Real estate in Argentina

Real estate in Argentina

by Rick Ballester

Buenos Aires is a vibrant city, which has a sophisticated, genteel Latin flair… but is cosmopolitan like New York or Paris. Large boulevards, expansive parks and plazas, tall trees… it's a walking city with an aristocratic European feel. Here people use all the community green space. Stroll through a park, and you'll see people reading, picnicking, talking… and even dancing the tango. Buying real estate in Argentina has become an excellent way to invest in real estate abroad. Some of the recent benefits include the increasing cash flow from renting the property, low expenditures on the property, and low real estate taxes. In a recent article "Real Emerging Property Markets are to be Found in South America," in Property Wire August 2008, the analysis of South American real estate suggests that while the United States and European property markets are depressed, there are still many opportunities to make money in emerging markets. South America has many such emerging markets, specifically Argentina. The article sites Argentina as one of the best places in the world to live right now and argues that the nation's trade and government surpluses are a draw for Europeans. Argentina has beaches, ski centers, mountains, and vast, open tracts of land for visitors and potential investors to enjoy. Property prices have risen 50% since 2002 and tourism has grown 10% every year since then as well. There is high demand for rental properties and buy-to-let property owners make rental income of up to 6% of the original purchase price in Buenos Aires's popular neighborhoods. An article from the New York Times July 2008 entitled, "For Sale…in Buenos Aires," The reason that Argentina is a cheaper option can, in many ways, be attributed to the crash in 2001. While the nation has been recovering rapidly from its crash, growth has slowed somewhat in the last two years and prices are still much cheaper than in the US or Europe (3 pesos to 1 dollar). With tourism expected to grow to 10 million by 2010 the demand for hotels, one and two bedroom apartments and hostels will no doubt continue to make buying and renting real esate in buenos aires a great investment. Americans are coming in droves and so moving the market in particular areas such as Palermo and Recoleta. The most poplular options are one and two bedroom apartments. MSN travel section lists Argentina as still the best deal in which to buy property in South America.