Amongst the other practical issues regularly outlined on this blog and our YouTube channel, the unravelling of events that led to the exposure of the largest fraud case witnessed under the Minha Casa, Minha Vida (“My House, My Life”) reminds us not only of the misconceptions of the practical operation of the program but also some of the ugly business ethics that still remain in the Brazilian construction industry.
Another recent example of the inherent problems facing Brazil´s Minha Casa, Minha Vida (“My House, My Life”) program demonstrating how progress on a project in Bahia (north of the country) has been abandoned for 2 years. Whilst it is seen that residents invaded the houses prior to the completion of...
Referred to as the “foreign investor hotspot” of Brazil for some years now, Natal´s real estate boom was fuelled by promising economic prospects (including a weak Real in the early 2000s, rising incomes and lower unemployment) as well as improving connectivity; a sunny climate and a number of important infrastructure developments. Yet an interesting piece of commentary addressing some of the realities of the city´s rapid expansion recently appeared in the Journal de Hoje, implying that – as with many of the major Brazilian metropolitan regions – speculation has been allowed to overtake notions of sustainable growth:
The increasing reports of unsatisfactory standards being delivered under the Minha Casa, Minha Vida (“My House, My Life”) program have served as vivid examples of the build-up of practical and execution-related questions oulined in the Brazil without Favelas report, published some months ago by @feztapronto – Ruban Selvanayagam.
A translated statement made by the Caixa Econômica Federal in response to the demolition of two buildings constructed under the Minha Casa, Minha Vida (“My House, My Life”) program, in Niterói, Rio de Janeiro.
Ratings agency Moody´s listed 5 Brazilian real estate construction companies that are currently experiencing what have been termed as “delicate situations”.
Profit margins (based on a quarterly measurement) were considered as unsatisfactory – at 44.7 points compared to 47 points in the first quarter of 2012. According to the report, even taking into account the reliefs enacted by the government in late 2012, higher tax obligations were deemed as one of the main problems (indicated by 50.8% of business people in the sector) in addition to the lack of qualified labour (42.5%) and the high costs of staff contraction (34.5%).
Another report of bad housing standards being delivered under the Minha Casa, Minha Vida (“My House, My Life”) program in Resende, Rio de Janeiro as well as the complex questions that have emerged in relation to post-completion responsibility: For a full analysis of the reality of the Brazilian housing market –...
Units under the Residential Leasing Program (Programa de Arrendamento Residencial, PAR) – under the auspices of the Minha Casa, Minha Vida (“My House, My Life”) program – have been in such high demand that a recent project launch in Rio Verde in the state of Goiás saw potential buyers literally fighting to be considered for one of the units.
Samy Dana has emerged as one of Brazil´s leading no nonsense consumer watchdog commentators – regularly exposing the real implications of finance mechanisms used by the country´s leading retailers, credit card debt and other unscrupulous practices. Please take a look at a broadly translated blog post published on the Folha São Paulo this week, where he explored the current state of the country´s property market. Also take the time to view Ruban Selvanayagam´s comments underneath.
