When Roberto Carlos Lopes shows prospective buyers round the site of Paradiso Laguna, he is as keen to point out the groundsman painstakingly clearing the lagoon of weed by hand as he is to show off the floor plans.

Similarly, Ruy Gomes do Rego, the contract director of the Reserva do Paiva, tells visitors about the project’s use of sustainable technology and British developer David Gordon highlights the extra 30 per cent of building costs spent on making the project as eco-friendly as possible.