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The cost to build remains high and continues to be the sector’s biggest concern in the quarter, pointed out the Construction Industry Survey held by the National Confederation of Industry (CNI). It was the seventh consecutive semester in which this concern was the most cited by businesspeople.
High interest rates are the second-biggest concern, and they directly affect the sale of medium-and high-end properties, since affordable units included in Green Yellow House, a revamped My House My Life program, follow their own financing line with funds from the Workers’ Severance Fund (FGTS).
The public in the range immediately above the one benefiting from the housing program is very much targeted by the developers who work with low income. Since Green Yellow House has a ceiling on the value of homes sold, serving those outside the program allows them to reach a higher sales value.
It is the strategy adopted by Cury, which has 30% of the units outside the program, sold at up to R$500,000. The company’s quarterly performance was considered “impressive” by BTG analysts.
A giant in the low-end segment, MRV also had positive, but timid results, in the quarter, with the growth of 7.6% in net sales and 1.4% in launches, driven mainly by the good performance of its U.S. subsidiary.
The developer has been able to pass on part of the increase in construction costs to the consumer, something also done by Cury, which increased the average price of units launched by 20.7% year over year.
Other players in this field reported positive results in their operating previews as well, such as Plano&Plano, with a 10.8% increase in net sales and 161% increase in launches, and Direcional (21% increase in net sales and 4% more launches), compared to the same period in 2021.
The negative highlight was Tenda, which again saw launches and net sales drop 23.5% and 17.8%, respectively.
The commercial segment in São Paulo saw positive net absorption in the first quarter of the year, according to consultancies JLL and Newmark, good news for an industry that suffered from the pandemic and the adoption of working-from-home policies. The first quarter is usually more challenging for the segment.
The vacancy rate is still high in the city, at 24.6% on average, said JLL, but varies substantially according to the region. While in Faria Lima Avenue, a prime area for offices, it is at 8%, it is 30.7% in Alphaville, an affluent neighborhood in Greater São Paulo.
By 2022, the delivery of new stock is expected to be below the city’s annual average, according to Newmark, which may help the occupancy of existing spaces recover.
In the logistics centers segment, absorbing stock is not a problem. The vacancy rate in the country fell to 11.4% in the first three months of this year from 13.6% in the first quarter of 2021, despite an average annual growth of 1.5 million square meters of leasable area.
The growth of e-commerce, something that is not likely to slow down as the pandemic situation improves, because it has become part of consumer culture, drives the segment.
According to Newmark CEO Marina Cury, the eyes are currently focused on opportunities for “last-mile” developments, within a radius of 15 kilometers from the so-called expanded center of São Paulo, which enable deliveries in a matter of hours.
This type of development is starting to be delivered now, and the demand is great, which is expected to encourage new deals.
Source: Valor International