Town Houses’ Boom: no maintenance fees

Living on a “PH” (similar to a town house) has its pros and cons. Nonetheless, during the last few years, they have become popular again, and the main reason is that they don’t involve paying maintenance fees every month.

But that is not all. The PHs, together with the duplexes, are seen as the possibility of having one's own house, without the need of investing huge amounts of money. Even though PHs can be more expensive than apartments, this will vary according to its size and location. Moreover, currently, new types of medium town houses are being built, so they can occupy less space, but at the same time, they are practical, functional and comfortable (and cheaper).

For this reason, due to the construction of these “smaller” PHs, many young families with kids or couples choose this type of house when buying. Even tough buildings now offer plenty of amenities which allow the owner or tenant to have a swimming pool, a garden, parking space, etc. they all make the maintenance fees more expensive and they means a big monthly sum to pay.

On the other hand, when living in a town house, you don’t need an administrator, a superintendent, maintenance fees, or other common expense. Should there be a common area according to law, the co-owners will have to collect the money and pay it all together. The difference with the apartment is that it is not a monthly expense. Moreover, the infrastructure of the PHs is not as big as the tall buildings with plenty of apartments, so there won’t be too many repairs to make (at least not all the time).

The architect Claudio Mazur, of “+UR Architecture” talked about the PHs' buyers and said that they are usually final consumers instead of investors. This type of consumers look for a reduction in their monthly expenses, and they also like having "their own sidewalk; enjoying a back yard; a garden; a barbecue; a terrace, and even a swimming pool; all this is considered by many as the realization of their dreamed life."

A new type of house is starting to go up in Buenos Aires, so, future buyers should analyze: House, apartment, or PHs (town houses)?

Has rent reached its limit?

In different newspapers, and according to some real estate specialists, there are a variety of opinions on rent going up or down. According to some of them, inflation will soothe, so the rent prices will be stabilized; according to others, this won’t happen.

inflation affects all areas of the economy, and they also appear in the utility bills every month. Rents are no exception to the rule. Even though there has been a limit imposed on the percentage of the rent prices' raise, it is inevitable that they do in fact go up. Thus, even though there is a roof on that increase, within time, rent prices will be adapting according to the economic situation.

On the other hand, generally the prices that tenants pay have previously been negotiated with the owner of the real estate and the agency that manages the property. Therefore, each price can be handled individually for each particular case.

According to the newspaper, “El Argentino”, “since 2007 until 2011, rent prices have had a raise of 110%”.

Nonetheless, not everything is black. According to iProfesional.com “rises are inevitable (during 2012), although there will be more moderate than the other years”.

According to some data given on many newspapers and other media, the increase on real estate rent prices will vary between 15% and 20%, depending on the neighborhood. The areas where prices have increased the most are Belgrano, Recoleta and Barrio Norte, which are also the areas where there is higher demand.

To conclude, even though there is a roof over the rent prices, i.e. a limit on the allowed percentage, these will continue to go up a bit. The most important issue is that the stay coherent according to the inflation rate, and that each tenant negotiates with its property owner that rents.

5% drop in construction in the City of Buenos Aires

After several years of growth and increase in the investments on construction, the city of Buenos Aires has finally reached its limit. Even though during the first months of the year the construction business was still on the rise, in March there was a little decline. There are many reasons why this situation has happened, but the main reason has to do with economy itself, which indicates that everything that goes up has to go down at some time.

During the last few years, there has been a construction boom in the city of Buenos Aires. Many constructing businesses and people have invested in construction, and this clearly couldn’t last forever.

A main point that might have help in the 5% drop in construction in the City of Buenos Aires is the uncertainty that the country is going through economically speaking. This has generates investment to be on standby; opposite to what is had been happening before. Another reason for this drop could have been caused by the restrictions on buying dollars. Argentina has always compared its currency to the dollar and even the real estate’s transactions have generally been done in dollars as well. Currently, this system is changing, but in the mean time, many prices are still fixed in dollars.

Likewise, we cannot fail to mention that the most important neighborhoods of Buenos Aires are filled with new buildings and constructions, and neither the infrastructure nor the physical space can handle much more constructions.

According to an real estate agent “during the last construction boom that the argentine market went through something new has happened, it wasn’t built on credit, but with the exceeding money from people savings.” So here, we can find another reason: there is no more surplus. With the economical uncertainty in the world, these days no one wants to ask for a long-term loan either, so there is no money to invest with.

So, the causes of the 5% drop in the construction business in the City of Buenos Aires are plenty, and each person or business must have their reasons. Little by little, there will appear a new area to invest in and the economy will spread their investment on other areas.

Main Streets and Avenues of Buenos Aires

The city of Buenos Aires offers something else than monuments, buildings, and amazing parks; it also has a very rich story. A very interesting way of learning history and reviving it is by visiting some of its streets and avenues. Some of them offer a tour around the main historic buildings of the city which were important throughout history; others offer glamour and distinction, or they can be strategically located to move around the city, and; some streets even have a story of their own to tell...

Let’s see some of the main avenues and streets of Buenos Aires:

Avenida Santa Fe: Santa Fe Avenue is one of the mostly known and visited of the Buenos Aires. This avenue starts in Avenida Libertador, where the Plaza San Martín is, in Retiro neighborhood, and it extends for over 40 blocks. The Avenida Santa Fe is known as the “Fashion Avenue”, since it is considered as the main commercial area (where they sell mainly clothing) of Buenos Aires.

Avenida Alvear: Alvear Avenue is the most distinguished avenue of Buenos Aires. Even though many year ago, before it was called like this, it was considered as “useless and unsuccessful", today it is the place where the main trades of the world have their shops. This avenue is where wealthy citizens and tourists go shopping when they want something unique and luxurious.

Avenida 9 de Julio: 9 de julio Avenue is popular for various reasons: First, it is considered the widest avenue of the world. This avenue has 140 meter wide and it is complicated to cross in only one time. Second, the “Avenida 9 de Julio” offers along its extension a great number of historic icons, like the Obelisco and the Colon Theater, just to mention a few. Of course, it is also a very important artery that communicates the North and South of the city. Its name is in commemoration of the Argentine Independence, which took place on July, 9^th, 1816.

Avenida Rivadavia: Rivadavia Avenue is the longest avenue of Buenos Aires. It is a really important avenue, since it connects the whole city. It begins in “Plaza de Mayo”, in the historic center of the city, and in ends in Merlo, an area of Buenos Aires located at 35 Km from its starting point. This avenue is also important and interesting to mention because it was here where the first bus passed, in 1928.

The list of streets and avenues of the city of Buenos Aires and its surroundings is really long. We have only mentioned a few, which may be considered the most important due to its history, the amount of people that passes along or visits them…

Temporary rentals on Holy Week

During Holy Week, many people like to make little trips away from the city. Although many sees it as a little break, hotels, temporary rental owners and all the accommodation industry get to work really hard.

In relation to temporary rental, you can find many offers in the many touristic points, especially on the cities by the beach or near to the city on Buenos Aires. Some of the main cities are Mar del Plata, Pinamar, Necochea, and other beach-cities.You can also find many alternatives in many cities of the province of Cordoba. Other touristic areas are the Iguazu Falls and the thermal areas in Entre Ríos, but these places don't have much rental options, since there are many hotels with plenty of services instead.

An owner in Pinamar rents his 3-room house at $1500 pesos during holy week. Another person, in San Bernardo rents his 2-room apartment for the whole week, at $1100. In Quequén (a little town near Necochea), there is a house for temporary rental and it costs $150 pesos per day. In Necochea, you can find an apartment for up to 7 people, at $250 pesos a day. Mar del Plata is another interesting option: You can fin an apartment in the neighborhood of Punta Mogotes, at $300 pesos a day.

In the province of Cordoba you will find some other options. In Villa Carlos Paz, you can find a 2-bedroom apartment in the downtown area of the city at $380 a day. Moreover, a house for up to 7 people can cost you around $400 pesos a day in that area.

Even though prices tend to go up during long holidays, like Holly Week, due to the great amount of tourism that there is during that time, you may also find a great amount of interesting offers, which may give you a good reason to go away for a couple of days and relax.

Temporary rentals are everywhere; there are plenty of options and they are a good place to rent, and enjoy the comfort of feeling at home, but while enjoying a nice view, away from the crowds.