Brazil Real Estate News
Property Market Trends and Reviews

Prospective investors interested in Brazilian property might like to know that the nation's central bank claimed that the country is strong enough to face the current economic crisis as the nation's primary surplus is "already" greater than that of 2007, it has been reported.

According to the Brazil Arab News Agency, the most important factor in intensification of the nation's economy is reducing the domestic foreign currency debt and the Brazilian Central Bank revealed the country has saved more money up to the end of August this year to pay off national debt than it did in the whole of 2007.

In the latest figures on the central government's total primary surplus - The money saved by the public sector to pay interest on the country's debt- has reached $55.4 billion (£27 billion) till August whereas it totaled 101.606 billion reals (US$ 52 billion - the values are at current exchange rates for evaluation purposes) in the whole of last year. For the year, the primary account surplus is now well above the US$ 11.4 billion (33.1 billion reais) target in the IMF agreement.

Joaquim Levy, Brazil's secretary of the National Treasury has said that the increase in Brazilian primary account surplus target will boost the economic climate, particularly for private investors. This is good news for those buying property in Brazil as their investments in Brazilian housing market would return higher profits.

Labels: Economy, Market-Trends

The steady growth of the Brazilian economy means property prices are likely to carry on rising, a market expert has said.

According to The Motley Fool, the average mortgage in Brazil covers just 60% of the value of the home, compared with 90% in US. This means less risk for lenders who would therefore be more likely to lend. Interest rates in Brazil have plummeted from 25 percent in 2003 to 11.5 percent in 2007, which is mainly due to its raw material export-driven economy and huge trade surplus. According to Brazilian Association of Real Estate and Savings Institutions (Abicep), Brazilian mortgage reforms in 2005 are paying dividends today in the solidity and growth of the country's property market. The government has introduced a set of reforms aimed at increasing liquidity in the debt capital markets.

The reforms are aimed at the country's long-term economic growth as well as increasing its gross domestic product. The clear objective of the government is to broaden access of housing to the middle and lower middle class by promoting private sector participation in mortgage lending, encouraging institutions that supports secondary mortgage market and reforming public agencies involved in mortgage lending. The president also announced the "growth-acceleration package." which includes housing and infrastructure investment of US$236 billion.

With Brazil has become one of the top market destinations for overseas property investment, the increase of more sturdy domestic demand is also stimulating property prices. Consequently, with interest rates likely to decline even further, Brazil's "competitive currency" and the transformation of the mortgage process, Brazil's housing market seems set for a vibrant future.

Labels: Economy, Mortgage, Property-prices

The Brazilian government tourism body Embratur has started new promotional campaigns and will invest millions of pounds to advertise the country's attractions in a bid to support the country's tourism sector.

'Brazil Sensational' is the name of the proposal by the government to attract holidaymakers from UK, France, Canada, Spain, Italy, Germany and the US. The global campaign will run until June 2009 and wants to showcase the aspects of the country, such as its cultural history, rural life, food, the rainforests, adventure tourism and beaches. Leonel Rossi, director of international affairs at the Brazilian Travel Agency Association, has predicted a growth of ten per cent in the number of foreign tourists in Brazil this year.

Commenting on the scheme, Luiz Barretto, Brazil's minister of tourism has said that the purpose is to create higher demand for Brazilian destinations. This new initiative is designed to attract more tourists to Brazil and this could broaden the appeal of the country and potentially open up new areas to tourists. The promotion of Brazil as a holiday location is a good news for overseas investors thinking of buying property in the nation, as holidaymakers may need rental accommodation during their stay.

The Annual Research of Economic Conjecture in Tourism has revealed that after a record year in 2007, when the industry generated $19.8 billion, the revenues are predicted to rise by 16.7 per cent in 2008 and associated sectors including investment and holiday property in Brazil are likely to receive more stimulation.

In related news, the World Travel and Tourism Council has stated that Brazil should be among the top ten countries in the world that generate the most jobs in tourism by 2018.

Labels: Holiday-rentals, Tourism

Foreign investors considering buying property in Brazil could be interested to hear the nation's level of social equality are in its highest level, it has been reported.

The Brazil Arab News Agency has cited the figures released by the Institute of Applied Economic Research (Ipea) which reveal that social inequality dropped by some seven per cent last year. The average annual rate from 2001 to 2006 was a 1.2 per cent fall in social inequality. Analysis by Ipea shows that in the past six years more than 13.8 million have improvement in their social class for the better. The drop coincides with the recent progress of the economy, which increased by 6.1 per cent in the second quarter of 2008.

According to the report from the Ministry of Labour and Employment, till August 2008 nearly 1,803,729 jobs were created, which is also a new record and one-third greater than that of the same time last year. Industry experts predict that the speedy increase in peoples' income and rise in social equality will lead to an extensive residential upgrading. This could be appealing news for the overseas investors considering property for sale in Brazil as it hints at economic buoyancy in Brazil.

Jose Paim de Andrade, of Brazilian real-estate investment firm Maxcap in his interview to The Economist has predicted that the current housing boom in Brazil will carry on "for next seven years".

Labels: Latest-News, Market-Trends

The news of booming business could be of interest to overseas investors considering making an investment into Brazilian property markets and those in Santa Catarina in particular, according to reports.

The sales of industry in the state have gone up by more than ten per cent in the last 12 months, which gives the hint of the booming economy of the state. The federation of industrial operators in the state has revealed that the scale of the use of pre-installed manufacturing equipments gone up by 83.3 per cent during the year prior to the end of June. According to Agencia CNI reports, in other South American countries businesses have seen some of their costs increase as a result of the global economic turmoil; but that doesn't seem to affect Brazil as demand for Brazilian property continues to grow.

Santa Catarina economy continues to flourish with its tourist trade growing at an incredible rate. The region's reputation for eco-tourism and a high standard of living makes this sunshine state as a 'must visit' destination. As a result of Santa Catarina's rising popularity, insightful investors are making in-roads into Santa Catarina's property market in areas such as Joinville and the capital city, Florianopolis.

This comes after the news that the Brazilian Association of Real Estate and Savings Institutions' claims that the market has recorded positive growth every year since 2001.

Labels: Economy, Market-Trends, Santa-Catarina