By Nelson Belen, Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – According to just-released data from the latest FipeZap Index, residential rental prices across Brazil’s fifteen biggest cities showed a marginal decline of 0.21 percent in July. Rio de Janeiro showed the biggest drop in the survey with rental prices declining -1.21 percent.
Coming in a close second to Rio de Janeiro was Goiânia, which declined -1.15 percent followed by Campinas which saw rental prices decline -0.54 percent.
Of the fifteen cities in the survey, eight registered slight increases in July’s average residential rental prices. The biggest, yet marginal, increases were seen in Florianópolis (+0.75 percent), Recife (+0.55 percent), Distrito Federal (+0.47 percent), and Salvador (+0.35 percent).
These four cities also showed increases that slightly outpaced July’s inflation rate of 0.24 percent, as determined by the IPCA/IBGE (National Consumer Price Index/Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics).
When drawn out over the last twelve months, average rental prices overall declined 0.55 percent. Rio de Janeiro led the ranking with the biggest drop over that period, down -5.66 percent, followed by Campinas, down -5.01 percent.
On the positive side, Santos (+3.06 percent), São Bernardo do Campo (+2.66 percent) and São Paulo (+2.02 percent) all registered increases over the last twelve months. However, only Santos could beat the inflation rate of 2.71 percent over the period.
In terms of actual prices, Brazil’s commercial capital of São Paulo held the distinction of having the most expensive residential rental prices in the country in July with an average price per square meter of R$35.85.
The Cidade Maravilhosa had the country’s second most expensive residential rental prices with an average of R$33.38 per square meter. Rounding out the top three most expensive rental prices in July was Distrito Federal, which checked in at R$29.66 per square meter.
Among the Brazilian cities with the cheapest rent per square meter in July were Goiânia (R$14.83), Fortaleza (R$16.29) and Curitiba (R$16.46).
The FipeZap Index monitors real estate sale prices across twenty Brazilian cities and is a monthly gauge of property prices. It is prepared jointly by the university research center, Fipe (Economic Research Institute Foundation) and the Brazilian online real estate platform, Zap Properties.