Pico's UNESCO-protected wine landscape drives up rural housing prices and holds back construction

Pico, the archipelago's second-largest island and the one most easily recognised by its volcano, is undergoing a quiet transformation of its property market. The vine-growing landscape, recognised by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, protects the network of black-stone curraletas that has defined the island for centuries, but that same protection is now limiting the housing supply at a time of growing demand, according to real-estate sources.

A market starting from a very low base

Pico's prices started out well below those of São Miguel or Faial, but property portals are now recording year-on-year rises of close to 10% in the areas of Madalena and São Roque do Pico, the island's two main towns.

Stone houses highly prized by outside buyers

Old basalt-stone houses, many of them historically linked to winemaking, have become highly desirable for foreign buyers seeking a second home or looking to develop rural and wine-tourism projects, according to estate agents consulted. Restoring them, however, is costly and subject to strict heritage constraints.

Heritage restrictions, a double-edged sword

UNESCO protection bars new construction across large parts of the wine landscape and severely restricts renovations to existing buildings, which preserves the island's scenic value but limits room for the housing stock to grow. Winegrowers themselves complain that the shortage of available land also affects the expansion of their own holdings.

Young people emigrate as land prices climb

While the value of estates linked to wine and wine tourism keeps rising, much of the island's young population continues to leave for São Miguel or the mainland in search of work, a contrast that worries local producers' associations.

What the authorities are proposing

The regional wine institute and the Câmara Municipal, in both Madalena and São Roque do Pico, are studying ways to reconcile protection of the wine landscape with incentives for renovating housing for permanent residents, without jeopardising UNESCO recognition.