Buy a house in BA?

[Goata]

....which reminds me of a rough guide to the English class system. The lower classes buy their furniture from IKEA; the middle classes from John Lewis. The upper classes don't buy furniture: they inherit it along with the stately pile.

I live in Mendoza and one can buy humble but custom made and well built furniture for reasonable prices. Our dinning room table could not fit through any of the doors in our new house and we had to have one made. They put a sleeve down the middle of the table so we could widen it out once in the house. Great work and the first time I saw such a thing. Probably harder to find such artisans in AMBA but I am generally very happy with the contractors and builders in Mendoza.

 

[Ronnie Hotdogs]

I make my own so where does that put me?

Some sort of all American Hero I suppose.

 

[elhombresinnombre]

I make my own so where does that put me?

Whether that's your profession or your passion or both, it puts you in a class of your own. It seems that a surprisingly large proportion of BAExpats contributors actually make real things in the real world and I'm delighted that you are amongst them

 

[Pianosteve]

I make my own so where does that put me?

You're an artisan, so I suppose you could span working and middle class.

 

[desde_Holanda]

You wouldn’t like a pool of your own or even a jacuzzi and maybe a few lemon or apple or pear trees?

Maybe one moment we will put a little plunge pool on the roof terrace or so. We'll for sure start with a nice outside shower. But we'll feel great anyway staying the European winter in Buenos Aires!
And part of the European summer we'll spend on some Greek island, always in the same rental with pool and sea at walking distance. We'll be more than fine, I consider myself lucky.

 

[rickulivi]

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.

Sorry for the late reply, but I found this post worth answering. Home prices in the USA increased about 15% over the year ending on June 30, according to the Shiller Index. An Argentine respected real estate firm, reporte inmobiliario, published an estimate that prices had dropped about 25% in Argentina over the last 12 months. If you add both these numbers, it suggests that Argentina prices today are about 40% cheaper than similar real estate in the US. Also, 2020 and 2019 were spectacular years for price appreciation in the USA, and I am sure declined in Argentina. Therefore, it maybe 50% or more cheaper to buy today than it has been in the last few years.

For those curious enough, here's a link to the Shiller index: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CSUSHPISA
Cheers!

 

[desde_Holanda]

I think nobody can deny that by the regular measures, e.g. price-to-income ratio, Argentine real estate is hugely overvalued.
The above is a view from a totally different perspective, 'just' comparing housing prices between country X and Argentina. On that basis housing prices in Argentina can be perceived as being low (or high, depending on the country w/ which is compared). I just want to point out that 'cheap' from that perspective has no meaning whatsoever re the question of over- or undervaluation.

 

[PaulBee]

off topic but don't home prices in BA seem high to you compared to the United States outside of large coastal cities?

Yes, there are many affordable areas in USA. On the other hand, I could envision many, say, Canadians or Europeans, moving down partly to take advantage of much lower real estate values, either for rent or sale.

 

[FrankPintor]

Yes, there are many affordable areas in USA. On the other hand, I could envision many, say, Canadians or Europeans, moving down partly to take advantage of much lower real estate values, either for rent or sale.

I can't see that happening, other than for people with family connections or a particular business idea or hobby like wine. It's too far away, too far out of the comfort zone of the casual expat retiree who wants nice weather and a quiet life, and requires too much of an unfamiliar dialect of Spanish. Europeans retire to places like Spain, people from the US and Canada to Mexico, Costa Rica, or if they're able to chase girls still, to Medellin. Argentina is just too difficult and too far away.

 

[Pianosteve]

I can't see that happening, other than for people with family connections or a particular business idea or hobby like wine. It's too far away, too far out of the comfort zone of the casual expat retiree who wants nice weather and a quiet life, and requires too much of an unfamiliar dialect of Spanish. Europeans retire to places like Spain, people from the US and Canada to Mexico, Costa Rica, or if they're able to chase girls still, to Medellin. Argentina is just too difficult and too far away.

Frank I think this may have been true in the past, but you're forgetting Brexit and its impact. There are baby-boomers like myself coming to retirement who admittedly are looking for a better climate in their third age but who either baulk at or simply do not meet the criteria of €25000 per annum retirement income. Additionally I don't wish to retire to any place where I'm not particularly wanted.