Boa Vista nears building saturation in Sal Rei amid a second-home boom

Boa Vista, Cape Verde's second island in tourism weight after Sal, is going through a phase of accelerated property expansion centred on Sal Rei and the strip of large resorts towards the south of the island, in areas such as Praia de Chaves or around Santa Mónica. The arrival of international hotel chains over the past decade has come alongside a marked increase in the construction of villas and flats aimed at second homes and holiday-rental investment.

A market oriented almost entirely towards foreign buyers

According to estate agencies operating on the island, more than 80% of new-home sales on Boa Vista go to non-resident buyers, mainly Europeans. Prices for tourist flats range between 90,000 and 200,000 euros depending on proximity to the beach and quality of finishes, while buildable plots near the large hotel complexes have multiplied in value over the past decade, according to property sector sources consulted.

Sal Rei, caught between growth and a lack of planning

The town of Sal Rei, a traditional fishing port turned tourist services hub, has seen urban growth that municipal sources acknowledge has been partly disorderly, with neighbourhoods for tourism-sector workers — many of them from Santiago or from Guinea-Bissau and Senegal — built with less planning than the hotel areas. Rents for this working population have risen sharply, according to INE Cape Verde data, in step with growth in tourism-related employment.

Infrastructure lagging behind construction

The pace of new tourist construction has, municipal technicians acknowledge, outstripped the capacity of the island's water, sanitation and electricity networks, which in recent summers has led to occasional supply cuts in parts of Sal Rei. The local property sector is calling for faster public investment in infrastructure so as not to jeopardise the island's appeal to investors, amid strong competition with Sal to attract foreign capital.

Spatial planning, the outstanding issue

Boa Vista Town Council has announced a review of its planning framework to set clearer limits on the expansion of new resorts and protect areas of ecological value, such as the sea turtle nesting beaches to the south of the island. Property sector sources note, however, that foreign investment pressure remains so strong that it is, in practice, difficult to halt new projects already committed to international capital.