SARDINIA ITALY:More people are turning to Sardinia when buying second homes because of its relaxed charm but you will be lucky to get a bargain by the sea

THE TOWNS of this shepherding nation have all been built a couple of kilometres inland, away from the ruggedly beautiful coastline and all the foreign invaders that have plundered such shores.

With the exception of pockets such as the Costa Smeralda, a St Tropez style enclave of exquisite architect-designed villas with price tags hitting €30 million, most of the coastal property on Sardinia dates from the 1970s.

But this is not somewhere where package tourism has bequeathed a fringe of ugly high rises and while 400,000 Italian second-home owners love its modern yet rustic properties, a new breed of invader is now arriving: the foreign investor after affordable property on some of the most unspoilt coastline left in the Med.

Since low-cost airlines have put the island - often likened to Majorca 30 years ago - within easy reach of Ireland and the UK, second-home ownership has begun to take off.

"Ryanair flying into Alghero on the north-west coast has made a huge difference," says Janet Veillon who set up the agency House Around Sardinia 18 months ago. "Alghero is a real hotspot as everyone wants to be within half an hour of the airport.

"Now that Easyjet also flies into Olbia in the north-east, the whole north coast is booming even though it's not necessarily the most beautiful part of the island."

Lovers of the north's numerous emerald bays, after which the Costa Smeralda was named, or the cluster of green-carpeted islands around the La Maddalena Cape might disagree, and a glorious 17km stretch of white sand near Valledoria is another property hotspot.

In the Catalan-influenced port of Alghero - a "mini Barcelona" - new-build villas in Monti Carru, a tranquil spot amid olive groves, are being snapped up for €400,000 plus.

In a typical Sardinian style, the villas are low-rise, using local stone and wood to blend with the environment and they have a tinge of Moorish influence about them. "About 15 of the 62 units have been sold to Irish buyers," says Francesco Sanna of the developer, OPE.

"But it's a busy student town, the marina is being expanded into one of the biggest in Europe and rentals here could be €3,000-4,000 a month in peak summer." July and August rentals can indeed be lucrative, and the short tourist season will probably lengthen as more non-Italians start visiting.

For those with a smaller budget, you can buy a new-build apartment from €105,000 in Valledoria (through GK Italian Property), but prices are gathering momentum says Angela Barrett who bought a six-bed villa with a pool there three years ago.

"We fell in love with its beautiful setting in a pine forest with the beach two minutes away," says Angela, 50-year-old mother of three from Kilkenny.

"We wanted a second-home that we could also rent out [www.holiday-rentals.co.uk/74615] and while we've got neighbours who have been offered a million euros for their home, I think €2,000sq m is the going rate.

"It reminds us of the west of Ireland 20 years ago. There's no pressure to do anything, and you have no choice but to slow down. The only problem is when you need to get work done."

She warns buyers to beware the slow bureaucratic Italian purchase process and of the need for an Italian-speaker (and patience) in all aspects of buying and renovating.

But the Italian way of life is what draws many buyers to Sardinia, says Italian property specialist Gemma Knowles.

"Italo-philes now want the coastal experience and many areas here are cheaper than those on the mainland," she says.

That said, coastal prices have been going up 10-30 per cent a year since the "Salva Costa" [save the coast] law which banned new build within 2km of the sea.

In eastern Sardinia, Veillon is selling a three-bed villa for €260,000 15 minutes from the sea that she says would be "€500-800,000" if it was on the coast. She adds that while the UK/Irish buyers tend to stay north - where there's been more new-build - the south is more popular with Italians plus the Germans and Swiss, who arrive by ferry in Arbatax.

Although it's perceived wisdom that the undeveloped south is cheaper than the north, Italian second-home hotspots such as Tortoli near Arbatax are pricey - and the north is friendlier to tourists, says Tamara McCauley, a southern Sardinian living in Co Kildare.

She and her Irish husband Brendan have bought a new-build two-bed apartment in Porto San Paolo, 10km south of Olbia airport, which they rent out for between €300-1,200 a week (www.holidaylettings.co.uk/47228). It was a choice between building a larger home in Ireland or investing in Sardinia's emerging market.

"We paid €172,000 but it would be double the price if it was half an hour north in the Costa Smeralda," says Tamara, 29.

"Besides the Costa is not the real Sardinia, lovely as it is.

"I love the wild feel of the rest of the island, it still feels so undiscovered which is hard to find these days."