The world’s largest and longest street party will erupt this week into a bright flurry of feathers, booty-shaking music and white-toothed smiles. Amid the throngs of carnival-goers will be thousands of Britons dressed in little but flip-flops and the pink beginnings of a tan – many of whom will decide to carry on after the party and invest in a second home in Brazil.

Most potential buyers head to the northeast of the country, where, along more than 1,000 miles of coast from Salvador to Fortaleza, fishing hamlets are being swallowed up by gated resorts with private pools, golf courses and spas. In a reflection of the continent’s obsession with beautiful bodies, some of the developments even have plastic-surgery clinics and rehabilitation spas.

If you can put up with the flight (at least £400 and 8½ hours, often with one or two changes), then the attractions are obvious: long, pristine white-sand beaches, temperatures that reach 30C in January and February, low living costs and properties that are up to a third cheaper than their equivalents in southern Spain. Indeed, many of the developers andimobiliarias funding the building boom cut their teeth on the costas and have crossed the Atlantic in search of a stake in the country Goldman Sachs predicts will have the world’s fifth-largest economy by 2050.

Property prices have seen stratospheric growth, fuelled by an emerging Brazilian middle class, an international campaign to attract investors, and the 2014 World Cup, to be staged across the whole country. “Some locations have seen capital appreciation of more than 1,000% in five years,” says Felipe Cavalcante de Melo Lima, president of the Association for the Development of Tourism and Real Estate in the Brazilian Northeast. He predicts a more modest 12% increase for this year.

“It is like southern Spain 10 or 20 years ago,” agrees David Gordon, commercial director of Qualta Resorts, which is behind two of the largest upmarket resorts in the states of Pernambuco and Rio Grande do Norte. “Brazil is a fabulous alternative to Spain and is more affordable than the Caribbean. People are fed up with the classic Costa del Sol pitch, which has become one big ghetto of British people.”

There may not yet be a fully fledged expat community, but those Britons who have moved there are seeking each other out to share tips on living in a tropical climate. One couple already living their Brazilian dream are Chris Cakebread, 46, and his wife, Collette, 50.

Two years ago, they fell in love with a banana-coloured granja, a smallholding 30 minutes’ drive from Joao Pessoa, in the state of Paraiba, the most easterly part of the Americas.

The couple, who spend half the year in Worcestershire and half in Brazil, and intend to retire The region boasts a seductive mix of sun, sea and samba, as well as elegant old towns such as Salvador, above right there, paid £42,000 for the plantation-style bungalow, which had holes in the roof, no lavatory and only an outside oven. They spent £12,000, and it now has a new roof and a fitted kitchen.

“I watch the sun rise above the mango trees, then hop out of bed and lie by the pool,” Chris says. “I love being in my Brazilian bubble.” The couple regularly go for supper with Jeremy Baker, 68, and his wife, Gemma, 67, from Birkenhead, who have retired to a similar property 15 minutes’ drive away.

Other British neighbours include a policeman from Dover, a Hollywood stunt man and one who works as a volunteer bouncer at Tambaba, the world-famous naturist beach – all of them trying to make a new life in the country. So is it paradise? Almost.

“You can’t buy an electric kettle, so pack one in your suitcase,” Baker says. “And the best way to get rid of the cockroaches that live in the coconut palms is to pack sea salt in newspaper at the top of the trunk. When it rains, this coats the tree and stops the pests wandering indoors.”

Given that Brazil is a vast and diverse country – the northeast region alone is the same size as France, Germany, Italy and Britain combined – what and where should you buy? To help you choose between a granja in the interior, a villa on a golf course or a flat on the beach, here’s our guide to Brazil’s northeast coastal states. Remember, too, that English is not widely spoken, so, if you don’t speak Portuguese, you will need someone who knows both languages to guide you through the buying process – and help you to deal with everything from repairs and renovations to paying your electricity bill once you have acquired your home.

Bahia

Five years ago, the state capital, Salvador, was regarded by most tourists as a grimy, crime-ridden no-go area. Today, the old town is being restored: its peeling pastel facades are getting a face-lift, the Hilton chain is moving in and double-decker tour buses with adverts for village-style gated resorts travel the cobbled streets. Even a couple of years ago, it was possible to pick up a run-down property in the Pelourinho district, in the 18th-century centre, for less than £50,000, but derelict townhouses now start at £150,000 or more; count on spending the same again on renovations. And check out the neighbourhood by night as well as day: as in many Brazilian cities, crime can be a problem.

You’ll need a good guide, and a number of long-term British residents in the city are offering just such a buying service. Daniel Daly, who has lived in Brazil for more than 20 years, (www.salvadordaly.com.br), describes himself as a “professional baby-sitter” and charges a fixed fee of £1,400.

Further away from the tourist hang-outs and steamy nightlife, you can buy a smaller, less picturesque flat for £40,000. Prices for three-bedroom flats in secure blocks in swisher middle-class suburbs such as Barra or Corridor Atlantico start at £80,000, but can rise to £600,000 for the best locations and sea views (020 7538 0102, www.propertybond.co.uk). Most househunters, however, head north out of the city on Coconut Road to one of the resorts lining the beaches where the turtles nest. The trend for gated communities began about a decade ago at Praia do Forte, 50 minutes’ drive away, but prices have risen since the early days, and British buyers looking for profit as well as pleasure are looking to newer condos (communities) in resorts such as Sauipe, another 15 minutes or so along the road. Off-plan flats around the golf course there start at £84,000 (020 7016 3740, www.sauipegolfterraces.com.br). The developments south of Salvador tend to be more expensive. Situated high on red cliffs near Trancoso, the Terravista resort has evolved from a hippie hang-out and now has a Club Med on the site. Prices for villas next to the golf course range from £128,000 to £926,000. Those bordering the air-field have their own hangars for the private jet.

Paraiba

For many years considered one of Brazil’s poorest and least developed states, Paraiba is largely overlooked by the package-holiday and property-tour crowd. It has fewer flights, and a poorer infrastructure, but there is a greater feeling of getting away from it all. “You can pick up a one-bedroom flat for £25,000, but it will be in a secondary location, cramped and without air conditioning,” says Esther Dyer, Property Bond’s representative in the state (020 7538 0102, www.propertybond.co.uk). “Most of our buyers are looking for a getaway in the sun, but not one in a mass-built gated community.” Dyer spends increasing amounts of time driving up dusty red tracks in search of granjas, on which you can build almost anything you want provided you (or your caretaker) keep a few animals. Prices vary enormously, but expect to pay £55,000 for a three-bedroom bungalow with 10 or so acres. Plots of land near the coast are also popular: there is one stretch at Praia Bela where five Britons in a row are all building dream homes within earshot of the Atlantic Ocean.

Pernambuco

The beautiful colonial town of Olinda, which adjoins Recife, the largely industrial state capital and site of the airport, is popular with sightseers, but most buyers head for the coast. One of the most attractive, upmarket schemes is the Reef Club, at Porto (020 7034 4757, www.thereefclub.com.br), set in 500 hectares of Atlantic rainforest and mangroves, an hour’s drive from the city. Buyers will have access to a planned VIP lounge at the airport. There will be 4,000 residential units; flats start at £60,000, and three- and four-bedroom Balinese-inspired villas cost up to £371,000. All have views of the golf course, ocean or rainforest. As well as enjoying the spa, health-conscious owners can opt into a bio-metric scheme that will measure their calorific intake and blood-sugar levels.

Rio Grande do Norte

If you need more extreme help to keep in shape, then one of the 13,500 properties planned for Lagoa do Coelho, a 35-minute drive from Natal, might be ideal. Purchasers will have access to dentistry and plastic surgery. AGS Properties has one-bed flats from £53,000 (020 8144 4994, www.agsproperties.com). Tourism and property prices look set to receive a further boost from the planned expansion of Natal’s airport.

The hot spots are Ponta Negra and Pipa, where the beaches are consistently voted among the best in Brazil. They attract a younger crowd, looking for a laid-back lifestyle of kitesurfing and cocktails. Prices for hotel-style flats at the Reef Club Pipa start at £60,000. A second phase of larger villa-style holiday homes on the 350-hectare site will be released later in the year.

In Pipa Paradise, a high-density community built on the clifftop above Praia do Amor (Love Beach), two- bedroom flats start at £67,000, three- bedroom villas at £145,000 (0845 643 1036, www.uv10.com, or 0800 612 0901, www.experience-brazil.com).

Ceara

The most developed spot on the northeast coast, Fortaleza is fast becoming the Torremolinos of Brazil. If that’s your sort of thing, two-bedroom flats typically cost about £90,000.

How to buy

- To buy property, you need a CPF or tax identification number, which you can get from the Brazilian embassy

- Buyers pay 3% of the value of the property in tax, and another 2%-3% to the public notary on registration of the sale Tourists can stay up to 180 days a year in Brazil. Any longer and you need a permanent visa

- When buying off-plan, always view the site and check there is a building licence

Get a Brazilian

- Prices for villas next to the golf course at the Terravista Condominio, Resort & Golf, between Arraial d’Ajuda and Trancoso, in the south of Bahia, range from £128,000 to £926,000. This one is £343,000; 00 55 11 3709 4680, www.terravistabrasil.com

- A renovated three-bedroom townhouse in the historic centre of Salvador, this former pousada (guesthouse) has solar panels ensuring a plentiful supply of hot water, and two private terraces. For sale for £250,000; www.hotelredfish.com/houseforsale

- Due to be completed by 2010, this two-bedroom flat is in the first phase of the Reef Club at Praia do Porto, 50 miles south of Recife. Owners can use the spa, golf course and equestrian centre. For sale for £121,530, through Qualta Resorts; 020 7034 4757, www.thereefclub.com.br

This two-bedroom apartment with sea view at Pipa Paradise, a gated residential resort in the surfing hot spot of Pipa, comes with use of the on-site spa, gym and pool. It is an hour’s drive from Natal airport. For sale for £60,000 with Experience International; 0800 612 0901, www.experience-brazil.com