Ceará real estate has got off to an excellent start so far this year. January statistics for mortgage lending in the state point to a surge of interest in property in 2021. On the back of high demand, new-build second homes are currently in short supply and coastal areas are experiencing an increase in prices.
January mortgages soar
2020 broke many records for mortgages in Ceará – in November, they stood at their highest since 2015. However, 2021 shows all signs of taking loans to new heights.
According to figures released in February from the Brazilian Mortgage Association (ABECIP), 1,441 units received mortgage loan approval in January. This translates to an uptick of nearly 270% in the year and clearly indicates the strong demand for Ceará real estate.
The corresponding value of the mortgage loans totalled R$262.3 million, a rise of almost 200% on the same period in 2020. These are the highest lending figures in Ceará for over five years.
2020 big year for sales
Despite the pandemic, Ceará real estate performed well above average in 2020. In fact, the latest figures point to a busy market for both resale and new properties as well as rentals.
The online property platform Kenlo recently carried out nationwide research on sales of Brazilian property last year in the country’s largest metropolitan areas. They included Ceará where the survey found that purchases of resale property and rental contracts rose by 45.18% in 2020.
The most frenzied activity took place in the second half of the year. Contracts for long-term rentals and sales of property rose by 66.41% in the third quarter compared to the same period in 2019. The increase in the fourth quarter was almost 60% higher than a year earlier.
Strong sales for land in Ceará
Purchases of land in Ceará followed a similar pattern in 2020, a year for a record number of sales. The possibility of building a tailor-made home on a plot appealed to many locals, keen to live in a larger property with private land.
Like mortgage lending, plot sales also started the year well. Transactions jumped 125% in January compared to 12 months earlier.
Low inventory for Ceará real estate
The strong demand for property in this part of Northeast Brazil has inevitably put pressure on supply. According to market analysts, the recent surge in mortgage lending has led to a shortage of inventory to the extent that there are few new-build second homes available.
Strong demand for second homes has also led to a rise in property prices in coastal areas of Ceará. Kenlo found that in resorts such as Aquiraz, home values went up by 11.5% in 2020.
(Source: Diario do Nordeste, Opovo)
