End of Currency controls and the Cepo in Argentina

[CraigM]

I am sorry. I didn't know that you have a stake in Argentina. I thought you were only a tourist and had no stake here. I am not saying that I want Cristina back. Just anyone besides Milei and Caputo. I would settle for Villaruel but she isn't even on speaking terms with Milei.

I am sorry but many people I know had a better life in Argentina with Cristina and her husband. Life was much better for majority of Argentines then. I would argue that Macri is the one that got Argentina into this mess.

Thanks Larry and I hear you. I was very disappointed in Milei's amateurism around that crypto scam but you have to give him enormous credit where it's due. There is simply no way the IMF/World Bank would be offering lifelines if another socialist kleptocrat was in power, and inflation almost certainly would have spiraled out of control. Argentina has a lot of great assets so there's good reason to be positive longer term, but they have a serious liquidity problem for the next few years and dealing with that involves budget cuts, efficiency gains and especially outside help.

 

[earlyretirement]

That's a very interesting perspective, thanks Wally.

Yes we bought last year. We viewed it the same way - properties were far too cheap and unlikely to stay that way, and longer term we would have a toehold in a great city. Milei's reforms got us interested in the first place but it wasn't our motivation to buy property. Stocks would have been a much better investment in that scenario. Thanks to BuySellBA for all their advice and resources.

Glad you jumped in. Are there better investments? Absolutely. But all our investors are the type that are well diversified but more importantly, most of our clients, especially the new ones actually love Buenos Aires and come down each year. The difference back after the corralito in 2002 when I started buying properties is almost none of my investors even came to Buenos Aires the entire time they owned. It was just an investment. But now almost every person hiring us really enjoys the city and uses their property and an excuse to visit.

 

[CraigM]

Glad you jumped in. Are there better investments? Absolutely. But all our investors are the type that are well diversified but more importantly, most of our clients, especially the new ones actually love Buenos Aires and come down each year. The difference back after the corralito in 2002 when I started buying properties is almost none of my investors even came to Buenos Aires the entire time they owned. It was just an investment. But now almost every person hiring us really enjoys the city and uses their property and an excuse to visit.

That's how we viewed it Mike, a place to visit longer term (and motivation) vs. an investment. It was obvious that BA real estate was cheap but seeing firsthand what a great city it is made us want to own something there.

 

[Betsy Ross]

That's how we viewed it Mike, a place to visit longer term (and motivation) vs. an investment. It was obvious that BA real estate was cheap but seeing firsthand what a great city it is made us want to own something there.

That is great Craig. My sister has been visiting me for 13 years and always loved the city. She never showed any interest in buying anything here at all. Besides her house she has never owned any investment property but the prices got to a point where she said she couldn't pass it up. People forget that prices fell about 50% here from the peak. The only down side is she wants me to put on my property manager hat and I do NOT want to do that!

 

[CraigM]

That is great Craig. My sister has been visiting me for 13 years and always loved the city. She never showed any interest in buying anything here at all. Besides her house she has never owned any investment property but the prices got to a point where she said she couldn't pass it up. People forget that prices fell about 50% here from the peak. The only down side is she wants me to put on my property manager hat and I do NOT want to do that!

Good for her Betsy, I hope it means you get to spend more time together. Property management is a tough responsibility for sure, probably best left to the pros!

 

[FuturoBA]

Milei predicts starting middle of next year inflation will disappear. Like always we will see

 

[Betsy Ross]

Good for her Betsy, I hope it means you get to spend more time together. Property management is a tough responsibility for sure, probably best left to the pros!

Yes that was her goal. She wanted to buy something in the States but she can't find anything in her budget. But here there were plenty of options. I do NOT want to manage properties. I have a tough enough time getting my maid to clean my apartment! I told her I would handle paying her bills but that is it.

Milei predicts starting middle of next year inflation will disappear. Like always we will see

Milei predicts starting middle of next year inflation will disappear. Like always we will see

Let's hope that works out. In theory it should if they stop printing money. I was happy to see the grocery stores refuse to pay higher prices. We need a deflation of prices in Argentina over the next year if Milei is going to be successful.

 

[Johnny]

Yes we bought last year. We viewed it the same way - properties were far too cheap and unlikely to stay that way, and longer term we would have a toehold in a great city. Milei's reforms got us interested in the first place but it wasn't our motivation to buy property. Stocks would have been a much better investment in that scenario. Thanks to BuySellBA for all their advice and resources.

That's how I looked at it too. Owning a few properties here would be a good excuse to come down and bring my family here. I heard Argentina has excellent skiing in Bariloche so hope to make it there. I was thinking of buying a place in Park City but for the same price I can probably buy 4 apartments in Argentina!

hanks Larry and I hear you. I was very disappointed in Milei's amateurism around that crypto scam but you have to give him enormous credit where it's due. There is simply no way the IMF/World Bank would be offering lifelines if another socialist kleptocrat was in power, and inflation almost certainly would have spiraled out of control. Argentina has a lot of great assets so there's good reason to be positive longer term, but they have a serious liquidity problem for the next few years and dealing with that involves budget cuts, efficiency gains and especially outside help.

I think all of these politicians go through a tough moment. I'm glad the crypto scam happened because I think it was a wake up call for him that he can't do that kind of stuff or anything like the previous Presidents. I know Presidents there don't make much but I heard from people I trust that his sister is charging cash for meetings with him. That isn't a good idea. There is plenty of time to make lots of money when he is out of office if he plays his cards right. Doing that now is a mistake.

 

[CraigM]

That's how I looked at it too. Owning a few properties here would be a good excuse to come down and bring my family here. I heard Argentina has excellent skiing in Bariloche so hope to make it there. I was thinking of buying a place in Park City but for the same price I can probably buy 4 apartments in Argentina!

Looking forward to seeing you there Johnny! Park City is amazing but prices have gone crazy the past few years, Houses in the town center are going for close to $2000/sqft and RE taxes for non-residents are brutal. BA is a far better investment.

 

[Johnny]

Looking forward to seeing you there Johnny! Park City is amazing but prices have gone crazy the past few years, Houses in the town center are going for close to $2000/sqft and RE taxes for non-residents are brutal. BA is a far better investment.

Let's do it Craig. GyD has a welcome BBQ asado for all the owners/investors in each project. I timed my last visit to be at it and it was great. 2 of the partners of the development company thanked all of the investors that believe in each of their projects. I heard there are a bunch of us in the new building so we should all plan to come down. They did it a few months before the building was done. Fun event. They did it in the lobby area of the building that was unfinished. It was very cool.

No kidding about Park City prices! My wife is not a fan of buying there. We own a few places in California and in Mexico and already bought 2 in BA and I just hired Mike to find me another unit. So far all of my rental income on all my properties are solid. Have to find a way to get some more non-W2 income.

 

[Betsy Ross]

Looking forward to seeing you there Johnny! Park City is amazing but prices have gone crazy the past few years, Houses in the town center are going for close to $2000/sqft and RE taxes for non-residents are brutal. BA is a far better investment.

Holy smokes! Had no idea that prices were that high. Are people buying them? My sister lives in a ritzy area in Santa Barbara, California and that is even more than where she lives. Didn't know Park City was that popular now.

Let's do it Craig. GyD has a welcome BBQ asado for all the owners/investors in each project. I timed my last visit to be at it and it was great. 2 of the partners of the development company thanked all of the investors that believe in each of their projects. I heard there are a bunch of us in the new building so we should all plan to come down. They did it a few months before the building was done. Fun event. They did it in the lobby area of the building that was unfinished. It was very cool.

No kidding about Park City prices! My wife is not a fan of buying there. We own a few places in California and in Mexico and already bought 2 in BA and I just hired Mike to find me another unit. So far all of my rental income on all my properties are solid. Have to find a way to get some more non-W2 income.

Never heard of a developer doing that. That is classy. I heard very good things about them. I know a few people that bought in a big tower in Soho and they had good things to say about them. They have been around forever.

I can't believe how expensive real estate is in the States now. I wonder how all of these things with Trump will affect real estate prices there?

 

[CraigM]

Let's do it Craig. GyD has a welcome BBQ asado for all the owners/investors in each project. I timed my last visit to be at it and it was great. 2 of the partners of the development company thanked all of the investors that believe in each of their projects. I heard there are a bunch of us in the new building so we should all plan to come down. They did it a few months before the building was done. Fun event. They did it in the lobby area of the building that was unfinished. It was very cool.

No kidding about Park City prices! My wife is not a fan of buying there. We own a few places in California and in Mexico and already bought 2 in BA and I just hired Mike to find me another unit. So far all of my rental income on all my properties are solid. Have to find a way to get some more non-W2 income.

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That is fantastic, I guess it's a few years away still but we'll plan on being there!

 

[CraigM]

Holy smokes! Had no idea that prices were that high. Are people buying them? My sister lives in a ritzy area in Santa Barbara, California and that is even more than where she lives. Didn't know Park City was that popular now.


Never heard of a developer doing that. That is classy. I heard very good things about them. I know a few people that bought in a big tower in Soho and they had good things to say about them. They have been around forever.

I can't believe how expensive real estate is in the States now. I wonder how all of these things with Trump will affect real estate prices there?

Prices are coming down in most markets but I'm not sure Trump has anything to do with it. We had 30yr fixed rate 2.5% mortgages for well over a decade and then almost overnight they rose to 7%. It limits what new buyers can afford, what lenders will appraise, etc. Real estate just takes a long time to adjust to new realities and I would guess prices have further to fall still (very much the opposite of stock markets which price in new information very quickly). Park City and Santa Barbara have a lot of all-cash buyers and are probably less affected. I'm not a real estate expert though so take this with a grain of salt.

 

[James Bond]

Never heard of a developer doing that. That is classy. I heard very good things about them. I know a few people that bought in a big tower in Soho and they had good things to say about them. They have been around forever.

The better developers will do something like this. I heard it was good luck for them to do it so a few of them do.

 

[VINO]

Getting back to the end of the cepo. It was nice to see some supermarket chains refuse to accept higher 10% to 12% prices the food manufacturers wanted to pass on. Some of the biggest supermarkets rejected it but it looks like all the chinos and smaller markets pushed those prices on to consumers. This week I noticed many of the things I'm buying in the chinos up about 10% more than I was paying before the end of the cepo. So inflation is still being passed on. I can't wait for this to stop!

 

[Larry]

Thanks Larry and I hear you. I was very disappointed in Milei's amateurism around that crypto scam but you have to give him enormous credit where it's due.

At least you acknowledge he scammed people all over the world and then blamed them! Credit? He campaigned against the IMF and how evil they are his entire life. How he takes $20B. Not sure if that is something to celebrate over.

Getting back to the end of the cepo. It was nice to see some supermarket chains refuse to accept higher 10% to 12% prices the food manufacturers wanted to pass on. Some of the biggest supermarkets rejected it but it looks like all the chinos and smaller markets pushed those prices on to consumers. This week I noticed many of the things I'm buying in the chinos up about 10% more than I was paying before the end of the cepo. So inflation is still being passed on. I can't wait for this to stop!

It is not just the chinos raising prices. Walk into any kiosko and they also raised prices. Look at medical premiums that went up again and expenses for apartments that jumped up again in March 4.2%. My medicine prices keep going up too. Milei's answer? Don't buy them if they are too expensive! That SOB.