São Paulo Residential Real Estate Showing Signs of Rebound

By Nelson Belen, Contributing Reporter

SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL – Positive signs are being shown in São Paulo’s residential real estate market according to just-released data from the São Paulo Housing Association (Secovi-SP). From January to September period, a report shows an eighteen percent increase of sales over the same period of 2016.

The Secovi-SP report, released last week, shows that this past September, 1,819 new housing units were sold in São Paulo city in September. While this figure is a slight decrease (three percent) from the 1,865 units sold in August, it represents a six percent increase over the 1,717 units sold in the same month in 2016.

“The findings show that, despite the reduction in the number of units sold, the total future sales value (VGV) in September grew 21.9 percent,” said Secovi-SP representative, Celso Petrucci, referring to the total future sales value of units on the market in São Paulo which grew from R$973 million in August to 1.2 billion in September.

Indicative of Petrucci’s conclusions, in September, 2,252 new residential units hit the market in São Paulo, an impressive increase of 43 percent more than the new listings in August (1,579 units) and four percent more than in September 2016 (2,165 units).

Interestingly, despite the increase in new listings in September, the total inventory of available units in the city actually decreased. This past September, there were 19,169 units for sale in the city, 21 percent less than in September 2016 when there were 24,400 units on the market.

In the cumulative January to September period of this year, 11,467 new residential units hit the market, ten percent more than the nine-month period in 2016 (10,416 units).

Importantly, in that same January to September period, 12,810 units were sold in São Paulo, an increase of eighteen percent over the same period of 2016 when sales totaled 10,817 units.

For Secovi-SP president Flavio Amary, the latest data demonstrate that the São Paulo real estate market is moving in the right direction, but there is still much work to be done.

“The environment is conducive to investment,” Amary explained, “with controlled inflation, Selic rate in the single digits, and confidence indices up, among other favorable aspects. But, we have to tackle the high level of unemployment, which still affects about 13 million people.”