This 3/2 BA residence with 1,800 square feet and a private garden is on the market for $269,000.

While most of the analysis and data in our Real Estate section centers on apartments and condominiums, La Nación reminds us of the often overlooked values lurking in neighborhoods throughout Buenos Aires: homes. Patient and discriminating househunters can often find attractive, reasonably-priced homes scattered in and around the multiple new construction mid-rises in BA. When considering the purchase of an existing home in BA, zoning is often the top consideration, because porteño homeowners don’t want to be sandwiched between high-rises. For that reason, areas like Almagro, Villa Crespo and Barrio Inglés where high-rise construction is prohibited are gaining in popularity, as are house-centric barrios like Villa Pueyrredón and Villa Urquiza which InvestBA profiled earlier this year. In these neighborhoods, one can buy a quality three-bedroom home with a garage and garden for around US$200,000 to $250,000. La Nación says cost per square foot is one of the most attractive metrics for those considering a BA home purchase, while other advantages include the option of building additions, private spaces like terraces and gardens with outdoor grilling areas and no HOA fees for common expenses and building maintenance. Given the high demand and relatively low inventory level of existing homes in BA, building a new home is often a good alternative, but lot prices in a given neighborhood are the key factor in the build vs. buy analysis. To read the full article in Spanish click here, and to learn more about investment opportunities in Buenos Aires, download the July 2010 edition of InvestBA Privada.

Who needs a boom? "Estabilidad" suits builders and buyers in the Buenos Aires real estate market just fine.

Recent headlines regarding Buenos Aires real estate sales activity have been improving steadily this year, and La Nación says builders are starting to feel equally optimistic. During the first five months of 2010, the construction industry posted a 10% increase in new projects under development, while the sale of condominiums and single-family homes advanced 7.1%, according to the Universidad Argentina de la Empresa (UADE). The UADE’s prestigious Economics Institute compiled the data and forecast “stability” across-the-board for real estate sales, median prices and inventory of rental units. The analysis of all construction segments found the largest January-May increases in three sectors: oil and gas construction (+41%), road construction (+10.4%), and housing construction (+9%). The UADE study offers a detailed analysis of the local real estate market where new housing inventory grew 7.1% in Capital Federal and Greater Buenos Aires. The rise in inventory was accompanied by an increase in median prices, especially in the Northern Corridor of Buenos Aires, where new condominium prices gained 9.7% in U.S. dollars compared to the same five-month period in 2009. Median prices of existing inventory in BA posted a 9.3% gain. The greatest increase took place in the Recoleta neighborhood where the average price per square meter for new construction units rose 11.2%. Other BA barrios popular with foreign buyers posted more modest annual price increases including Palermo (+1.5%), Belgrano (+1.2%) and Núñez (+1.2%).  For more information about Buenos Aires real estate opportunities, search our archives and download the July 2010 issue of InvestBA Privada. (Full Story in Spanish).

Back from the depths of 2009, BA's real estate sector posted a 41% gain in transactions in May.

A story we’ve monitored closely since the end of last year is the recovery of the BA real estate sector. After an abysmal 2009, December finally offered a positive note; a trend that continued during the first four months of this year. Now the newly-released housing data for May suggest BA’s property rebound is in full swing. According to the  BA Notary Association, the sale of properties jumped 41% in May compared to a year ago, while the value of all real estate transactions rose 91%. Cronista says the second statistic reflects the large number of buyers taking delivery of high-end units that have been under construction for the last 2-3 years. The 5,165 real estate transactions in May were valued at 1.908 billion pesos argentinos or US$484.82 million. While local analysts say signs of a recovery abound, it’s worth remembering the year-over-year basis of comparison: the first six months of 2009 was one of the worst periods for BA real estate. As the global financial crisis gathered steam, confidence was shattered and buyers were scarce in the Southern Cone. Now a year later, a rare global commodity has returned to Argentina and Uruguay: optimism. The May housing numbers show units priced between US$60,000 and US$220,000 accounted for 38% of all sales, while units priced below $60,000 represented 56% of all transactions. The sale of units priced above US$220,000 doubled from 3% last May to 6% in May 2010. (Full Story in Spanish) For more information about Buenos Aires real estate trends, see our archives or download the July issue of InvestBA Privada.

Local officials anticipate another record year of residential construction in Maldonado, Uruguay

The Uruguayan coastal state of Maldonado—home to popular beach side destinations like Punta del Este and José Ignacio—is poised for another record year of new residential development, according to state development and tourism officials. In an interview with El País, the Director of City Tourism for Maldonado Horacio Díaz says in January and February, developers submitted approval requests for 170,000 m² of new residential construction. At the current rate, Maldonado forecasts 400,000 m² of new projects will be submitted for approval by year-end 2010. If that forecast is valid, the increase in new construction requests would exceed 2009 by 14.2%. In 2009, developers submitted approval request for 350,000 m² of new construction, of which Maldonado approved 290,000 m² or 83%. Contrary to popular belief, most of the new construction requests in 2009 were for single-family homes (63%) vs. multi-unit dwellings (37%), of which only 10-12% were high-rise condominiums. In the same article, El País points to the report we shared last month regarding the dynamic nature of the Maldonado real estate market vis-a-vis Buenos Aires. Over a recent 12-month period, the ratio of total area: $ sales was almost identical for both Buenos Aires (200,000 km² : US$4.26MM ) and Punta del Este (20,000 km² : US$437MM). For more information about Maldonado real estate opportunities, visit our archives our download the July 2010 edition of InvestBA Privada.

Leyenda Urbana: La Nación debunks the Top 10 Myths about the Puerto Madero neighborhood.

Puerto Madero is a favorite real estate topic on InvestBA for a variety of reasons. Superlatives make for interesting reading, and Puerto Madero (PM) has certainly generated its fair share since incorporation and waterfront transformation commenced in November 1989. La Nación throws a skeptical eye at those superlatives and culls the Top 10 Myths about Puerto Madero. #1.) It’s the youngest neighborhood to be incorporated in BA. False. Parque Chas in December 2005. #2.) It’s the most expensive BA neighborhood per square meter (sqm). Debatable. While PM units sell for an average of $3,800/sqm and some towers fetch $6,000/sqm, the average sales price in Barrio Parque is $4,750/sqm. #3.) Units with river views command higher prices than city views. False. Most owners surveyed return from the office at dark and would rather look at La City than La Plata Oscura. #4.) There are more offices than residential units.  False. While true initially, that trend began to reverse in 2005 and today the number of residential sqm (1.303MM) is practically double the amount of office space (659K). #5.) Foreign buyers own the majority of new high-rise units. False. 70% of the buyers are still Argentines, although that is changing as more Europeans shift funds out of the battered Euro-zone and more Americans discover the quality of life and cost advantages of living in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Uruguay. For the complete Top 10 List in Spanish, visit La Nación or download InvestBA Privada for the English version.

Buenos Aires may have 300x more residents, but thousands of them own homes in Punta del Este.

The first round of the Copa del Mundo is over for local favorites Argentina and Uruguay, and both teams are safely through: Uruguay will face South Korea on Saturday, and Argentina will face Mexico on Sunday. Unfortunately, the only way the two teams would face each other would be in the World Cup final which seems highly unlikely. So today Reporte Inmobiliario (RI) offers the next best thing: the Copa del Condo with Argentina’s capital city squaring off against Uruguay’s most popular beach resort. The Argentine journal sizes up Punta del Este in terms of total foreign investment, as well as its similarities and differences with Buenos Aires. The Punta del Estate Real Estate Association says $934 million in transactions took place between March 2009 and February 2010.  The majority of the deals were done in Punta del Este ($437M or 48%) followed by Maldonado ($175M or 19%), the Rural Zone ($128M or 13%), and La Barra ($45M or 5%). Over the same 12-month period, over $4.2 billion in deals were done in Buenos Aires or 4.5x as many as PdE, which shows how dynamic Punta’s market is when you consider BA has 300x the population. Not surprisingly, the summer months (Dec.-Feb.) are the months when most deals are done in Punta del Este. In closing, RI says recent high profile lot acquisitions by U.S. investors will be one of the topics discussed at their July Conference. (Full article in Spanish)

U.S. investors are assembling large parcels in beautiful areas of Uruguay like José Ignacio (above) & Garzón.

Today’s headlines in Uruguay tell a familiar story: large, undeveloped parcels changing hands for record prices. The twist these days is who’s doing the buying. For fifteen years, Argentine investors held the record for the most expensive parcel acquisition in Uruguay:  over $9 million for a 10-acre beachfront parcel in Punta del Este in 1990, the current site of Hilton’s Conrad Resort & Casino. Now an American can lay claim to the title of Uruguay’s priciest land deal and, speaking of Punta casinos, it seems he doubled down. The U.S. investor in question just bought a prime, 37-acre parcel in the beach-side oasis of José Ignacio for $15 million, or approximately $400,000 per acre. That deal comes on the heels of the $12 million paid for a similar sized, adjacent parcel in José Ignacio. Now do the math and put it in historical perspective. Almost 75 prime coastal acres for $27 million or $360,000 per acre or roughly 70% less than the Argentines paid for the Conrad parcel 15 years ago. The deals are even sweeter when you realize the smart money in Uruguay is moving north of Punta del Este up the Uruguayan coast and further inland where population densities are lower and exclusivity reigns. After some glowing reviews and photo essays by the Wall Street Journal and New York Times, U.S. investors are now buying in trendy Garzón. The Journal sums up the rural chic attraction of Uruguay’s interior perfectly: “El Garzón has a dirt road, stray dogs and a $48 ravioli.” For more information about Uruguay real estate, download InvestBA Privada or contact us directly.

Extra, extra! The first issue of our premium content e-newsletter, InvestBA Privada, arrives on Friday.

After several months of planning and design, we’re very pleased to announce the arrival of our premium content e-newsletter, InvestBA Privada. While the blog often gravitates toward current events, Privada gives our readers a much closer look at macroeconomic trends in Argentina and Uruguay, detailed investment opportunities and general lifestyle topics like golf, wine and polo. In the July issue, for example, we profile commercial properties from Mendoza to Montevideo, feature some very unique Argentine wines and size-up the Argentine and Uruguayan teams preparing for this month’s World Cup. We also profile a beautiful new luxury golf development in Buenos Aires and several historic properties in Montevideo’s Ciudad Vieja, recently featured by NuWire Investor. Future Privadas will feature cultural, legal and financial advice, as well as one-on-one interviews with local business and design professionals. If you would like to receive Privada, just click here. While you’re signing up, be sure to tell us what type of content you would like to see in future editions. And because we hate spam (el spam here in Argentina) as much as you do, your information will not be shared with any third parties. The only item you receive from us will be the bi-monthly Privada. ¡Disfrútalo!

Investors, government officials and developers of projects like Moca see the potential in Barracas.

You can take the boy out of the barrio, but can you take the barrio out of the barrio? That’s the question posed by Jude Webber in a Financial Times analysis of one of Buenos Aires’ rising stars, Barracas. In addition to being three of the most expensive neighborhoods in the city, Webber says, Belgrano, Palermo and Recoleta have lost much of their neighborhood feel or barrio-ness, as working-class families gave way to new commercial and residential construction over the past decade. During the same period, grittier and more industrial Barracas, saw factory closures and falling property values. Those lower prices, along with urban renewal efforts by the City of Buenos Aires government, are now attracting more porteños and foreign investors. Considering it was home to some of BA’s wealthiest families in the 19th century, there is classic architecture on par with Montevideo’s Ciudad Vieja. The abundance of closed factories is also drawing the interest of residential developers. Projects like The Moca, a massive urban redevelopment of an old factory, highlight the potential that exists in Barracas. As one analyst tells Webber, “Barracas has excellent potential. There are millions of square meters available and the possibility for multimillion reconversions.” One New Yorker who owns a converted B&B sums up the cool Barracas vibe: “This neighborhood is definitely up and coming. But I wouldn’t want to see it change totally. I like it a little dirty and arty.” (Full Story)

Argentine workers enter the Melissa Underground Mine operated by Pan American Silver Corp.

Whether its G. Gordon Liddy or the guy who Matt Damon beat up in Good Will Hunting, you can’t turn on the TV without being bombarded by gold pitchmen. And while yearly gold charts look like the left side of a mountain, the rise in silver prices over the past two years is equally impressive. Marc Davis of BNW Newswire says the impetus for greater silver exploration is definitely there, but we’re just not seeing it worldwide…with one notable exception. “Argentina posted a 55% jump in silver output in 2009 to 15.5 million ounces over the previous year. One of the world’s few remaining stable democracies that is mineral-rich but underdeveloped, this geographically large Latin American nation is set to continue to ramp-up its output in the coming years,” writes Davis. He says the major players in the region are three Vancouver-based companies: Silver Standard Resources (NASDAQ: SSRI), Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ: PAAS), Extorre Gold Mines (TSX: XG) and Australia’s Andean Resources (TSX: AND). Davis explains why silver is a good play going forward: “A number of key 21st century applications such as solar panels and flat screen television panels are forecast to contribute strongly to heightened demand. Furthermore, the marketplace for semiconductors (microchips) – which are used in an array of portable electronic devices and other high-tech applications – is experiencing explosive growth.” (Full story at Resource Investor)