Buy a house in BA?

[Fiscal]

Fiscal,

RE prices are RIDICULOUSLY over valued in Argentina. (Ronnie nailed the reason, RE is a safe place to park your money.)

I marvel at the silliness that makes for the Argentine RE marketplace.

Among other things:

No mortgage market (mercado hipotecario) to speak of. All cash transactions in USD or Euros. But anything except for pesos. Buying and selling is a silly process as well. Cash, barter, other assets introduced into the transaction. It makes me dizzy thinking about it all.

RE agents that do not much to help their client and the prospective buyer. They are simply in it for themselves. And their honesty is very suspect.

Rents that do not come close to what the property changed hands at or is valued at. The monthly rent on a place to live is out of proportion to the renters advantage, IN A BIG WAY!

If the Argentine government ever got it's act together, stabilized the financial system, built trust in the people's minds etc ... Banks started being banks, lending money at reasonable interest rates etc ... The RE market would reset and wipe out values in a big way.

Bottom line: RENT instead of buy - I wouldn't want to take it on the chine when this rug gets pulled some day.

Interesting. So how do normal upper middle class people (doctors, engineers, etc) buy houses here if you can't get a mortgage? It seems like it would be impossible to save $150k in USD on a normal salary here.

 

[Ronnie Hotdogs]

They can’t, that’s the point.
They may up buying their first property in their 40s/50s if they are lucky or inheriting a property or some money.

Under Macri there were some options, now you can’t even buy more than $200USD/month.

Or you might find a rich gringo to bankroll you...

 

[¡Sencillamente yo!]

Interesting. So how do normal upper middle class people (doctors, engineers, etc) buy houses here if you can't get a mortgage? It seems like it would be impossible to save $150k in USD on a normal salary here.

They are living in GENERATIONAL HOUSING! (House is passed from generation to generation.)

 

[jblaze5779]

Interesting. So how do normal upper middle class people (doctors, engineers, etc) buy houses here if you can't get a mortgage? It seems like it would be impossible to save $150k in USD on a normal salary here.

You move into your grandma's house and live with your grandma's mattress and your grandma's kitchen table until you die and your kids take over the house and everything in it. Ever wondered why you can't get decent furniture here? Args don't buy furniture, they just use the same shit their family brought from the old country. Anything new is some Chinese particle board bs that they paid 3x more for. Half the tables for sale in this country would warp into a taco if you didn't use a coaster under your cold drink.

 

[QuilmesSlo]

Bottom line -- do not buy real estate at current valuations as an investment or even as "security." If the purchase gives you emotional well being, go for it. If you have enough money that it's not a huge part of your net worth and you want to, go for it.

 

[Alfred_Arnold]

Args don't buy furniture, they just use the same shit their family brought from the old country. Anything new is some Chinese particle board bs that they paid 3x more for. Half the tables for sale in this country would warp into a taco if you didn't use a coaster under your cold drink.

Agreed. Though i would like to mention that having a carpenter build something to your specs is rather reasonably priced compared either the Chinese Particle board crap or grandma's unwanted things in demolition stores (source and condition being demo'ed...).

 

[Ceviche]

After living here for so many years,I have yet to meet any local who bought a house/apartment. All received in inheritance .. keyword - ALL

 

[jblaze5779]

Agreed. Though i would like to mention that having a carpenter build something to your specs is rather reasonably priced compared either the Chinese Particle board crap or grandma's unwanted things in demolition stores (source and condition being demo'ed...).

I will agree with you. I have seen work created by locals that is much higher quality. I would take advantage of this but 1)I'm in the interior 2) no one ever has anything in stock, they only build to order. I would love to walk into a showroom (I have been to a few in BA) and buy a quality piece of furniture but most (if not all) of the interior carpenters only build to order with no physical samples available of their workmanship quality. I've been burned a few times by giving vendors money to produce something and they end up taking months to make something or when to get it the quality isn't what I expected.

From now on, I only buy things that I can inspect prior to paying money. It's just not worth the headache of hounding these guys to finish a piece your commissioned and then being disappointed when it finally arrives. I believe this is a much easier situation to deal with in BA where the market for furniture is much larger.

 

[Ronnie Hotdogs]

After living here for so many years,I have yet to meet any local who bought a house/apartment. All received in inheritance .. keyword - ALL

The only two people I know who bought somewhere recently were able to do it with the mortgages that Macri was giving out.
In the present market it is impossible for the vast majority of people.

 

[Musicman]

I have noted that real estate seems to be the most reliable store of value in Argentina. I expect to be here for the long haul. And the way things are going Stateside who know what sort of world we'll be living in 10 years from now. As the States continues printing trillions, I have thought that diversifying out of cash may be wise. But one never knows.

I think the old adage of successful investment applies: buy low sell high and right now prices in central BA are high........ and with the usual dose of political and economic uncertainty. From a pure investment perspective I wouldn't buy in the city at this time, however, if its somewhere to live then thats different and may make more sense compared to renting.