Rio de Janeiro residential real estate sales up 38% in 2021

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – According to a survey conducted by HomeHub, a Rio de Janeiro-based real estate technology platform, in 2021 the sale of residential real estate in the city of Rio de Janeiro posted 38% growth compared to 2020, with 44,300 units sold, totaling approximately R$32.5 (US$5.87) billion in real estate deals.

In the 4th quarter of 2021, the growth in real estate sales in the South Zone stood at 14%, compared to the same period in 2020, totaling 2,636 units sold, with an estimated overall sales value of R$3.4 billion. However, Barra and Recreio registered a 12% drop, with a total of 1,810 units, amounting to approximately R$2.1 billion.

According to market specialists, HomeHub prepares and compiles these figures based on public data released by the Rio de Janeiro City Hall, data obtained from the collection of the real estate transfer tax (ITBI), a tax paid to the municipality by anyone who buys a property in the formal market.

Despite the relevant drop registered in Barra and Recreio in the last quarter, the market’s performance in 2021 was a cause for celebration in the sector, according to HomeHub co-founder and Head of Product, Marketing, and Data Fred Judice Araujo.

“The year 2021 will be marked as record-breaking in the Rio real estate market and demonstrates how resilient this market is. All neighborhoods analyzed in the survey posted at least double-digit growth, reaching the best result in the past 5 years in the whole city of Rio de Janeiro,” he said.

According to the latest survey by the Brazilian Association of Real Estate Credit and Savings (ABECIP), real estate credit in Brazil reached the R$189.4 billion mark when considering the last 12 months through November last year.

When analyzing the share of the main neighborhoods in Rio de Janeiro’s South Zone referring to the accumulated sales in 2021, the reported growth reached 53% compared to the same period in 2020, totaling 9,696 units. If compared to the past 5 years, this is the best result obtained, according to the survey. A number of neighborhoods stood out in the proportion of properties sold in the city, and others had a large growth in sales.

In the region, the neighborhoods with the highest share in total transactions were Copacabana with 25.4%, followed by Botafogo 13.1%, Flamengo with 12.9%, Leblon 9.1%, Ipanema 8.8%, and Laranjeiras 7.1%. All the other neighborhoods analyzed together totaled 23.7%.

In 2021, all neighborhoods analyzed in the survey posted significant growth in sales, compared to the same period the year before: Urca +162%, Flamengo +134%, Leme +114%, Gávea +102%, Glória +84%, Santa Teresa +82%, Catete +80%, São Conrado +70%, Lagoa +58%, Jardim Botânico +52%, Botafogo +50%, Laranjeiras +46%, Humaitá +44%, Barra +40%, Jardim Guanabara +38%, Copacabana and Ipanema +37%, Recreio +31%, and Leblon +21%.

“We have been experiencing strong buyer demand for Copacabana and Santa Teresa. Our branches in other neighborhoods have been meeting this demand, but we decided now, with the pandemic receding, to open our branches in these two neighborhoods, whose construction is already underway. The realtor present in his own neighborhood is better able to serve the client well, who may not feel comfortable in completing the whole buying process online,” said Sergio Castro Imóveis sales manager Lucy Dobbin, with 6 offices operating in the city.

In addition to the two new branches at Constante Ramos Street (Copacabana) and Largo do Guimarães (Santa Teresa), the company acquired its own store at Jardim Botânico Street, and plans to open one of its branches there, seeking greater reach.

“The best service is provided by a specialist from the neighborhood itself. They know the pains and the advantages of each corner of a given region. They know the buildings well, the facades of houses, and even the janitors. It’s this personalized service that the realtor must be able to provide,” Dobbin adds.