Bloomberg Línea — Owning one’s own home is perhaps one of the most important goals a person can have, but the high price-per-square-meter in some capital cities of Latin America makes it a difficult thing to achieve.
A study carried out by the Center for Financial Research (CIF) of the Business School of the Universidad Torcuato Di Tella in Argentina shows that, to the second half of 2021, Chile’s capital Santiago, Montevideo, in Uruguay; and Buenos Aires, Argentina are the region’s cities with the most expensive per-square-meter property prices.
For the measurement, the CIF reviews the average prices per square meter of homes located in specific neighborhoods of the main cities of each country, taking into account the values established in classified ads.
The survey takes into account homes in neighborhoods inhabited by young middle and upper-middle class professionals, excluding studio apartments, and considering one or two bedrooms.
Prices go as high as $300,000, with sizes ranging from 20-100m2.
Based on these parameters, Bloomberg Línea has put together a ranking of countries by property prices, taking into account the price per square meter in each country and applying it to a standard 60m2 house or apartment, which is the average measurement taken into account by the CIF study.
This is the result:
According to the results, Bogotá (Colombia) and Quito (Ecuador) are the region’s cheapest for home buying, with average prices of $73,500 and $74,430 respectively for a 60m2 house or apartment.
Next up, and with little more than a $25,000 difference, are Panama City (with an average price of $100,800); Sao Paulo ($110,580); Lima ($113,760) and Mexico City ($145,200 on average).
Meanwhile, the most expensive prices per square meter in the region for a house of the same specifications are in Buenos Aires, with an average value of $156,000; Montevideo ($175,920); and Santiago, which is the most expensive, at $206,460.
According to the study by the Universidad Torcuato Di Tella, the neighborhoods of each city included were:
- Buenos Aires (Argentina): Barrio Norte, Belgrano, Caballito and Recoleta.
- Sao Paulo (Brazil): Ibirapuera, Itaim Bibi, Jardins and Moema.
- Santiago (Chile): Las Condes, Providencia and San Miguel.
- Bogotá (Colombia): Cedritos, Chapinero, Colina and Salitre.
- Quito (Ecuador): Norte and Centro Norte de Quito.
- Mexico City (Mexico): Anzures, Colonia del Valle, Polanco, Roma and Nápoles.
- Ciudad de Panamá (Panama): Obarrio, Marbella and San Francisco.
- Lima (Peru): Miraflores, La Molina, San Isidro and Santiago de Surco.
- Motevideo (Uruguay): Buceo, Parque Rodó, Pocitos and Punta Carretas.
To carry out the research, CPI consulted real estate platforms that included ZonaProp, Imovelweb, Wimoveis, Inmuebles24, AdondeVivir, Urbania, Plusvalía, Compre o Alquile, and Finca Raíz.
