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Real Estate Showdown: BA vs. Uruguay

On September 1, 2010, In foreign investment, tourism, uruguay, by InvestBA
Rock Em Sock Em Robots

Stay in BA or follow the Movida Esteña? Argentines and foreign buyers alike are asking the question.

More Argentines are crossing the river to invest in Uruguay real estate. While this headline from Mirador Nacional (MN) highlights the obvious, it also digs deeper with a cost per square foot comparison of Uruguay destinations with some of Buenos Aires’ most expensive neighborhoods. But first, MN points to the oft-cited $1.5 billion in Uruguay closings over the past 18 months number and breaks it down by region: $700 million in Punta del Este, $120 million in José Ignacio & Garzón and $40 million in La Barra. And while an estimated 60% of Punta del Este buyers are from Argentina, the remaining 40% is a rich cultural mix from Brazil, Canada, Chile, the E.U. and increasingly the United States. Financial, legal and political stability are three factors in Uruguay’s favor as are competitive real estate prices. The average new construction cost in Punta del Este is $288/SF which compares favorably with $250/SF in Las Cañitas, $278/SF in Palermo Soho, $325/SF in Recoleta and $342/SF in Puerto Madero, according to Reporte Inmobiliario. Recent sales in Punta del Este include a 2/2 apartment in La Mansa for $341,000, a 3/2 in La Brava for $286,000 and a furnished 2/2 on Roosevelt Avenue for $245,000. Still, the comments section of the article reveals Punta del Este isn’t for everyone. “Why invest in a place that is only active one month each year?,” writes Lucia, and Carolina opines, “It’s too small and stressful in summertime.” For these ladies, emerging destinos uruguayos like Punta Colorada, San Francisco or Playa Verde might be a better fit. (Full article in Spanish)

For more news and information on local real estate markets, search our archives and download the new edition of InvestBA Privada.

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Who Invited Small Investors to the Party?

On August 31, 2010, In buenos aires events, real estate, by InvestBA
911 Carrera at the Argentina Real Estate Expo

Small investors at the Real Estate Expo were looking for safer investment alternatives than a $200k 911 Carrera.

Ten days have passed since Expo Real Estate Argentina 2010 (Did you see our video?), which gave Clarín sufficient time to absorb all the information presented and formulate some conclusions of their own. Most notable was the fact small investors were really the stars of the event, significantly outnumbering large brokers, developers or architecture firms. “We’re not talking about people with huge international support or institutional funds backing them,” said one attendee, “We’re talking about individual investors looking for a safe alternative for investing their capital.” Just one small problem, Clarín opines. The small real estate investor walking the floor of the Exhibition Hall is as likely to influence the direction of the local market (in terms of product and pricing), as a small shareholder attending the Annual Meeting of a large publicly-traded company (with the possible exception of Berkshire Hathaway). Small real estate investors have concerns, needs and great ideas; yet, the push-push-push marketing by the local development community leaves them out in the cold. Don’t believe us? Try finding a local broker or developer with a blog, twitter account, or any type of social media plugin soliciting feedback.

Instead, our inboxes are cascading with broker e-mails with subject lines like INCREIBLE PROPIEDAD! or PARA INVERSORES! and the requisite 5MB attachments which we never open. As one very astute broker told Clarín, “The new way of operating should be less about having a big Rolodex and more about reading the market and having the capacity to segment your clients.” Which is exactly what we do @InvestBA. We blog in several languages, we promote lifestyle, we solicit feedback daily, and we know exactly which of our international clients would be interested in what types of real estate opportunities in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Uruguay. In short, Clarín characterized the presence and demands of the small investor as “nuevos desafíos,” but we view them as “nuevas oportunidades.” (Buyers, Sellers)

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EXPO Real Estate Argentina 2010

On August 26, 2010, In buenos aires events, foreign investment, real estate, tourism, uruguay, by InvestBA



InvestBA was pleased to participate in the 2010 edition of EXPO Real Estate Argentina held last week at the Buenos Aires Hilton in Puerto Madero. The annual event, sponsored by the Urban Developers Business Chamber (CEDU in castellano), brings together a healthy cross-section of developers, brokers and various real estate industry service providers. The event had two key components: a large Expo downstairs and a Congreso upstairs where attendees heard panel discussions on a wide variety of topics including Investing in Mixed-Use Real Estate Projects, Tourism as a Motor for Real Estate Development and Fideicomisos al costo, a popular vehicle for pre-construction investment in new real estate projects. The Expo featured a main room with the majority of brokers and developers, while a secondary hall showcased real estate developments in Uruguay exclusively.

We thoroughly enjoyed the event and networking with all of the professionals we encountered from Argentina, Uruguay, Chile and Paraguay. Finally, special thanks to the following individuals who spent extra time telling us what makes their projects and companies so unique: Rodrigo Aravena A. from AGS Negocios, Natalia Fleitas from EmprenUrban, Maria Silvia Joulia from NACO, Arq. Alvaro Pallas Mega from Stiler Empresa Constructora, Juliana Prats from CustomCasa and Inés Uliana from Area 60. We look forward to featuring these companies in future InvestBA posts.

For more information about real estate opportunities in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Uruguay, visit our real estate archives, download our newsletter, InvestBA Privada, or send us an e-mail.

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Uruguay’s Hot Tourism Tandem: MVD & PDE

On August 24, 2010, In foreign investment, real estate, tourism, uruguay, by InvestBA
Montevideo Airport

First Impressions Are Lasting: Montevideo's ultra-modern airport is a wonderful gateway to Uruguay.

Back-to-back stories this week from MercoPress highlight the tourism attraction and real estate growth in Uruguay’s two leading destinations: Montevideo and Punta del Este. The statistics are encouraging, as they demonstrate some positive regional trends: more inbound visitors from countries besides Argentina, the long-standing number one for tourism exports to Uruguay, and a greater willingness among Uruguayans to explore other corners of the Southern Cone. In fact, Uruguayans posted triple-digit gains of citizens visiting Paraguay (+228% ) and Chile (+102%). Of those foreigners visiting Uruguay, the numbers reflect the economic status quo in key international markets: almost 25% more real-empowered Brazilians and 7% fewer visitors from the U.S. Montevideo’s cultural and urban Renaissance is finally being reflected in the tourism numbers, as more visitors made MVD their primary destination in the first six months of 2010 compared to Punta del Este. But don’t feel bad for PDE. Data released last week by the country’s Tourism Office shows $1.5 billion USD in real estate transactions taking place in the popular beachside destination over the past 18 months alone. The government estimates approximately 18.2 million square feet of new residential construction has been built in the last five years and—given current absorption rates—it’s not surprising the Mujica government is encouraging more foreign investment.

For more information on Uruguay’s quality of life and cost of living, visit our archives and download the new edition of InvestBA Privada.

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Argentina’s Best Investments Since 2001

On August 23, 2010, In foreign investment, by InvestBA
Buenos Aires Taxi

Looking back on the past decade, gold and real estate investors in Argentina fared best. (Photo: Johann Rela)

If hindsight is 20/20, what would it tell us about the best and worst investments one could have made in Argentina following the collapse of convertibility and the ensuing crisis in 2001? Rúben Ramallo of iProfesional recently tested that premise, as four fictional friends met for lunch in Palermo Hollywood to reminisce about the good old days and see who had made the best investment. Fernando put his money in real estate, Pablo kept his pesos in dollars, Eduardo kept rolling his money over in short-term bank CD’s, while Juan Martín stocked up on gold. The clear winner, says Ramallo, was Juan Martín whose gold bars accumulated 1,613% in peso-denominated value since 2002. The real estate investor came out in second place, assuming he bought in Capital Federal where peso-denominated values have risen 500% over the last eight years. Third place went to Pablo whose choice of greenbacks would have netted him a 300% gain, while Eduardo’s relatively safe CD play appreciated roughly 160%. The infamous “inflación de bolsillo” (pocket inflation) was the key differentiator separating the best and the worst investments. It rose 454% over the period in question meaning those who invested in gold and real estate were the clear winners compared to those whose investments were weighed down by a weakening peso. The director of ZonaBancos.com says the situation was most volatile in the first year post-Convertibility when the peso dropped from $1.40 to $3.82. In contrast, the past seven years have been much less volatile under the Central Bank’s policy of floating administration. (Full article in Spanish)

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