Hi,

Argentina had its own property prices slump in 2001 tied to its economic crash. Since then properties have risen steadily.

Is it likely that property prices in Argentina will now crash together with the US and most of the rest of the world?

Is there a good source of global historic property prices going back for 50 years?

Cheers,
Miguel

I am just seeing this thread / post now.



Prices have risen quite significantly over the past 12 months (although I still think there's value to be had there). However, in my view, Argentina is less exposed to the housing crash because LTVs there tend to be modest, relative to USA / UK etc. Furthermore, whilst prices have been rising, there hasn't been the speculation-related boom that has occurred in USA / UK (and happened in Asia in the 1990s). In particular, there has been a lack of speculative property investment in Latin America from UK "investors" because its incredibly difficult, as a UK resident, to obtain mortgage financing there.



I think that parts of Latin America genuinely offer good long-term capital growth potential - not the "5 star resort developments" being marketed heavily in the UK, but, rather, some of the cities, including Quito, Lima and Bogota.



Would be interested in other views on apartment / condo investments in Latin America.

We've invested in 3 properties in Argentina - all in Buenos Aires. Besides being a fantastic city, what we liked was the fact that most real estate is sold to Argentines who live there not overseas property speculators driving up prices. Most developers don't bother with the overseas market b/c they get enough interest at home so we can easily sell to the domestic market should we want to exit. Also, if you check out independent agent websites advertising rental apts., you can see you'll make a decent return of anywhere from 8-12%. Because everything is bought in cash, there's not much chance of a credit crash or bubble in the real estate sector. We are concerned about inflation and lax gov't policies in Argentina, but don't think they'll be another peso devaluation crisis like before (real estate is priced in US dollars).
I'd be interested in hearing about people's opinions on Quito or Montevideo or other locations in Argentina.

Hi Tika,

I'm interested in Buenos Aires market for long-term rental (I presume there is little demand for short lets?). I would be very interested to hear any agents you can recommend, and your experience with the best type of property, price range, and areas. What is the legal position with getting rid of tenants? Any help would be much appreciated.