By Nelson Belen, Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – According to the latest FipeZAP Residential Sales Index, which tracks Brazil residential real estate prices in the country’s twenty biggest cities, prices in Brazil’s often volatile residential sales sector remained relatively stable in June showing a nominal decrease of -0.06 percent.
June’s -0.06 percent variation from May fell below the rate of inflation for the period of 1.15 percent, as measured by the IPCA/IBGE (National Consumer Price Index/Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics).
According to FipeZAP, only six of the twenty cities surveyed showed increases in June, and by only marginal amounts: Distrito Federal (0.37 percent), Goiâna (0.31 percent), São Paulo (0.21 percent), Santo André (0.18 percent), Recife (0.16 percent), and Contagem (0.01 percent).
However, none of the cities that closed June positively were able to outpace the IPCA/IBGE inflation rate.
Of the fourteen cities that showed declines in residential sale prices from May to June, the biggest drops were seen in Niteroi (-0.66 percent), Salvador (-0.55 percent), Campinas (-0.46 percent), and Rio de Janeiro (-0.42 percent).
As usual, Rio de Janeiro registered the highest average residential real estate sale prices in the country. In June, the Cidade Maravilhosa had an average listing price of R$9,556 per square meter.
Rio’s upscale neighborhood of Leblon held the distinction of having Brazil’s highest real estate sale prices averaging R$20,633 per square meter. Not too far behind was Ipanema, at R$19,154 and Lagoa at R$16,564.
Trailing Rio de Janeiro for highest average residential real estate sale prices was São Paulo. The country’s financial capital registered an average listing price per square meter of R$8,774.
In São Paulo, the neighborhood of Cidade Jardim had the city’s most expensive real estate sale prices, at R$18,641 per square meter. Vila Nova Conceição was next at R$17,590 per square meter, followed by Villa Olimpia at R$13,602.
Of the twenty cities surveyed, the cities with the lowest average residential sale listings were Vila Velha at R$4,708, Goiânia at R$4,134, and Contagem at R$3,498 per square meter.
The FipeZap Index monitors real estate sale prices across twenty Brazilian cities and is a monthly gauge of real estate prices. It is prepared jointly by the university research center, Fipe (Economic Research Institute Foundation) and the Brazilian online real estate platform, Zap Properties.