is now almost complete, with new owners expected to take possession over the summer. Several units have been snapped up by residents of Quinta planning to downsize from some of the resort's large and luxurious villas. As one might expect, the Irish have been buying here and throughout the resort - according to Quinta's director of sales, Jose Carvalho, the Irish and English are now the top buyers in the resort where villa plots can run in the millions of euros.

A handy off-shore address, Quinta is a two-and-a-half hour flight from Dublin, and a 20-minute drive from Faro Airport. Originally a private estate, Quinta is a haven of about 2,000 acres within the Ria Formosa Nature Park with its huge variety of protected rare birds, wildlife, lakes, walkways, dunes and beaches. It was developed as a resort in the early 1970s and development continues at a stately pace, with strict planning guidelines in place to protect both the wild life and peace and privacy of its high net worth residents. Security is said to be tight yet there are no obvious checkpoints or controls. A small army of gardeners and maintenance people constantly buzz around, attending to the lush gardens and golf courses, while an even bigger army of men and women look after the luxurious villas and apartments.

For an area that is so choc a block with multi-millionaires, the resort has a compartively relaxed, open feel about it. This is partly due to such Quinta regulations as "see-through" gates, and the fact that walls must be softened by hedging. The Portuguese requirement to limit house exterior colours to shades of yellow and white imposes a certain harmony, though owners are allowed plenty of latitude when it comes to designing their homes. French chateau-style villas stand side-by-side with sleek contemporary houses and traditional Portuguese designs.

Based around a clubhouse - where there will be café and spa facilities, as well as a communal swimming pool - Vale dos Pinheiros is an unusual development in that the houses are extremely spacious and well finished.

At around 100 sq m (1,076 sq ft) the one-bedroom houses have large airy living cum diningrooms opening out onto a patio and a good-sized garden. The ground floor also includes a spacious well equipped kitchen and a big shower room, as well as plenty of fitted storage. Up a stone staircase is the bedroom with its vast en suite and outdoor terrace.

The two-bedroom townhouses are around 158 sq m (1,700 sq ft) with a large open-plan living and diningroom leading out onto a slightly larger patio and garden. The two-bedroom units have good-sized working kitchens, a ground floor shower room and, upstairs, two double bedrooms, one bathroom and one shower room. Both bedrooms have access to a superb terrace.

Finished to a high spec, with top-of-the-range appliances, smart sanitary ware, a generous fireplace, and built-in outdoor barbeque, these house are designed for year round living.

Investors can expect 18-20 weeks of rental between the high season summer months of July and August as well as Easter, Christmas and Whit. The two- bedroom units should atttract rent of around €1,900 per week, according to Jose Carvalho. Owners can place their property with the Club da Quinta, a property management company that will provide a full rental service for a fee of 20 per cent.

Buyers will be entitled to a 50 per cent reduction on green fees on two of Quinta's golf courses.