ARE, lda
ARE — Algarve Real Estate, Lda — is a licensed Portuguese real estate agency founded in 2012 by Rute Mascarenhas and Jhosé Mora Féria. The company holds IMPIC licence number 9492, issued in August 2012, and has operated continuously since then across Portugal.
Rute Mascarenhas — Managing Partner
Rute Mascarenhas began her professional career in banking in the early 2000s, working as a private banking client manager on Avenida da Liberdade in Lisbon. She spent five years at Deutsche Bank in private banking before transitioning fully to real estate in 2011. Her move was driven by a genuine passion for the sector — one she describes as the most human business she has encountered.
Today Rute leads the client-facing side of ARE, managing the team directly and maintaining personal relationships with buyers at every stage of their purchase. She regularly attends professional formations with legal practitioners and industry events to stay current with Portuguese property law and market conditions. Rute works with clients in English, French, Portguese and Spanish.
Jhosé Mora Féria — Technical and Systems Partner
Jhosé Mora Féria's background is in computer science and digital systems. In 2008 he founded LWS — Loja Website — a web development company that grew rapidly and was sold in 2009. Between 2009 and 2011 he ran SEOJuicy, a boutique consultancy working with curated clients in sectors including automotive, financial investment, medical, and real estate, focusing on website performance and business growth.
The consistent results led him to build his own web-based businesses, beginning with large-catalogue e-commerce platforms and later moving into real estate. In 2011 he established imobiliariaflorianopolis in Brazil, in partnership with Sotheby's International Realty in Santa Catarina, before returning to Portugal to co-found ARE in 2012.
Jhosé is responsible for all system architecture, website development, and partner integrations across the ARE network. He works with clients in English, Spanish, Portguese, and French. His web portfolio is at jhose.com.
The Company
ARE was established in late 2011 and officially licensed in August 2012. What began as algarverealestate.com — a focused platform for international buyers in southern Portugal — has grown into an established network of agents and partners operating across Portugal, with offices in Porto, Lisbon, Estoril, Comporta, and Vilamoura.
The company collaborates with JLL Portugal, one of the world's leading commercial real estate firms, for select inventory and office operations across the Algarve and Portugal.
ARE holds IMPIC licence number 9492, issued by the Instituto dos Mercados Públicos, do Imobiliário e da Construção — the Portuguese authority that licences and regulates real estate agencies nationwide.
The ARE Property Network
- lisbonproperty.com — serving investors and new buyers in the Greater Lisbon area
- algarverealestate.com — dedicated to the south of Portugal, with local maps, guides, and property listings for visitors and investors
- xrei.com — the national platform, updated daily and available in more than 12 languages