Verifying land prices in Brazil

[Azure]

Hi, I wanted to see if experienced investors can help here. I am looking into purchasing land in NE Brazil and am in the research stage still. This would be with a view to holding for a few years and selling on for a profit. What I've found lacking is any reliable source of information on price movements over the last few years and future projections.

Appreciate this info may not be easy to obtain but I'm sure investors who have purchased in this region have used some method to gauge the general trends and factors to consider for the future. Other than word of mouth what facts are available? I want to make sure that whatever prices are being quoted are actual market prices and not a dumb foreigner prices.

Would appreciate any guidance here

 

[Stephen Naish]

Land Prices Brazil

Hi Azure

We carryout valuations in North East Brazil and one of the caveats we use in the valuation is as follows:

"Due to the prevalence of extra-contractual payments and incomplete property descriptions, accurate, reliable sales information is not available in Brazil, unless one is directly involved with the final stages of any particular transaction. Unfortunately, this means that the official registries statistics and analysis based upon them does not reflect the true market values being paid".

Really you need to compile a list of comparables and look at the factors which are used to generate their value such as location, situation, amenites etc. In established locations it is relatively easy to calculate a price per metre, in secondary locations more difficult as prices will fluctuate wildly.

Unless you are visiting the site and visiting the location its is very difficult to get a real idea on value with regard to what you are purchasing or the comparables you are using.

My advice is to always visit or have someone go to the site for you.

 

[dwc]

hi azure-

Hi, I wanted to see if experienced investors can help here. I am looking into purchasing land in NE Brazil and am in the research stage still. This would be with a view to holding for a few years and selling on for a profit. What I've found lacking is any reliable source of information on price movements over the last few years and future projections.

Appreciate this info may not be easy to obtain but I'm sure investors who have purchased in this region have used some method to gauge the general trends and factors to consider for the future. Other than word of mouth what facts are available? I want to make sure that whatever prices are being quoted are actual market prices and not a dumb foreigner prices.

Would appreciate any guidance here

Hi Azure, I have not visited this site for a while but i was contacted via e-mail in reference to helping you. mr. Naish is giving you good advice especially when it comes to visiting the site. This is a MUST.There are those that misrepresent what they have. If you are interested in the Northeast,and want to know property values within a 200 mile radius of Fortaleza then I can help you. I own a beach house in taiba and have done the duo-diligence prior to buying.I spoke to many realtors developers and visited the city municipality to check actual purchase prices. Sometimes you cannot even trust these so you have to analyze many. I know many owners in taiba so I can give you an accurate value..I know taiba best because it is the biggest bang for the buck....Cumbuco is a good comparison. cumbuco is approx. 35 minutes from fortaleza depending on traffic and it lies North. The prices there are approx. 450 to 650 reals per square meter for beachfront depending on the size..Expect to pay this for 60 meters of beachfront and up to 15000 square meters....Taiba is inexpensive and the beaches are far nicer...you need to visit taiba...the beaches are the best....and the frontline beachfront 2 years ago was selling for up to 150 reals per square meter and it is only another 30 minute drive from cumbuco...if you travel in a 4x4 during low tide along the beach you can make it in 15 minutes.......as you can see taiba is quite close yet the price is CONSIDERABLY lower...In the last 2 years land sales have slowed and if you get lucky you can pick up FRONTLINE beach in TAIBA for 60 to 90 reals per square meter but there is very little to buy..It was bought up the last 5 years for the obvious....the coming boom....and when you compare the price to cumbuco it is a steal...lots of upside potential...but you have to buy FRONTLINE BEACH......Never get talked into buying 2nd row or further back. If you google, Taibasand , there are some nice videos taken by kitesurfers and sand surfers of this special section of taiba or Home has lots more info....Good luck with your search....Taiba is very quaint and the high class from fortaleza have there getaway beach homes there....another major reason to buy there. I hope i have helped you...if you want to know about any other areas let me know. DWC

 

[JMBroad]

Azure,

It depends what type of land you are looking to buy and where. Are you considering development land (ie to develop your own type of residential development) or a small plot on which to build a house?

Either way there isn't really a lot of information to go on, especially not published information, you really need to know first hand and the only real way to do that is as both the above posters have said, to visit the area yourself.

However having a one week holiday in a location and then basing your decision on what you have been told can be worse than not having visited at all as emotions will come into play and you can be led astray by the beautiful beaches and charming villages. Then again if you are planning on buying something where you can build a holiday home, emotions are what you need - in that case the price of land becomes whatever you feel it is worth to you.

Unless you plan on spending several months on the ground doing your own research, I'd contact several real estate agencies who speak your language who work with Brazil and ask them a bunch of questions about Brazil, about where to invest and about land prices - you'll probably get a lot of different answers but comparing the answers and using common sense should help you find out which ones know what they are talking about and which ones are making it up, especially if you ask different agents about prices in specific locations and the purchasing process, life in Brazil, etc.