Too true - and unfortunatly it's skewing the economy there too. Since the motorway was built this part of the Alentejo is now 'closer' to the Algarve and foreign buyers have snapped up the more desirable plots and pusehed up land prices. Not only that, but as incomers tend to build larger houses, when the economy does take a downturn (and they want to sell) the larger properties are still out of reach (even when they are discounted).
When Mum went back 'home' (admittedly with an English husband in tow), they were the only overseas couple in the vacintiy - they kept their property 'traditional' and tilled the land (or allowed it to be tilled by a neighbour). Seven years later there are nearly a dozen couples from overseas and things have changed. Incomers' land all gets fenced off, there are no crops or livestock (except for the olives and cork oaks that are already there), and the shepherd can no longer graze his sheep and goats (on what would have been open space) so he has to buy in fodder which pushes up his production costs and reduces the flavour so it's not worth as much on the open market (a double wammy). Sad days.