Foreign investors begin to look at Maio as a cheaper, quieter alternative to Sal and Boa Vista

The pull of the price tag

Land trades at between 800 and 1,200 CVE/m², a world away from the 6,000-10,000 CVE/m² seen in Sal.

Sea-view villas at bargain prices

A villa with sea views can be had for around 12,000,000 CVE.

Interest that remains fragile

Infrequent flights and a thin choice of hotels continue to hold purchase decisions back.

The question of take-off

Maio could benefit from overcrowding in Sal and Boa Vista, but the knock-on effect is slow to arrive.

The profile of the first buyers

Those enquiring about land in Maio so far are mostly Europeans who already know Cabo Verde from visits to Sal or Boa Vista and are looking for somewhere quieter and cheaper. Local estate agents describe a patient type of buyer, willing to wait for infrastructure to develop before building. For now the number of transactions is small, and most involve private individuals rather than large institutional investors.

A direct comparison with Sal and Boa Vista

The price gap between Maio and its more developed neighbours is striking even to those working in the sector. While a comparable plot in Sal can easily exceed 8,000 CVE per square metre, prices in Maio remain at levels last seen before the tourism boom those islands experienced more than a decade ago. That gap is precisely the selling point agencies use to attract new buyers.

Infrastructure, the main brake

The limited number of flights to Maio and the scarcity of hotel accommodation continue to deter many prospective buyers from taking the final step. Without regular air links, it is hard to justify investing in a second home that could only be reached with difficulty. Local authorities acknowledge that any sustained growth in property interest will depend first on a substantial improvement in the island's connectivity.

Will Maio follow the path of Sal?

Some investors are backing Maio precisely because they expect a process similar to the one that transformed Sal and Boa Vista, albeit more cautiously given how slow progress has been so far. Other analysts warn that without a clear political decision on the island's tourism development, current interest could amount to little more than market curiosity. For the time being, Maio remains in a wait-and-see phase, caught between the promise of rising values and uncertainty over how quickly that will happen.