The swap was once again a protagonist in the real estate sector. The lack of mortgage credit, the over-available stock of units for sale with very low demand and the stillness of the market gave rise to the classic and old “exchange of goods”. Although there is still a certain rejection of this type of operation, more and more buyers are consulting to give their property as part of payment and according to the brokers “two out of every 10 operations” today occur under this modality.
“Almost half of those who are looking for a property to buy consult for a total or partial exchange. But in particular the operations are not so significant “, he assured Juan Pablo Read, a real estate consultant specialized in the interior of the country, where the swap takes on a little more relevance. “They always had a low percentage but we can all say that now that number has doubled. If before the pandemic it was between 3% and 5% of the total market, now that figure represents between 5% and 8%”, exemplified in numbers.
The reality is that there are no official statistics, since the College of Notaries does not keep a survey of operations carried out through the barter system. “There are very few real estate operations, but among the few that there are between 15% and 20% they are swaps. One of the main complications is the feasibility of both sides making that transaction convenient for them, “he said. Daniel Bryn title of Reverse Real Estate.
“There are not so many cases, but at least it favors the movement of the market. It happens when the seller sees the possibility of making a little cash money and somehow goes out of his position as holder of a property”, explained the specialist.
Real estate agencies in Uruguay appeal to swaps and accept pesos to win back Argentine investors
In the case of used properties, for example, the owner of a three-room unit needs to get cash and is not looking to sell to change his house. “In those cases, they usually accept, for example, a mono environment as part of payment and the cash in dollars of difference. In addition, you save some taxes with this modality”, indic Bryn.
The practice is driven by real estate “We as real estate agents have to join both ends. We must put the two properties in fair value, that both the part that sells and the part that buys are in accordance with the prices. It happens in many cases where there is an inheritance between several brothers“, summary.
In the case of Invertire Real Estate “Of the last 10 operations that I did in three months of buying and selling, two were made with barter. In my case they were properties that were for sale a long time ago and were very worn and needed to have cash immediately“, finished the real estate agent.
This operation that seems to gain strength takes place in a context of almost historical stillness. According to the latest report of the College of Notaries of the City of Buenos Aires, in February 1,499 transactions, representing a 7.5% drop compared to January, when 1,619 deeds of sale had been finalized. And another data that drives swaps is the lack of mortgage loans: in February there were only 69 deeds formalized with a mortgage banking, so the decline in this segment was 40% year-on-year.
Of the few real estate sales there are, more than half are from used properties
Now, in the land market, barter is common. “It is more flexible. Before the pandemic it was between 40, 50%. Now that percentage has grown considerably, in some cases reaching 100%”Baca maintains. It also occurs in the case of well ventures. Finished units are often given to landowners as part of payment, a kind of future trade-in.
The main drawback in used furniture is to get both parties to agree and to be interested in the good they offer. “Between private companies, for those who seek to live the coincidence it is difficult, but the negotiation is easier because both lower prices if there is good will”, concludes Bacca.
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