“Hope comes from now on,” predict real estate market experts, after it was announced that inflation in May was 4.2%, a significant drop compared to the previous month. From here, two possibilities are presented to the Argentine pocket: investing in a mortgage credit or encourage rent.
With the approval of the Bases Law in the Senate, stocks and bonds rose and, in parallel, the panorama is outlined by the slowdown in prices, as a result of the drop in consumption. Glenda Gómez, president of the Civil Association of Argentine Tenants, was optimistic in dialogue with MDZ.
“We are hopeful that things will change, just as they are going, and that this power struggle will end. The only ones who are having a hard time are the workers, and I am speaking in general, those who have or do not have their own roof. “, he pointed.
It would be wrong to say that the panorama became complicated with the assumption of this Government. Gómez has been a tenant all her life, she saw how poverty was brewing over the years and today the dream of a house of her own is just that: a dream of many. “I will always emphasize that as long as there is no management that takes the right to housing within a total basic basket, and salaries are equal and above inflation, the tenant will never have peace,” she added. .
For Vanesa Ibarra, real estate broker, owner of Salguero Propiedades, this step taken by the Bases Law in Congress will not directly affect the market, but the inflationary fall will and this is when opportunities open the way: “Those who sign will benefit rental contracts from now on. Those who did it with the Rental Law and its repeal in January until now, are a little more complicated.”
Almost all people who rent do so because they cannot buy a home; This is usually the reality of salaried Argentines between 25 and 40 years old who have not inherited a property. In the last 4 years, the real estate sector recorded the lowest period of activity in more than three decades, but now it seems to begin to receive some stimulus.
On the other side of the table, then, are positioned the famous mortgage credits, which are implemented in many countries and are adjusted for inflation. In fact, new loans have already made their way: there are 13 banks in the market giving them. So what is best?
Rent or invest in mortgage loans?
“We want for our children that they can work and pay for their roof, that they do not have to be roaming from one place to the other, or suffering every month to see if they can make ends meet, if they have to eat or pay rent. “the tenant insisted. If inflation continues to fall, she looks favorably on the rest of the year and, depending on each person’s economic situation, several options are presented to them.
Ibarra, in this sense, analyzed: “Today if someone has the ability to save, if they have a secure job prospect, if their profession allows them to have stability, whether in the event that they are fired or decide to apply for another position, the mortgage loan It would be coming to him at the right time, but from now on.”
The real estate brokerage is seeing the investor (who has cash on him) interested in buying, since currently having an apartment for rent provides a good return. Most investors have more than 50 years of experience in economic movements in Argentina, so they know that this is cyclical and, in addition, they are aware that today it is 30% of the value it was a year ago. back the properties.
“Whoever can buy has to do it today, because what is going to happen is this: if credit really starts to work as expected, from the Government and the real estate sector, obviously demand will grow and, therefore, the offer too. This is going to happen in the future. Those who could anticipate went out to buy there. And there are many who make six-month contracts, for example, to sell it when it rises. more confident,” he added.
He predicts that in the next six months we will see the rise of mortgage credit, as well as its supply and demand. For their part, those who choose rent They also seem to have the green light against this inflationary fall, since tenants will not suffer such abrupt updates as seen in this first half of the year: up to this moment they increased by 51.62%, and now it is projected to increase by 20%, according to data from Ibarra.
It should be noted that in the market there are 3 types of contracts revolving around the rental of apartments: those that were signed with the old Law. Then, those that were closed with their modification, valid from October to December, and that use the home ownership limit. And, thirdly, those that were signed starting in January with the free adjustment index.
Before you were tied to a Rental Law which, although it was modified in October, failed to reactivate the market. With his release, of course the demand for deeds doubled: the firm managed by Ibarra had 500 properties published for rent in CABA in December, and now there are 15,927.
In conclusion: although demand has slowed down a bit compared to the beginning of the year, it is advisable to rent from now on, especially given the inflationary stability that is projected for the coming months. In the case of those who are interested in obtaining mortgage credits and have savings under the mattress, this is your time.
The situation with Airbnbs
Ibarra explained that there are apartments that are outside the market value, and owners who earn more than if they worked on the apartments than on Airbnb. “Today renting conventionally generates more money than having an Airbnb. It is a market that has collapsed, its bills have dropped by 80%.” Owners are beginning to bet more on having a permanent tenant and a secure monthly income.
What is a mortgage?
A mortgage credit, as explained by the Financial Market Commission, is a medium or long-term loan that is granted for the purchase, expansion, repair or construction of a home, purchase of sites, offices or commercial premises. The acquired property remains as collateral or “mortgaged” in favor of the Bank, to ensure compliance with the credit.
For their part, the mortgage credits UVA (named after the acronym “Purchasing Value Unit”) are housing loans that use a unit of measurement established by the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic (BCRA), whose value is updated according to inflation, through the Coefficient of Reference Stabilization (CER), based on the INDEC Consumer Price Index (IPC).
The Banco Nación website details that, unlike one in pesos, the installments are expressed in UVAs and what must be paid is the equivalent in pesos of the value of the UVA at the time of the expiration of each installment.
