In the midst of marked economic volatility that is added to the readjustment that the real estate market is undergoing after the elimination of the Rental Law, many wonder
what the evolution of sales will be and what niches will present the best opportunities
for the investors.
The real estate market has just gone through seven years of crisis.
Last year, hand in hand with
a drop in prices,
there was an incipient recovery in buying and selling operations: in the City of Buenos Aires, for example,
20.1% more properties were sold than in 2022.
However, that total was practically
half compared to the 7,862 deeds that were signed in 2017.
In any case, according to Mariano Garcia Malbrán, president of the Chamber of Real Estate Services Companies (CAMESI), “real estate in Argentina continues to be seen as a safe investment to protect capital from devaluation, given economic volatility.” And considers that "this could keep property demand at similar levels to the last months of 2023, especially in segments that are considered value havens, such as
properties in premium locations or developments that offer unique features
," he says.
High interest rates and credit constraints may continue to be
a barrier to home buying
, especially for first-time homebuyers, he adds.
Innovation in financing solutions, such as real estate crowdfunding or direct financing agreements between developers and buyers or with private mortgage loans, could be key to energizing the sector," she says.
The role of rent deregulation
The recent repeal of the rental law generated
an improvement in the supply of rental properties accompanied by a tepid downward trend in prices.
In February, according to surveys by the University of San Andres and Mercado Libre, there were drops of 2.3% in current pesos in rents compared to January and 0.6% for houses in AMBA.
For this reason, according to
Garcia Malbrán, “
buying at bargain prices and having a
non-negligible rental return in dollars can generate an important profit for the determined investor.
In addition, "there is a future appreciation of the property," he said.
For Hugo Koifman, CEO of the Branson developer,
buying a property in the well “continues to be an excellent deal.”
And he remembers that real estate experts have their investments diversified in different areas.
Its developer is selling developments "at a good pace" in highly sought-after areas such as Bajo Belgrano or Cañitas in the City of Buenos Aires.
"This tells us that the expectation of these buyers is that
in the short term they perceive that they will be able to rent or resell these finished properties at much higher values than the actual values
, or that they will have capital that has increased considerably in a few months. ”.
According to Leonardo Rodriguez Nader, CEO of the developer CMNV- Comunidad de Inversión, he believes that, "although in the short-term view there may be some type of swing, there is no doubt that in the medium and long term all real estate assets will go up in dollars," he says.
"Definitely,
the opportunity today is unique considering that prices in dollars, at historical values, are low
and the replacement cost - a product of inflation in pesos and the falling dollar - has become considerably more expensive. In addition, Buenos Aires has always been in the rankings as the most expensive city and today it barely reaches fifth or sixth place according to current average values," he exemplifies.
For his part, Ariel Venneri, specialist in economics and corporate finance, and founding partner of the MAHE Desarrollos Inmobiliarios group, agrees that “whoever seeks to save, whether with dollars or pesos, is currently facing an unprecedented situation, because they do not have investment options that at least
give you protection against loss of value,”
he says.
Faced with this context, the real estate market offers alternatives.
In addition to the low property prices, the values of housing under construction and new began to show recovery starting in the middle of last year, which marks a
great opportunity for profitability for investors and buyers who have savings margin to face the purchase
before the total lack of viable credit, said the specialist.