Brazilian holidaymakers and rental property owners have embraced holiday lets so much that the number of properties available and the number of people using them have increased dramatically over the last few years. With the Olympic Games on the horizon, Brazilian holiday lets have never been so popular as this news article by BRIC Group explains.

Better returns on investment

A recent survey carried out by Aluguer Temporada, part of the HomeAway company and the biggest Brazilian holiday let portal, revealed that owners of holiday lets in Brazil have discovered how lucrative holiday rentals are. According to the study, over 50 per cent of owners say that they make at least R$78,000 a year (the equivalent of around US$22,000 or €19,500) from their Brazilian holiday let.

Many of those interviewed in the survey highlighted one of the advantages of short-term letting over long-term rentals – that your property remains available for your own use outside the designated letting periods. In addition, a large percentage said that they make more money from holiday lets than they did from long-term rentals.

Rental returns are particularly high during peak holiday times. In Brazil, these include the whole of the month of January, New Year and the Carnival season. And this year, the Olympic Games will provide another busy and profitable window for owners of holiday lets in Rio de Janeiro. Holiday rentals in areas close to Olympic events or near the famous Rio de Janeiro beaches are unsurprisingly in high demand and as a result, many property owners are cashing in.

Brazilian holiday let profile

In a separate survey, Aluguer Temporada looked at the profile behind Brazilians who choose holiday let accommodation over hotels. This study revealed that most clients are women (60 per cent) and the average age is between 30 and just over 50.

Of those surveyed, 55 per cent had stayed in Brazilian holiday lets in the last 12 months and their main reason for choosing to rent holiday accommodation rather than staying in a hotel was the more affordable price. A fifth said that holiday lets were ideal for family get-togethers and 11 per cent said that the privacy afforded by a private home was why they had chosen a holiday let.

When it comes to amenities in a holiday let property, the majority said a swimming pool was top of their must-have list. Other essentials were wifi and air-conditioning. Over 90 per cent of those interviewed said that location was their overriding criteria for choosing a particular holiday let.

Huge rise in interest and properties

The flexibility for holidaymakers and the high returns for property owners have led to a surge in Brazilian holiday lets. Aluguer Temporada reports that over 21 million people visited their site in 2015, a 35 per cent increase on the previous year. In terms of holiday lets advertised on the portal, these reached in excess of 28,000, a figure that has grown by nearly 90 per cent over the last four years.

“Because it’s relatively new, the Brazilian holiday let market still has a lot of catching up to do compared to other countries,” says Dies Poppeliers, Managing Director of BRIC Group. “However, we are now seeing a surge in popularity – holiday lets in Fortaleza in the Meireles district were in the Airbnb top ten for fastest growth in booking interest - and we fully expect this growth to continue.”

An investment company specialising in global real estate opportunities, BRIC Group is currently developing The Coral resort, in Northeast Brazil, a luxury beachfront resort. BRIC Group also offers US real estate investments including turnkey properties in Florida and Houston, and land plots in Florida. BRIC Group has been creating wealth for its clients since 1996 and has offices in Brazil, Dubai (consulting office), Hungary, Spain and the US.

(Sources: Aluguer Temporadad, InfoMoney)