Rio de Janeiro Residential Property Has Fifth Highest Cost per m² in Latin America

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The city of Rio de Janeiro records one of the highest cost per square meter m² in Latin America for upscale residential properties. In the capital of Rio de Janeiro, the average price per square meter stands at US$2,224, behind only Santiago (US$3,278/m²), Montevideo (US$2,857/m²), Buenos Aires (US$2,847/m²) and Mexico City (US$2,269).

Another Brazilian city, São Paulo, ranks 8th with a cost of US$1,744 per square meter.

The data are part of a Latin American Real Estate Survey (RIAL Di Tella-Navent/Zonaprop) conducted by Navent, a company of which Imovelweb is part, in partnership with the Center for Research in Finance (CIF) of the Torcuato Di Tella University Business School.

The information refers to September 2020. See list below:

Price per m² (US$)
Santiago (Chile) 3,278
Montevideo (Uruguay) 2,857
Buenos Aires (Argentina) 2,847
Mexico City (Mexico) 2,269
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) 2,224
Lima (Peru) 2,080
Panama City (Panama) 1,821
São Paulo (Brazil) 1,744
Rosario (Argentina) 1,654
Monterrei (Mexico) 1,535
Guadalajara (Mexico) 1,535
Cordoba (Argentina) 1,442
Quito (Ecuador) 1,250
Bogotá (Colombia) 1,217
Average price 1,921

Dropping price

The study also analyzed the price of residential real estate in the cities between March and September this year, considering the nominal dollar (excluding inflation), real dollar and real local currency. The price of real local currency is adjusted for each country’s inflation, while the price in real dollars employs U.S. inflation.

When analyzing nominal dollars, the highest drops occurred in Cordoba (-13.5%), São Paulo (-9.0%) and Rio de Janeiro (-8.4%). In local currency, the most significant drops occurred in Montevideo (-8.0%), São Paulo (-1.3%) and Mexico City (-1.2%).

City Nominal Dollar Real Dollar Local Currency
Guadalajara (Mexico) 9.70% 8.80% 4.90%
Santiago (Chile) 8.50% 7.60% -0.90%
Lima (Peru) 7.30% 6.40% 8.60%
Bogotá (Colombia) 7.00% 6.10% 3.10%
Monterrey (Mexico) 6.90% 6.00% 2.20%
Mexico City (Mexico) 3.40% 2.50% -1.20%
Quito (Ecuador) -0.90% -1.70% 0.10%
Panama City (Panama) -2.20% -3.00% -1.00%
Montevideo (Uruguay) -2.20% -3.00% -8.00%
Buenos Aires (Argentina) -5.10% -5.90% 24.20%
Rosario (Argentina) -8,10% -8,90% 20,20%
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) -8.40% -9.10% -0.70%
São Paulo (Brazil) -9.00% -9.70% -1.30%
Cordoba (Argentina) -13.50% -14.20% 13.20%
Average Price -0,30% -1,20% 5,50%

About the survey

The survey is conducted twice a year and its purpose is to study the price behavior of properties that are typically inhabited by young professionals in 14 Latin American cities. To conduct the survey, neighborhoods with similar features in these cities were selected, using the following criteria:

Number of bedrooms: one and two bedrooms (studios are excluded);
Property price: between US$10,000 and US$300,000;
Covered area: between 20 and 100 m²;
Sum of covered meters (including garage) and half of uncovered areas less than 200 m² (house/building construction area).

In Brazil, the neighborhoods selected for the survey were Botafogo, Copacabana and Ipanema in Rio de Janeiro; and Ibirapuera, Itaim Bibi, Jardins and Moema in São Paulo. The survey considers the prices announced on real estate websites in these regions. The websites analyzed in Brazil were Imovelweb and Wimoveis. The survey’s comprehensive methodology can be found on the CIF website.