As 2012 will mark the 5th year anniversary of the launch of the Brazilian government led Growth Acceleration Programme (Programa de Aceleração do Crescimento, PAC), specialists speaking to Brazil’s “IG Economia” newspaper recently expressed their concerns related to the low economic growth directly related to the various infrastructure projects happening around the country.
Recent evidence has pointed to noticeably rising property and land values in one of Rio de Janeiro’s largest regions of favelas communities (urban neighbourhoods consisting of badly structured and poor quality housing, usually located in the city peripheries). Much of the news has been attributed to the recent pacification programmes undertaken in several regions deemed at risk by the city government.
Research by Brazil’s Veja magazine has demonstrated that 45 percent of the country’s households are not connected to any form of waste disposal. Some 90 million people are using cesspits or ditches which are often leading to rivers and the sea.
Brazil’s growing presence as a globally leading economy has been particularly underlined by a wide range of necessary and fundamental infrastructural investments initiated in recent years. Colloquially referred to as the ‘four sisters’, the conglomerates largely responsible for the works are Queiroz Galvão, Andrade Gutierrez, Camargo Corrêa and Odebrecht with a collective budget of R$ 138 billion (as at May 2011). We outline some of the major ongoing works as well as some of the major issues being confronted.
Full results of the Brazilian Census undertaken in quarter 3 of 2010 revealed a range of statistics that, whilst several debate are questionable in terms of real time accuracy, provide some broad based indications for the future of business and real estate in the country.
The debate with regards to a credit bubble in Brazil was further fuelled by recent comments in the Financial Times made by Paul Marshall, CIO at Marshall Wace and co-manager of the Eureka Fund, that – as a result a rapid credit growth which has exceeded Russia, India and China – Brazil is on the course of a ‘sub prime’ type crisis witnessed in the USA in 2007. The comments subsequently caused a stir in the Brazilian media with a number of leading figures from finance related industries voicing their opinions in an article in the Estadão newspaper.
The January / February 2010 Brazil real estate and land investor newsletter including an outline and link to our monthly statistical factfile.
An introduction to our annual extended report aimed at anyone with an interest in Brazil real estate and land. We explore a range of issues including the election of Dilma Rousseff; Brazil’s involvement in the global currency wars, bringing down the national interest rate, domestic savings concerns, Brazil’s relationship with China, house price hyperinflation, the housing deficit, the future of the construction industry, low income housing, sanitation issues, the retail real estate market, infrastructure, the rising middle class, education, the informal economy, business transparency amongst others.
A short article on Rio de Janeiro’s real-life ‘City of God’, an area depicted in the 2002 film of the same name which has undergone significant transformation in recent years, widely being viewed as a model example of modern Brazilian urbanisation and citizen integration.
The November / December 2010 Brazil Real Estate and Land Investor Newsletter: information, notices, links, hints, tips, facts and figures of relevance.
