Is BA real estate selling? If so, where and how much?

[steveinbsas]

Fishface posted the following on another thread:

"... but have you seen the volume of property for sale in the north zone (Olivos-San Isidro-Tigre)?? it is immense.
obviously a lot of people want out..."

I wonder what FF is comparing the current volume with...

Is it greater than last year?...two years ago?

I haven't been up north for two years, but I can say that apartment sales in Recoleta seem as strong as ever, and there aren't many "for sale" signs to be seen...certainly no more now than at any time in the past two years, and "sold" appears on most of them within a month.

I was gone for five weeks in Sept-Oct, and during that time an apartment in "good condition" (but not recycled) in my building came on the market and sold within a week. I'm in a 50 year old building with high monthly expenses ($650ar) and the entry needs "refreshing" as well. It would only cost $1000 U$D to paint the walls and polish the marble, but a majority of the association members won't vote for it, even though I offered to pay a third of the total cost!

The price for the apartment sold this month was just under 1800U$D per square meter, which is at the low end of the range currently quoted in the La Nacion for Recoleta apartments. 2500U$D per square meter was the "high" figure last time I checked, and some new, high end apartments are priced (and selling) at 3000U$D per meter.

An apartment with EXACTLY the same floor plan and in "fair to poor condition" just one floor higher sold two years ago for about 1100U$D per meter to the brother in law of the new buyer. That one was a real bargain (200-300U$D per meter below market AS IS) at the time, but it would have been unlivable if it hadn't been completely remodeled.

I'm sure others considering a property purchase here would appreciate as much information as possible...so would those who might be considering bailing out (I'm not).

 

[Fishface]

...Its an impression I get - I am just going on the volume on Argenprop, TA, D'O. Reynolds the big ones, seems to be *alot* more then previous years - I am always looking have been for the past 3-4 years. Seems prices are dropping also. Again, its just my impression.

 

[perry]

Properties in Barrio Norte and Recoleta are bluechip and always have a market in good and bad times. After the crash in 2001 they bounced back very quickly in 2002 and recovered their values. Their is strong demand from the Argentine upper class who pay cash and only make investments in Bricks and Mortar. There is huge mistrust in banks and the share market The Merval has very little participation.
Argentina will have very little foreclosures as over 80 percent of all purchases are in cash . The small amount that have a mortgage do this with a 20 percent deposit and strict conditions. There are few desperate sellers in this market. Saying this I do believe that there will be a correction in the market in certain barrios where speculation and tourism have created high expectations of what their property is really worth.

 

[criswkh]

We live in Olivos. When we purchased in June 08, the housing market was hot. Mostly foreign investors from Holland/Netherlands. Reynolds couldn't keep houses. They were worried about us purchasing if we were only going to be here 5 years. But as soon as we closed, we had an offer for 150K more than we paid. Of course, we didn't sell it. But the market seems to be strong. With the economy the way it is, the sales are slowing down. There is a saying here, buy bricks when there is blood in the streets. We will see...Mendoza is getting hot.

 

[nikad]

I believe in premium areas there will always be demand ( Recoleta, Barrio Parque, Palermo Chico, etc for example ) however I see more and more " for sale " signs all over the city, several on brand new buildings, and lately the addition of " or Rent "...this means late investors trying to get out and stay liquid, while others have already sold at sky high prices. Sales are being closed at 10% less of the pubished prices, rental prices are being negotiated more ( there was an article on La Nacion last Saturday ), I believe only people that look for their primary home are buying nowadays, the rest are awaiting for prices to drop +/- 30%, especially if the peso is devalued. The local system doesn´t guarantee anything, especially if they confiscate the private retirement funds, so I honestly doubt this will be appealing for any investors...

 

[perry]

The question is Nikad what will happen when the US dollar starts to drop . What will people do with their money then?

 

[nikad]

The question is Nikad what will happen when the US dollar starts to drop . What will people do with their money then?

Lol, you got me there! I have no idea, but think that there might be other interesting markets with a more stable legal system at attractive prices as well.

 

[soulskier]

Interesting observations thus far. Thanks for the snapshot, I am kind of out of the loop in Patagonia.

 

[tangobob]

It is over a year now since I was looking, but I make the following observations:
Almost every property we enquired about was infact already sold.
When we did chase a property that was not sold, we were gazumped
The only properties that we stood any chance of buying were either over priced or not yet complete.
The building we eventually bought into, was sold out within a month of its completion (May this year).

Not being a expert in these things, I do not know how the market will go, but to me this is no sign of a depressed market.

 

[Fishface]

... Reynolds couldn't keep houses. They were worried about us purchasing if we were only going to be here 5 years. But as soon as we closed, we had an offer for 150K more than we paid. Of course, we didn't sell it.

...you must be mad not to sell!!! offered $150k profit the day after you bought it??? hmmn was the offer genuine, I wonder...

must have been a shill