Dwindling supply and high demand mean that the Ceará property market is experiencing a hectic year. Sales are so brisk that analysts predict a 10% rise in 2021 compared to 2020, with volumes exceeding R$2.1 billion. Furthermore, the second-home and high-end sectors have the most sought-after properties.
Prospects for 2021
Patriolino Dias, President of the Ceará Civil Construction Union (Sinduscon-CE), recently revealed his predictions for this year in the Ceará property market. His highlights are the uptick in sales – expected to rise by 10% in 2021 compared to last year. And the technological advances in the real estate sector.
“We calculate this year that sales volumes will reach R$2.1 billion,” Dias said in an extensive interview in Diario do Nordeste in late July. Sinduscon-CE base their estimates on the current trends with the local real estate market.
Ceará property market backstory
In his interview, Dias goes back to 2018 when the Ceará real estate market had two main characteristics: falling supply and the first real signs of lower interest rates. As a result, high demand led many developers to plan new launches in Q4 2019.
However, the arrival of the pandemic brought construction projects to a standstill for most of Q1 and Q2 last year. But as Dias points out, lockdown gave many people the chance to look hard at their homes and a considerable number decided to move to more spacious and better-quality properties.
This urge to upgrade led to a surge in sales during 2020, one of the busiest years ever for the Ceará property market. And according to Dias, “one of the best opportunities ever for buyers”.
Second homes and luxury properties in demand
Holiday homes also became a bigger priority for families in Ceará in 2020. Dias attributes this to the lack that many cannot or do not want to travel abroad or even within Brazil. Their obvious choice is therefore a second home that they can enjoy for their own holidays and let to earn rental income.
Supply also runs for this type of home – Dias says that second homes in the largest resorts in Ceará such as Aquiraz and Cumbuco ran out in just two weeks last year. Demand remains high as a result and buyers are turning their attention to other areas of the state.
Within the high-end property sector, demand too has been brisk. And this type of real estate is also experiencing low supply.
Tech moves forward
Lockdown forced the property sector to move more online. As a result, Dias believes that the industry advanced at least two years in technological terms in 2020. “We got ahead by two years and gave the sector a much greater online presence,” he says.
Among the improvements were better online listings so that would-be buyers could get a real feel for the properties. And more streamlined purchases procedures including less paperwork for the notary, for example.
Moving forward to 2022
Demand currently shows no sign of falling and supply will contain to suffer constraints as a result. Dias believes the emphasis will shift away from saturated districts in the state such as Meireles in Fortaleza to areas with more available land.
Regarding interest rates, Sinduscon-CE expects them to rise this year, although not by much. However, Dias points out that any low rate is a win for the buyer and believes that even with an increase of up to 6 or 6.5%, the Ceará property market will still continue to grow.
(Source: Diario do Nordeste)
