The verdict is not unanimous. Opinions are diverse. A tour of different market sources reflects the divergence of visions regarding the product chosen by buyers when it comes to sealing a real estate transaction. whatThey are studio apartments, houses, lots or perhaps apartments, both small and large.? What do those who sign their new deeds choose?
German Gomez Picassofrom Real Estate Reportvote for the houses: “the public wants to go mostly to a house and in the North corridor of Greater Buenos Aires. I think that part of the people realized that they can work from home or go to the workplace less and that is why they are making quality of life prevail”.
Mariano García Malbrán, president of the Chamber of Real Estate Services Companies (CAMESI), has another look: “The most requested product is studio apartments and two-room apartments. But in some places like the northern zone, plots of land for the construction of houses are in high demand”.
Ivan Ginevrafrom Geneva Group, points out that “the three-room apartments were the best sellers”, a segment that represented about 30% of its total operations. “Regarding houses, there was a drop in sales compared to the last two years, where we saw a boom in the sale of this type of property, mainly in the suburbs.”, he adds. But he points out that, during 2020 and 2021, the pandemic caused a boom in the sale of lots where houses were built taking advantage of the drop in the cost of the square meter. “HToday, the trend has reversed, many people are deciding to return to the city, and we see a market for suburban homes that is considerably oversupplied.. This does not mean that home values are going to plummet, but we will probably see rises below the market average,” adds Ginevra.
preferences. In the City of Buenos Aires, the preference seems to be clear, according to Lucas Diazfounder of mudafy: “The products most demanded by CABA buyers continue to be the apartments and townhouses with two and three rooms in the areas of Palermo, Caballito, Belgrano, Recoleta and Almagro.” The broker recalls that “young couples used to live in two-room units”, but with the new possibility of working from home, “An additional environment began to be required to be used as a work space.”
The statistics also reflect a trend: the most demanded product in the AMBA during November 2022 are houses, which represent 55.7% of the total visits to sales publications.. In second place are apartments with between two and three rooms (27.7%), followed by one-room apartments (7.9%) and apartments with four rooms or more (7.5%). The data from the report from the University of San Andrés is compelling and reflects a reality of the local real estate market. In the market for properties for sale, the increase in demand for studio apartments was “higher” than the increase in the supply of the same type of units in the same period (where demand grew by 67.6% between November 2022 and November 2021, while the offer grew by 19% in the same period). On the other hand, in the case of houses for sale, the supply faces a drop in demand (it fell by 1.6% between November 2022 and November 2021, while the supply grew by 23% in the same period ).
It must be clarified that beyond the fact that the public chooses CABA as a place of residence, they do not want to live in high-density areas, but in medium-density (61.5%) or low-population (18%) areas. “LHigh-density areas concentrate only 16.6% of the votes”, according to a survey of the Real Estate Report.
Trend. However, Paula Margaretic, researcher of the San Andres University, points out that “in recent years there has been a certain increase in the demand for apartments with two or three rooms for sale.” “In relation to the rest of the products, there are no significant changes beyond a slight increase in the demand for one-room apartments and four rooms or more.”, expands.
For his part, sebastian einstossassistant professor at the University of San Andrés, agrees that “the demand for properties for sale seems to be inclined towards a greater participation in the apartment market, while the demand for rental properties shows some stability over time with a timid growth in the participation of the houses”.
What is the market context? Gómez Picasso points out that, although the trend of moving out of the city occurred on a global scale, “The big difference is that in the rest of the world property has increased a lot in recent years, while here we have already had 4 years of falls that have reached 40% in dollars.”. “That is why I think it is a moment of opportunity. Another of the changes that we see is that demand today is more aware of environmental issues and savings, they value sustainable housing, and also that they want to have a work space in the house or complex where they live”, he concludes.
Houses, PH, small or large apartments. The menu is extensive and the market still does not show a clear trend regarding the product chosen by consumers. When it comes to choosing where to live, there is nothing written about tastes…
by Marcelo Alfano
