Brazil Residential Rental Prices Stable in May, Rising 0.03 Percent

By Nelson Belen, Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – According to just-released data from the latest FipeZap Index, residential rental prices across Brazil’s fifteen biggest cities remained relatively stable in May, rising 0.03 percent from the previous month, although well behind inflation.

Of the fifteen cities in the survey, eight cities registered an increase in May’s average residential rental prices: São Bernardo do Campo, up 1.13 percent, Curitiba, increased 0.95 percent and Santos, rose 0.71 percent.

These three cities also showed increases that outpaced May’s inflation rate of 0.31 percent, as determined by the IPCA/IBGE (National Consumer Price Index/Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics).

Among the cities that registered the biggest declines in May: Campinas and Fortaleza, both saw a drop of 0.99 percent, followed closely by Goiânia, which decreased 0.98 percent. Locally, Rio de Janeiro residential rentals dropped 0.64 percent from April to May.

When drawn out over the last twelve months, average rental prices declined 1.65 percent. Campinas led the ranking with the biggest drop over that period, down 6.14 percent, followed by Rio de Janeiro (-5.74 percent) and Salvador (-2.64 percent).

On the positive side, Santos (+1.59 percent), Belo Horizonte (+0.86 percent) and Recife (+0.77 percent) all saw increases over the last twelve months. However, none could beat the inflation rate over the period of 3.60 percent.

In terms of actual prices, Brazil’s commercial capital of São Paulo, with an average price per square meter of R$35.65 held the distinction of having the most expensive residential rental prices in the country in May.

The Cidade Maravilhosa had the second most expensive residential rental prices in Brazil with an average of R$34.17 per square meter. Rounding out the top three most expensive rental prices in May, was Distrito Federal, which clocked in at R$29.52 per square meter.

Among the cities with the cheapest rent per square meter in May were Goiânia (R$15.20), Curitiba (R$16.45) and Fortaleza (R$16.55).

The FipeZap Index monitors real estate sale prices across twenty Brazilian cities and is a monthly gauge of property prices. It is prepared jointly by the university research center, Fipe (Economic Research Institute Foundation) and the Brazilian online real estate platform, Zap Properties.