Why North East Brazil is an Investment Hot Spot

With a long history of European investment, north east Brazil remains an investment hot spot. Highlights in this part of Brazil for investment opportunities include the second homes market and luxury properties.

Experts in real estate from all over the world are meeting this week at Noreste Invest 2010 in Natal. Those speaking at round tables during the event – the largest focussing on tourism and property in north east Brazil – are unanimous that Brazil currently offers some of the best investment potential globally. They also agree that north east Brazil is a niche market within the larger context of Brazil as a whole.

Speakers claimed that they feel comfortable investing in Brazil for many reasons. This is primarily because Brazil escaped the worst of the global slowdown and has been registering positive growth since Q2 2009. Other reasons included the availability of credit in Brazil and the country’s controlled inflation.

For Pedro Mateus from Grupo Mateus, his company chose Brazil because new markets in Europe are saturated. Grupo Mateus was attracted to the growth of the middle class in Brazil and their increased purchasing power. Mr Mateus believes that the best investments in Brazil are currently in shopping centres and the residential sector, particularly projects within the government social housing programme, Minha Casa Minha Vida.

The second homes market in Brazil came under the round table spotlight. According to experts, this sector is up-and-coming among Brazilians as increasing numbers are able to afford a holiday home. Noreste Invest 2010 reports that wealthy Brazilians from southern and central parts of Brazil are looking to the north east as a location for a second home. According to the Vice President of ADIT (Association for the Development of Tourism and Real Estate in North East Brazil, Roberto Carlos Lopes, north east Brazil offers two major advantages over other parts of the coast in Brazil. Properties are cheaper and easier to get to. Mr Lopes says that homes in north east Brazil are at least twice as cheap as those on the coastline near Sao Paulo and cost considerably less to maintain. He also points out that because of traffic congestion, the journey from Sao Paulo to the coast can take up to five hours, whereas north east Brazil is a short plane trip from Sao Paulo.

Roberto Mitri, Director General of Cyrela (the largest real estate company in Brazil), highlighted a new trend among Brazilians – they are spending more time at their second homes. He also pointed out that holiday homes in or near urban areas are increasingly popular as primary residences. Brazil Hospitality Group has found the same thing – the Group recently launched a product conceived as holiday properties, but 75% of the properties were bought by Brazilians to use as their homes.

Many attendees at the Noreste Invest 2010 round tables emphasise the lack of choice in luxury property in Brazil. For the President of BridgeRock Capital, Christian Charre, the luxury property market is a great opportunity for investment in Brazil.

Obelisk agrees that north east Brazil has many investment advantages. We believe the Obelisk project, Laguna Beach meets all of them. Laguna Beach is a high-end complex that will undoubtedly appeal to Brazilians looking to buy a holiday home in the area or needing holiday accommodation. The luxury finishes at Laguna Beach offer quality rarely found in this part of Brazil and at prices the market can afford.

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