Buenos Aires Real Estate: Value Investing Outside “The Big 3″ Neighborhoods

Emerging: Rooftop view from a 3-room apartment in Parque Patricios currently listed at $63,500.

When looking for residential real estate opportunities, many porteños and foreign investors have historically focused on three of the wealthiest and most densely-populated neighborhoods in Buenos Aires: Belgrano, Palermo and Barrio Norte.

And while outside interest and new project development in these three barrios continues unabated, local studies suggest some smaller, grittier neighborhoods are emerging as potentially more attractive investment alternatives.

CIBA, the Real Estate Chamber of Buenos Aires Province, reports that three BA barrios ”once considered only marginal, are actually offering better returns for some real estate investors.” In calculating ROI, the study focused on the ratio of average annual rental income (that a buyer could anticipate) to average purchase price for an existing three-room property in good condition.

Based on this criteria, the Top 3 neighborhoods in Capital Federal were Parque Patricios (6.10%), La Boca (5.95%) and Congreso (5.93%). The numbers highlight the affordability of units in these lesser-known areas according to local broker Luis Ramos: “Today, in general, it’s more convenient to purchase real estate located in areas that aren’t so coveted, because the rental rate differential isn’t so great to make you think you could make significantly more income in one neighborhood over another.”

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