Caixa Economica Federal, one of Brazil’s largest banks and the biggest mortgage lender in the country, has just held its annual Own Home Fair in seven of Brazil’s regional capitals. With over 150,000 units on show at the exhibition, this tenth edition of the Fair saw record levels of business in Fortaleza, Northeast Brazil.
Some 78 developers and 72 estate agents and representatives attended the Fortaleza Fair where thousands of new-build properties and future projects in Ceará were showcased. Mortgages for properties exhibited were aimed specifically for the under 35 market and include favourable interest rates of just 4.5 per cent.
Over 12,441 contracts were signed, a 35 per cent increase on 2013. These contracts totalled a value of R$1.8 billion, a record for the Fortaleza edition and nearly 22 per cent more than last year.
Speaking to the press, the Caixa representative in Fortaleza Antonio Carlos Franci said he believed that the huge interest and subsequent sales at the Fair reflected the state of the market in the area. “They show a local property market that is still very buoyant,” he said, “as well as confirming that developers and agents are offering products that are very much in demand.”
The number of contracts signed at the Fair in other parts of Brazil was similarly high, proving that the market for new builds in Brazil, particularly amongst young couples and first-time buyers, remains very strong. First quarter figures recently released by the Caixa confirm this trend. The bank’s volume of mortgage lending from January to March this year totalled to R$25.32 billion for 349,000 contracts of which the majority (61 per cent) were for new-build properties.
The Caixa President Jorge Hereda expects the bank to end the year with R$155 billion in approved mortgages, a hike of 20 per cent on 2013, also a record year both in terms of number and value of mortgages. For Hereda, the mortgage lending sector in Brazil is growing sustainably and has a healthy outlook. He cited the low mortgage default rate, low unemployment, the increase in average salaries and the high demand for housing nationwide as the four factors behind the current boom in mortgage lending. Since none of these elements is set to change in the short to medium term, the future looks very bright for this financial sector.
Source: Caixa
