Bloomberg Línea — Bogotaá, Mexico City, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro are the four Latin American cities with the most expensive real estate on average, whether to buy or to rent, according to Colombian real estate platform Davivienda’s figures for November 2022, and which show in most of the countries covered a continuation of the correction and stability of housing prices amid lower growth compared to the peaks reached between the Q2 2021 and early 2022.
Mexico City
With an area of 1,494.3 square kilometers, the capital of Mexico is home to 9.2 million inhabitants, just over 7% of the population of the entire country, and it is precisely there where the highest prices per square meter to buy a home are found, with an average of $5,472 if the most expensive neighborhoods as of November 2022 are taken into account.
The neighborhoods with the highest prices to buy a home are:
- Bosque de Chapultepec 1st Section, in the Miguel Hidalgo borough, is the most expensive neighborhood in the city, with an average purchase and sale cost of 117,246 pesos ($6,140) per square meter, according to the Inmuebles 24 platform.
- Bosques de Chapultepec, boasts a price of 101,434 pesos ($5,277) per m2, and is the second most expensive neighborhood in the city in which to buy a property.
- Polanco Chapultepec is in third place with a price of 96,945 pesos ($5,000) per m2.
In terms of rentals, values average $1,273 per month, based on the data from Inmuebles24 on the most expensive neighborhoods in the city (abbreviated as CDMX), taking as a model an apartment of 65m2 with two bedrooms.
The most expensive neighborhoods for rentals:
- The Hipódromo Condesa neighborhood, in the Cuauhtémoc borough, is the most expensive to rent with prices of around 27,553 pesos per month ($1,443).
- In second place is the Ampliación Granada neighborhood, known for its cultural and commercial offerings near the Soumaya and Jumex museums, with a price of 23,272 pesos per month ($1,220.12).
- Bosques de Chapultepec is in third place at 22,724 pesos per month ($1,158).
In addition to these neighborhoods, there are specific areas such as the Condesa or Roma neighborhoods, the favorites of foreign visitors for long stays, and which is driving house prices up.
Bogotá
House prices in Bogotá have risen in recent years in line with the trend seen around the world.
According to Banco Davivienda, buying sentiment has been affected by a more restrictive monetary policy that has increased interest rates, and an adverse macroeconomic environment, which implies lower economic growth. In cities such as Bogotá, prices are still very high, especially in the ultra-luxury areas of the Colombian capital.
According to Laura Camargo, CEO and co-founder of Brikss, “thinking about areas, the most expensive is La Cabrera and its surroundings. Everything between Calle 82 and Calle 94, between Carreras 11 and 7.
“Nicolás Manrique has a project on Calle 92 with Carrera 9, called Fiorhé and on the ninth floor we are handling prices of 20 million pesos por m2 ($4,169). There is also Octava, another project developed by that construction company, located on Calle 84 at Carrera 8 and the purchase price is between 17-18 million pesos ($3,544-$3,752) per m2,” Camargo said.
“The most expensive areas of Bogotá are usually with new projects that can reach 20 million pesos per m2 ($4,169), while for second-hand housing you do not see prices of more than 12 million ($2,501) per m2,” she added.
The most expensive houses and apartments:
- According to information from Lonja de la Propiedad Raíz de Bogotá, the second-most expensive area is Antiguo Country, at 12.3 million pesos ($2,564) within new projects, 10 million pesos ($2,084) for properties of between five and 10 years old, and older ones at about 7 million pesos ($1,459) per m2.
- Santa Ana follows with a new property costing around 11.8 million pesos ($2,460) per m2, and one of medium age at around 6.7 million pesos ($1,396) per m2, while those a decade or older are selling at around 6.5 million pesos ($1,355).
- The other three neighborhoods with the most expensive new properties are Rosales, at 11 million pesos ($2,298) per m2; El Nogal, at 10.8 million pesos ($2,251), and Chicó Norte, at 9.9 million pesos ($2,063) per m2. According to Camargo, sales price averages in these three areas are between 8.5 million pesos ($1,775) and 7.5 million pesos ($1,566) per m2 for projects of between 10 and 20 years old. For those built less than 10 years ago, the average price is between 9 million pesos ($1,880) and 11 million pesos ($2,298) per m2.
The most expensive rentals:
Meanwhile, Colombia’s statistics agency’s figures show that, during 2022, rents increased by 3.69%.
- The most expensive rents are in La Cabrera, where monthly rent is around 21 million pesos ($4,377), followed by El Nogal, with 18 million pesos ($3,752) and Rosales, priced at 16.8 million pesos ($3,502) for a monthly rental.
- The next most-expensive rentals are located in Santa Ana, at 16.5 million pesos ($3,439); Chicó Norte, 7.6 million pesos ($1,584) per month, and Antiguo Country, at 6.6 million pesos ($1,375). These values do not correspond to the averages of the area, but to the costliest properties offered by real estate agents, according to real estate association Lonja de la Propiedad Raíz de Bogotá.
- On average, rentals for a new apartment measuring around 80 m2 are 4 million pesos ($835). For those over 10 years old, they are 3.2 million pesos ($668), while those over 20 years old have rental prices of around 2.8 million pesos ($585), with the average monthly rental being $696 per month.
2022 was a positive year for the construction sector, since, according to figures from the Colombian Chamber of Construction (Camacol), 246,831 new housing units were sold throughout the country.
São Paulo
São Paulo ranks second in the region terms of prices per square meter.
According to the portal Imovelweb, as of November 2022, the average value per square meter in Brazil’s financial capital was 10,032 reais ($1,934), 12% higher than that of Rio de Janeiro.
As for the most sought-after areas, Itaim Bibi stands out, with prices of 15,229 ($2,936) per square meter; Pinheiros, at 5,208 reais ($2,932) and Moema, at 14,462 reais ($2,789) per square meter.
The average price-per-square-meter in the city’s upscale neighborhoods is $2,885.
In terms of rent, the average rent for a 65 m2, two-bedroom apartment was 3,617 reais ($697) in November 2022, 69% higher than in Rio de Janeiro.
Even so, there are neighborhoods that are well above that average, such as Itaim Bibi, where a property with similar characteristics had monthly rent o 4,997 reais ($963), followed by Pinheiros, with 4,614 reais ($889) and Moema, were rentals are around 4,549 reais ($877).
Average rents in the city’s most expensive neighborhoods is $909.
Rio de Janeiro
A spacious property, close to the beach and with ocean views and 24-hour security are the main demands of those looking to buy a high-end property in Rio de Janeiro.
Whether in Ipanema or Leblon, Rio’s upscale neighborhoods, apartments with a minimum area of 500m2 and “cinematic” views are increasingly popular in areas where a square meter can cost up to 100,000 reais ($19,245).
By way of comparison, the average sale price in the city of Rio de Janeiro was 9,860 reais per square meter ($1,897) in December 2022, according to the FipeZAP+ Residential Sales Index, which tracks the average variation in the price of brand new apartments.
The most expensive neighborhoods are Leblon, Ipanema and Lagoa.
In August, a Bloomberg Linea report revealed that the neighborhoods of Itaim Bibi, Jardins and Vila Nova Conceição are home to the most expensive buildings to buy and live in São Paulo.
In São Paulo, building HL 746, located on Rua Horácio Lafer, in the Itaim Bibi neighborhood, overlooking Parque do Povo, is the most expensive in the city, at 46 million reais ($8.85 million), according to Mbras.
In terms of rentals, the average value is 4,300 reais per month ($830), according to Imovelweb.
Michelle del Campo, Daniel Guerrero and Mariana d’Avila contributed to this report.
