Buying real estate in Brazil: good or bad idea?

First thoughts about buying in Brazil

Buying real estate in Brazil might or might not be a good idea. Mostly, we need consider two determining factors:

• Evolution of Brazilian real estate prices
• Evolution of the Brazilian currency, the Brazilian real (R$ or BRL)

Last update: March 2020

Brazilian property prices are stable

Property prices in Brazil have been very stable since 2015. Indeed as you can see below, Brazilian real estate prices have grown by 29% since June 2012. However, they’ve been very stable since 2015.

Real estate prices in Rio de Janeiro

However looking at Rio de Janeiro, the conclusion is different. Indeed, after considerable growth between 2008 and 2015, property prices started decreasing.

Real estate prices in Sao Paulo

Unlike Rio de Janeiro, property prices in São Paulo keep increasing slowly.

Second factor to consider: the currency

1 USD = 3.89 BRL = +76% compared to 5 years ago

Before buying real estate in Brazil, we need to study the Brazilian currency. In the last five years, the value of the Brazilian real has dropped a lot. Indeed, the American dollar will now buy 76% more than it did 5 years ago.

• $ 100K got you R$ 223K in May 2014
• $ 100K will now get you R$ 393K => 76% more !

This article was first written in May 2019. As of March 2020, 1 United States Dollar equals 5.10 Brazilian Real. Conclusion: a buyer who owns United States Dollars can buy even more Brazilian real estate now. A weaker Brazilian Real is favorable to American buyers willing to buy a home in Brazil.

How to find a good real estate agent in Brazil?

If you’re looking for a real estate agent to help you buy in Brazil, here is a short-list that may help

Buying a property in Rio de Janeiro

Buying a property in Sao Paulo

Browsing properties for sale

Otherwise, you can simply browse properties for sale. To do that, the best is to use the leading real estate websites in Brazil:

• VivaReal
• ZAP Imoveis
• Imovelweb
• OLX
• MercadoLivre

Foreigners moving to Brazil, or Brazilians moving abroad?

How many foreigners now live in Brazil?

I recently read a report called “Brazil, a country of few immigrants“. Indeed, foreigners account for only 0,4% of the Brazilian population. Only 750,000 people in a country of 207 million residents. Compared to countries such as United States (12,3%), this is a tiny proportion.

Many Brazilians live abroad

While only 750.000 foreigners live in Brazil, more than 3 million Brazilians live abroad. So, where have the Brazilians emigrated?

1. United States 1.4 Million
2. Europe 750K – UK (120K), Portugal (116K), Spain (86K), Germany (85K), Switzerland (81K), Italy (72K) and France (70K)
3. South America 550K
4. Asia 190K

A visual way to look at it perhaps?

Brazilians buy real estate in Florida, United States

According to the Miami association of Realtors, Brazilians have replaced Argentines as the biggest investors in South Florida real estate.

• Miami-Dade: foreign buyers, accounted for 65 percent of the real estate purchases
• Total value of the properties sold to foreigners rose in 2018 to $8.7 billion, compared to $7.1 billion in 2017

Ranking of top nationalities of foreign buyers in South Florida:

1. Brazil 17%
2. Venezuela 13%
3. Argentina 10%
4. Colombia 9%
5. Dominican Republic 4%
6. Canada 4%

Brazilians buy real estate in Portugal

• Brazilians invested more than USD 250 million (R $ 1 billion) in one year in real estate in Portugal
• Brazil is the 2nd biggest nationality of foreign buyers in Portugal (19%), after France

Consequently, marketing real estate properties to Brazilian buyers is essentiel in some areas.

Need help to market properties to foreign buyers? Click here.