Restoring traditional whitewashed houses becomes Graciosa's biggest property bet

A townscape worth preserving

Graciosa, known as the white island, retains a cluster of traditional whitewashed houses in its vila.

Renovating rather than building

Almost all transactions involve this type of property, with new-build remaining virtually token.

The real cost of keeping the white facade

Preserving the traditional look makes renovations more expensive than a conventional refurbishment.

A tourism incentive too

Some renovated houses have ended up as tourist accommodation.

The vila of Santa Cruz da Graciosa as a benchmark

The town centre of Santa Cruz da Graciosa has the highest concentration of these whitewashed houses, with facades combining white lime and exposed basalt stonework, a contrast that has become the island's trademark. Architects working in the area say restoring properties in keeping with these codes requires skilled labour that is increasingly scarce on an island of just a few thousand people. The lack of stonemasons and builders trained in traditional techniques makes renovations more expensive and drags out the timelines.

Families returning to renovate

A good share of purchases are made by descendants of emigrants who decide to restore the family home before it deteriorates further, in many cases intending to spend only a few weeks a year there. Residents of the vila point out that this trend has saved buildings that had stood shuttered for decades, though they lament that it doesn't always translate into year-round residents. The Câmara Municipal has begun keeping a register of renovated houses to gauge the real scale of the phenomenon.

Municipal support for traditional renovation

The Santa Cruz da Graciosa council maintains a line of technical support and, in certain cases, financial support for those who choose to keep the white facade and original features rather than opting for cheaper solutions that are less respectful of the traditional aesthetic. Council officials insist that Graciosa owes its tourist appeal precisely to the preservation of this townscape, and that losing that character would cost more than keeping the current grants in place.

Tourist accommodation, between opportunity and risk

Several renovated houses have ended up converted into small-scale tourist accommodation, a formula that allows owners to recoup the cost of the refurbishment but which stirs some wariness among residents, who fear Graciosa may repeat, on a smaller scale, the pattern seen on other islands in the archipelago. For now the phenomenon remains limited, given the small number of available beds and the limited transport capacity to the island.