Are apartments selling faster than usual? A few properties I was watching are all gone now

[Uncle Wong]

What is going on with the real estate market? I am coming in a few weeks and I had several added to my list I was seeing and all the pages are dead now. Do people just remove the listing even if it's not sold yet? In the USA they will keep up the listing to get back up offers? It's strange because some just were posted a few days and then removed. Are properties really selling that fast?

I have 4 properties bookmarked that only got published in the past month and they are all gone. My realtor told me they are sold already but that seems strange as last year while I was looking I looked for months and the same properties were advertised for a long time.

 

[Blockchain]

It is not just you UW. I'm in the same situation. My realtor told me that the market was moving very quickly now. Even in new developments I am seeing many condos getting reserved and each month when I look to check if they are still for sale the property prices have gone up! One developer told me that people that brought in money from the money laundering scheme are buying properties with the money they declared.

I am coming down in a few months but it is almost not worth it to look until probably a few weeks before I come because it might not be for sale. I can't believe how quickly the market turned.

 

[Vince]

What is going on with the real estate market? I am coming in a few weeks and I had several added to my list I was seeing and all the pages are dead now. Do people just remove the listing even if it's not sold yet? In the USA they will keep up the listing to get back up offers? It's strange because some just were posted a few days and then removed. Are properties really selling that fast?

I have 4 properties bookmarked that only got published in the past month and they are all gone. My realtor told me they are sold already but that seems strange as last year while I was looking I looked for months and the same properties were advertised for a long time.

The market has been on fire. We have two things that are pushing prices up. Mortgages were eliminated during this financial crises but they started back up with Milei and they are a good clip of the total sales now. And @Blockchain you're right that people are buying from the blanqueo money they declared. Also foreigners have jumped back in. My sister bought a property here in Recoleta last month and now my cousin from Philadelphia is also buying an off plan in Palermo.

Add up all of these things and things are moving quickly. My sister had to have my family members go and see the property. She already knew the area but just with photos and a video walk through she bought it. My cousin is using @BuySellBA to take her through the process. She said prices also keep going up.

January isn't the best time to look at real estate @Uncle Wong. Many locals take their properties off the market during January when they go on vacation. Here many people take their property off the website after they get a down payment. I can confirm that the market is moving fast. A friend posted their property in Barrio Norte close to Recoleta and sold it within a few days for full asking price.

 

[earlyretirement]

What is going on with the real estate market? I am coming in a few weeks and I had several added to my list I was seeing and all the pages are dead now. Do people just remove the listing even if it's not sold yet? In the USA they will keep up the listing to get back up offers? It's strange because some just were posted a few days and then removed. Are properties really selling that fast?

I have 4 properties bookmarked that only got published in the past month and they are all gone. My realtor told me they are sold already but that seems strange as last year while I was looking I looked for months and the same properties were advertised for a long time.

The real estate market has been very busy. If you look at the number of sales and the number of closings they keep increasing each month as I predicted last year it would do. Things are playing out exactly as I forecasted last year in August 2023 after I called the bottom of the market. I predicted that there would be a big amnesty and also mortgages would come back into the picture and that is playing out today.

Because of these things, it is very busy. Mortgages are still low but already making up about 20% of the monthly purchases so obviously this will have a huge affect on the market. As well, we have seen an explosion of foreigners buying real estate. With President Milei, Argentina's exposure around the world is increasing.

Many properties are coming to the market and in good areas, they are selling fairly quickly. We have noticed this with our clients looking at real estate. Some that have hesitated, have lost out on some properties. Even on new pozo properties that are just breaking ground now, we are noticing a quicker pace to sell vs. before. And property prices are going up each month too.

Typically an owner will pull their listing off the market once a big enough down payment is done. Realtors are very cheap and they have to pay to publish their property so often times they will remove it on Zonaprop or other websites.

It is not just you UW. I'm in the same situation. My realtor told me that the market was moving very quickly now. Even in new developments I am seeing many condos getting reserved and each month when I look to check if they are still for sale the property prices have gone up! One developer told me that people that brought in money from the money laundering scheme are buying properties with the money they declared.

I am coming down in a few months but it is almost not worth it to look until probably a few weeks before I come because it might not be for sale. I can't believe how quickly the market turned.

Yes this is true about properties being purchased with the tax amnesty funds. Keep in mind in the past few weeks already $3 Billion of deposited funds have already been withdrawn with a lot of these people buying properties or investing in Pozos. The numbers from the pozos aren't even declared anywhere in official closing numbers so the # of activity is even much higher than it is.

The market has been on fire. We have two things that are pushing prices up. Mortgages were eliminated during this financial crises but they started back up with Milei and they are a good clip of the total sales now. And @Blockchain you're right that people are buying from the blanqueo money they declared. Also foreigners have jumped back in. My sister bought a property here in Recoleta last month and now my cousin from Philadelphia is also buying an off plan in Palermo.

Add up all of these things and things are moving quickly. My sister had to have my family members go and see the property. She already knew the area but just with photos and a video walk through she bought it. My cousin is using @BuySellBA to take her through the process. She said prices also keep going up.

January isn't the best time to look at real estate @Uncle Wong. Many locals take their properties off the market during January when they go on vacation. Here many people take their property off the website after they get a down payment. I can confirm that the market is moving fast. A friend posted their property in Barrio Norte close to Recoleta and sold it within a few days for full asking price.

Thanks @Vince for referring your cousin to us. Yes, prices will continue to go up. Construction costs have skyrocketed in the past year and still going up and that will get priced into new construction. I agree January is not the best month to look at real estate as many owners aren't here.

 

[Piranha]

Seems to be the case of things moving fast. I just saw someone from the old forum post their property for sale and within a few days it was already sold. Seems like a hot market now.

 

[Mayflower]

Is it just me? I have emailed from Zonaprop a bunch of properties and no one gets back. What gives? You would think they would be eager for Americans to get back right away. But some I emailed a week ago and no response at all. Wierd.

 

[Betsy Ross]

Is it just me? I have emailed from Zonaprop a bunch of properties and no one gets back. What gives? You would think they would be eager for Americans to get back right away. But some I emailed a week ago and no response at all. Wierd.

This is a bad time from right before Christmas to after New Year's Day no one works here. January is very slow. Some people take the entire month off and either take their listings off the market or don't show it at all when they are not here. It is not like the US where people are more motivated to sell.

Are you emailing them in English @Mayflower? Many realtors won't even get back to you if you write in English. They won't respond because they don't think foreigners are serious or not in Buenos Aires so they won't even waste their time. They are not professional here. You will see people constantly complaining here about realtors and poor customer service. The worst is the service is terrible and you get stuck paying a 4% buyers commission.

Try sending the request in Spanish. It is counter intuitive but realtors do not like dealing with foreigners.

 

[daveholman]

I've run in to this problem. See a great apartment, and two or three days later, it's gone. I just quit looking online. I booked a place for two weeks when I get there, and I'll find an apartment when I get there.

 

[Vince]

This is a bad time from right before Christmas to after New Year's Day no one works here. January is very slow. Some people take the entire month off and either take their listings off the market or don't show it at all when they are not here. It is not like the US where people are more motivated to sell.

Are you emailing them in English @Mayflower? Many realtors won't even get back to you if you write in English. They won't respond because they don't think foreigners are serious or not in Buenos Aires so they won't even waste their time. They are not professional here. You will see people constantly complaining here about realtors and poor customer service. The worst is the service is terrible and you get stuck paying a 4% buyers commission.

Try sending the request in Spanish. It is counter intuitive but realtors do not like dealing with foreigners.

Exactly. My sister that doesn't speak any Spanish was contacting listings on Zonaprop and getting nowhere at all. She used our realtor friend who lives here and she arranged meetings. Realtors do not like dealing with foreigners. I am told that the majority of foreigners inquiring don't know anything about the hassles of buying so they just ignore them. I don't think that is professional but then again I don't think most companies here actually professionally the majority of the time.

I've run in to this problem. See a great apartment, and two or three days later, it's gone. I just quit looking online. I booked a place for two weeks when I get there, and I'll find an apartment when I get there.

This is a good idea to wait until you are here. The market is moving quickly. My sister recently bought a place but she ran into the same thing. She was trying to plan ahead and most realtors do not like setting things up far in the future. The just prefer you contact when you are in BA. That is a good plan @daveholman. Just be aware January is a dead month.

 

[Mayflower]

This is a bad time from right before Christmas to after New Year's Day no one works here. January is very slow. Some people take the entire month off and either take their listings off the market or don't show it at all when they are not here. It is not like the US where people are more motivated to sell.

Are you emailing them in English @Mayflower? Many realtors won't even get back to you if you write in English. They won't respond because they don't think foreigners are serious or not in Buenos Aires so they won't even waste their time. They are not professional here. You will see people constantly complaining here about realtors and poor customer service. The worst is the service is terrible and you get stuck paying a 4% buyers commission.

Try sending the request in Spanish. It is counter intuitive but realtors do not like dealing with foreigners.

Thank you! This is good to know. Yes I was emailing in English. I thought this would be an advantage but I never thought about it. I am surprised that realtors don't get back no matter what. Very unprofessional not to get back at all. After all a potential sale is a potential sale.

I've run in to this problem. See a great apartment, and two or three days later, it's gone. I just quit looking online. I booked a place for two weeks when I get there, and I'll find an apartment when I get there.

This is similar to what I am seeing too. It is so random that I will see a listing and then bookmark it and then check back 2 days later and it's already deleted. Strange.

Exactly. My sister that doesn't speak any Spanish was contacting listings on Zonaprop and getting nowhere at all. She used our realtor friend who lives here and she arranged meetings. Realtors do not like dealing with foreigners. I am told that the majority of foreigners inquiring don't know anything about the hassles of buying so they just ignore them. I don't think that is professional but then again I don't think most companies here actually professionally the majority of the time.


This is a good idea to wait until you are here. The market is moving quickly. My sister recently bought a place but she ran into the same thing. She was trying to plan ahead and most realtors do not like setting things up far in the future. The just prefer you contact when you are in BA. That is a good plan @daveholman. Just be aware January is a dead month.

Thanks Vince for confirming.