Real Estate Market in Buenos Aires: Property Deeds Increased by 93.7% Year-on-Year in January, with 25% Now Using Mortgage Loans

[BuySellBA]

Real Estate Market in Buenos Aires: Property Deeds Increased by 93.7% Year-on-Year in January, with 25% Now Using Mortgage Loans

Mortgage-backed deeds jumped by almost 1,300%

The real estate market in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires (CABA) showed significant growth in January 2025:

Property sale deeds increased by 93.7% year-on-year, reaching 3,645 registrations.

25.9% of transactions were made with mortgage loans, representing 945 deeds.

The total amount of transactions rose to 433,177 million pesos, an increase of 202.9% compared to the previous year.

The average value per transaction was 118,841,472 pesos, 56.4% higher than in January 2024.

Mortgage-backed deeds experienced a 1,269.5% increase compared to the same month last year.

Jorge De Bártolo, president of the College of Notaries, highlighted that this is the best start to a year since 2018, only surpassed by the credit boom of that year.

This was EXACTLY what our firm @BuySellBA predicted would happen in mid-2023 when we correctly called the bottom after the falling prices of 5 years. We nailed it!

 

[Johnny]

Love it. I was 2 of those sales.... 🤣

 

[Betsy Ross]

I had no idea mortgages were already 25% of all purchases. Wow. That probably means prices are going to go up.

 

[Wally]

I had no idea mortgages were already 25% of all purchases. Wow. That probably means prices are going to go up.

I knew it was heading up. Many of our friends bought properties last year with a mortgage. @BuySellBA kudos for calling the bottom correctly after waiting 5 years of falling prices. I would have bought another property but was too scared. My wife's family owns a lot of real estate in BA already.

 

[Uncle Wong]

It is amazing how quickly properties are selling. I am coming in May/June and keeping a list of properties and almost all of them are sold already and I just added them a few weeks ago. I am kind of bummed because every time I add one it goes off market fairly quickly. 🥲

 

[earlyretirement]

Love it. I was 2 of those sales.... 🤣

Actually no as new construction don't count towards these total numbers. They only count the sale once you sign the title deed so all these sales in pozo properties aren't even included and those numbers are HUGE. So actual buying is much much higher than these numbers show as many people buying are buying in new constructions being built now.

It is amazing how quickly properties are selling. I am coming in May/June and keeping a list of properties and almost all of them are sold already and I just added them a few weeks ago. I am kind of bummed because every time I add one it goes off market fairly quickly. 🥲

Ha. You aren't alone @Uncle Wong! I have many clients that are coming down in the next month and they are experiencing the same thing. Here is a spreadsheet that I track for one of my clients and you can see out of all the ones they added in the past few weeks all that are sold. Every time they add one to the list it sells not too long after.

 

[Digital Nomad]

Actually no as new construction don't count towards these total numbers. They only count the sale once you sign the title deed so all these sales in pozo properties aren't even included and those numbers are HUGE. So actual buying is much much higher than these numbers show as many people buying are buying in new constructions being built now.


Ha. You aren't alone @Uncle Wong! I have many clients that are coming down in the next month and they are experiencing the same thing. Here is a spreadsheet that I track for one of my clients and you can see out of all the ones they added in the past few weeks all that are sold. Every time they add one to the list it sells not too long after.


View attachment 8757

That is the issue that I ran into also. I gave up as my dad wouldn't green light helping with the cash needed. It sucks that it's an all cash market. Locals can qualify for mortgages but foreigners have to have all cash which I don't have enough. That is a good idea to make a spreadsheet like that @earlyretirement. I did something similar but you have more things in it. Do you ever think foreigners will be able to get mortgages here?

 

[earlyretirement]

That is the issue that I ran into also. I gave up as my dad wouldn't green light helping with the cash needed. It sucks that it's an all cash market. Locals can qualify for mortgages but foreigners have to have all cash which I don't have enough. That is a good idea to make a spreadsheet like that @earlyretirement. I did something similar but you have more things in it. Do you ever think foreigners will be able to get mortgages here?

Yes, the all-cash market is tough for many foreigners. That's why I always say that real estate investment in Latin America is not for the masses. Most people should not be buying here unless they have the means to do it, which most do not. Real estate here should be mostly for high-net worth individuals or people that are retiring and need a place to live. While we do get retained by several people that aren't high-net-worth individuals, we always emphasize that they need to really see what their motivations are of purchasing here.

Yes, I like to make a spreadsheet and figure out what price per m2 is so you can compare properties head to head. No, foreigners here I don't anticipate will ever be able to get mortgages here at least not for many years. Even with the locals, you have to remember that the majority of people in Argentina aren't declaring their true salaries or income streams. Much of the market is "black" and off the table which will limit the mortgage market. But it's good that credit and financing are coming because it will motivate people to work in the "white" because they won't be able to buy properties without having justifiable documented incomes.

I also recommend anyone buying real estate here to make a My Google Maps - https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/

You can map out all the properties that you are interested and can put in Zonaprop URLS and color code them. It will help you visualize what properties you like are in what neighborhoods.

 

[JonJLA]

Yes, the all-cash market is tough for many foreigners. That's why I always say that real estate investment in Latin America is not for the masses. Most people should not be buying here unless they have the means to do it, which most do not. Real estate here should be mostly for high-net worth individuals or people that are retiring and need a place to live. While we do get retained by several people that aren't high-net-worth individuals, we always emphasize that they need to really see what their motivations are of purchasing here.

Yes, I like to make a spreadsheet and figure out what price per m2 is so you can compare properties head to head. No, foreigners here I don't anticipate will ever be able to get mortgages here at least not for many years. Even with the locals, you have to remember that the majority of people in Argentina aren't declaring their true salaries or income streams. Much of the market is "black" and off the table which will limit the mortgage market. But it's good that credit and financing are coming because it will motivate people to work in the "white" because they won't be able to buy properties without having justifiable documented incomes.

I also recommend anyone buying real estate here to make a My Google Maps - https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/

You can map out all the properties that you are interested and can put in Zonaprop URLS and color code them. It will help you visualize what properties you like are in what neighborhoods.

This was one of the things that you recommended so many years ago that was helpful for me when I was buying my places in Buenos Aires. After seeing so many properties, you lost track of it all. Both the spreadsheet and Google map was great.

I actually prefer that properties are all cash in Argentina. It is hard to know how much of a bubble we are in the USA because of all the credit and financing. At least when I was buying everyone was ponying up cash so you know property prices are genuine. It will probably be a while before Argentina can really make headway with bigger mortgages because of what you said of no one using their real income. Just about everyone I dealt with when I bought my 2 properties allowed me to waive the iva tax if I didn't need any official receipt. I was more than ok with not paying 21%

That's Argentina's problem in a nutshell. Too many taxes so no one wants to declare and pay it.

 

[Betsy Ross]

This was one of the things that you recommended so many years ago that was helpful for me when I was buying my places in Buenos Aires. After seeing so many properties, you lost track of it all. Both the spreadsheet and Google map was great.

I actually prefer that properties are all cash in Argentina. It is hard to know how much of a bubble we are in the USA because of all the credit and financing. At least when I was buying everyone was ponying up cash so you know property prices are genuine. It will probably be a while before Argentina can really make headway with bigger mortgages because of what you said of no one using their real income. Just about everyone I dealt with when I bought my 2 properties allowed me to waive the iva tax if I didn't need any official receipt. I was more than ok with not paying 21%

That's Argentina's problem in a nutshell. Too many taxes so no one wants to declare and pay it.

Very true. When I bought my apartment so many years ago the realtor asked me if I wanted an official receipt. I said yes please. Then they said it would be 21% more. I quickly changed my mind. They still gave me a receipt but it wasn't the official receipt that they declare with the government. Then at the closing the lawyer asked me if I wanted an official receipt. You can bet what my answer was.

 

[Jenn]

Very true. When I bought my apartment so many years ago the realtor asked me if I wanted an official receipt. I said yes please. Then they said it would be 21% more. I quickly changed my mind. They still gave me a receipt but it wasn't the official receipt that they declare with the government. Then at the closing the lawyer asked me if I wanted an official receipt. You can bet what my answer was.

Wait. What? They charge 21% tax on services?? I thought vat tax was only for goods. So a realtor or a lawyer will change 21% tax on legal services?? Who in their right mind would choose to pay this if they don't have to? Will all require it? Will all waive it?

 

[Larry]

Wait. What? They charge 21% tax on services?? I thought vat tax was only for goods. So a realtor or a lawyer will change 21% tax on legal services?? Who in their right mind would choose to pay this if they don't have to? Will all require it? Will all waive it?

Correct. 21% IVA tax on all professional services. Many demand this so you have no choice to pay it. Many people have to justify their income and spending so they need to issue formal receipts. But the problem is many times buyers will refuse to pay this. When I bought my property I did not have a choice. The lawyer charged 21% tax on his fees. The realtor allowed me to only declare part of the fee but charged 21% on the part he charged.

The government will keep having problems with this as long as the tax is so high.

 

[Blockchain]

Correct. 21% IVA tax on all professional services. Many demand this so you have no choice to pay it. Many people have to justify their income and spending so they need to issue formal receipts. But the problem is many times buyers will refuse to pay this. When I bought my property I did not have a choice. The lawyer charged 21% tax on his fees. The realtor allowed me to only declare part of the fee but charged 21% on the part he charged.

The government will keep having problems with this as long as the tax is so high.

Jeeze. No wonder everyone is dodging taxes and underground. I had no idea they charged this on service fees. I assume people would also prefer not to issue these invoices because they have to pay income tax on it too. Doubt they will see people agreeing to pay them if they have the option to skip out on it. Will be difficult to get everyone to pay their fair share.