The diversity of properties and prices within Palermo makes it appealing for porteños and foreigners alike.

The Buenos Aires neighborhood of Palermo is the largest and most populated in the City of Buenos Aires. It also has the most gallerias and boutiques, the most museums and cultural centers, the most gourmet restaurants, the most Subte stations, the best hospitals, the most miles of Mejor en Bici paths and, of course, the most parks and sprawling green spaces. All of which makes today’s headline in Clarín seem like a statement of the obvious.

“Palermo is Increasingly More Expensive.” Wow! Imagine that. Real estate prices are rising in a neighborhood with all of those natural and man-made superlatives. And the second half of the headline is borderline hyperbole: “Palermo Prices Are Approaching Puerto Madero.”  No BA barrio real estate prices are approaching the Neighborless Nirvana of Puerto Madero ($441/square foot), including Palermo ($278/square foot).

The only “approaching” going on in the Buenos Aires real estate market would be Puerto Madero condo prices moving south from their 2009 peak of roughly $464/square foot ($5,000/m2), a trend we have followed for the past 18 months. And the $278/square foot number for Palermo is a blended average. As the article reluctantly reveals, the great thing about Palermo is the wide range of properties and prices within Palermo proper including Villa Crespo ($250/SF), Las Cañitas ($272/SF) and Palermo Soho ($317/SF).

And if you really think $278/SF is expensive, spend a long weekend looking at property in Ipanema or the Jardim Paulista. Or save the trip to Brazil and just take the word straight from Florianopolis or even UBS. Bottom line, you can’t look at Palermo real estate without mixing in some context, and you can’t blame more porteños and foreigners for wanting to live there. (Full Story in Spanish)

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