Brazil Housing Credit Figures

January 30th, 2012 by Ruban Selvanayagam 1 Comment

The Brazilian Association of Real Estate Credit and Savings (Associação Brasileira de Crédito Imobiliário e Poupança, ABECIP) recently published lending statistics for 2011 as well as its expectations for 2012:

Financed Volume

The volume of credit used for the finance and construction of properties grew 42 percent in 2011 – a new historical record for the Brazilian System of Savings and Loans (Sistema Brasileiro de Poupança e Empréstimo, SBPE).  In 2011, R$ 79.9 billion was lent for the finance of construction and purchase of real estate – R$ 23.7 billion more than in 2010.

Financed Units

From January to December 2011, 493,000 units were financed – representing a 17 percent growth in relation to the number registered in 2010.  In December, 49,600 units were financed (a new record).  Compared with November the figure grew 27 percent and, in relation to December 2010, the rise was 14 percent.

Balance and National Savings

In December 2011, deposits exceeded withdrawals by over R$ 1.2 billion – and in 2011 net inflow levels totaled R$ 9.4 billion. The balance of savings accounts in the SBPE increased by more than R$ 30 billion in 2011 (from R$ 299.9 billion in December 2010 to R$ 330.6 billion in December 2011).

Perspectives

For 2012, ABECIP believes that the volume of finance using the national savings will grow by 30 percent reaching R$ 103.9 billion.  According to president of the organisation, Octavio de Lazari Junior the relative slowdown is owed to the greater caution being taken by the country’s real estate developers who will be reducing their launch levels.  This is viewed by the organisation as a positive step in the right direction in order for the sector to remain consistent and sustainable.  Sector wide concerns have formed around the depletion of wholesale funding – with definitive alternatives still not being in place, the rapid expansion of the housing credit system is likely to be stifled.

Economic Scenario

The ABECIP estimates that Brazil’s GDP will grow by 3.3 percent, the level of unemployment will continue downwards and general salary levels will continue to rise.