2009 finished on a positive note in Buenos Aires. The trend should continue for the first half of 2010.

Despite a sluggish start and less new construction, 2009 finished on a positive note in Buenos Aires.

Argentina’s Reporte Inmobiliario just released the 2009 summary for real estate transactions in the City of Buenos Aires and—despite the fact that activity is at the lowest level in a decade—the overall trend for 2009 is positive. According to RI, “Compared to 2008, the total number of real estate transactions in the City of Buenos Aires (75,950) fell 21.84%, while the total area of housing units under construction declined almost 35%. In the Province of Buenos Aires, the decrease in the number of transactions (105,638) was 25%.” As the adjacent bar graph indicates, BA home buyers really pumped the brakes during the first half of 2009 with monthly sales figures falling on average 30% compared to 2008. If that trend had continued, 2009 real estate transactions in the City would have fallen to around 60,000 compared to the actual figure of 75,950. After eight long months, renewed optimism and market activity finally kicked in around September, and the year ended with the first monthly gain in real estate activity vs. 2008. In terms of units under construction, MercoPress reports “New projects totaled 1.7 million square meters (18.3MM sq. ft.), which means a 34.7% fall compared to 2008. Similarly three neighborhoods concentrate the majority of new projects, with one of them (Palermo) absorbing 11% of the total which is 200,918 square meters (2.16MM sq. ft.).” InvestBA believes the upward trajectory of sales activity will continue in the first-half of 2010 given a favorable supply/demand imbalance, the lingering mistrust of local banks and lack of sound investment alternatives. The second-half of 2010 should be less robust given the shifting landscape and growing uncertainty building up to the pivotal 2011 elections. (Full story)

The 2009 Real Estate Expo begins next week in Buenos Aires.

SMI, the 2009 Real Estate Expo in Argentina, begins next Tuesday in Buenos Aires.

Real estate developers, interested buyers and a Bariloche-sized avalanche of real estate agents all converge on Buenos Aires next week for SMI 2009, one of the largest real estate expos in South America. The third annual edition of SMI will showcase new condominiums, private, gated communities—or “countries” as Argentines call them—and coastal retreats in Argentina and Uruguay’s Tango Coast. And if this Dow Jones report detailing the recent surge in sales activity is any indication, there should be lots of bullish sentiment next week regarding the outlook for the real estate sector in and around Buenos Aires. While sales are down about 18% for the first eight months of the year, new sales activity in August jumped to $490 million, a 46% increase over August 2008 and a 54% jump compared to July 2009. These encouraging sales trends and others are sure to be addressed during the 2009 SMI Speaker’s Conference, “Argentina 2010-2011: The Socio-Political Panorama & the Future of Real Estate.”

 
© 2010 InvestBA, S.A.