Brazil Property Investment

Country:  Brazil

With a coastline that stretches for around 8,000 kilometres, much of it unspoilt, Brazil has only recently started to enter the consciousness of overseas property buyers - even though it boasts affordable property prices, and ticks many of the boxes that can turn otherwise run-of-the-mill property locations into investment hotspots.

Brazil is one of the four largest developing economies in the world - the others being China, India and Russia - and as well as being the fifth biggest country geographically, international economists Goldman Sachs predict it will have the planet's fifth biggest economy by 2050.

Adam Cornwell, head of research at GEM Estates, which has Brazil property for sale and a host of other 'emerging' markets, stresses that tourism is the key to the country's appeal for property investors. He confidently predicts that in three years' time the names of Brazilian resorts will trip off the tongues of European travel agents as lightly as those in Thailand and the Caribbean already do.

The country's potential property boom is taking longer to develop than expected, he admits, although he argues that paradoxically this may not be a negative sign for investors.

"Its been slow taking off, simply because it's been hard for non-Brazilians to get a foothold in the market. This is a country that's been keeping quiet about tourism internationally so if a new development launches it has tended to get sold to Brazilians, meaning the likes of us haven't been able to get a look-in."

The truth is that in terms of international tourism, Brazil has been punching well beneath its weight for many years. The country appointed its first minister for tourism only three years ago, and between 2002 and 2005 increased the number of visitors from 3.7 million to 5.5 million - which equates to a year-on-year increase of around 15 per cent but is still only roughly a fifth of the number who visit the UK annually.

Things are starting to change now, though, and an increasing number of estate agents selling overseas property to UK buyers are promoting Brazil; especially in resorts in the north-east of the country and more particularly Bahia property - which has set itself a goal of more than quadrupling that figure, to 23 million, by 2010.

It is the Coconut Coast, also known as the Palm Coast, which spreads northwards from the regional capital, Salvador, that has the most to offer tourists and property investors alike - and prices remain cheap by European standards, especially if you are prepared to take a risk on buying off-plan.

The most famous resort in the area is Praia do Forte, a small fishing village which gave its name to an eco-resort covering 25 hectares, around 80 kilometres north of Salvador. Prices of properties in the area vary widely but at the lower end of the scale, off-plan apartments at the Moradas do Farol village-style residence are currently on sale through Bahia Real Estate at a cost of less than £40,000 for a 50-square-metre apartment, for example. At the Cancun Villas condominium on nearby Itacimirim beach - a beachfront apartment with sea views and a guaranteed rental scheme promising an annual return of five per cent a year gross could be yours for roughly the same amount.

Three-bedroom condominium properties at the Reserva Imbassa’ resort at Mata de S‹o Jo‹o, several kilometres to the north of Praia do Forte, are on offer through Headlands International from less than £75,000. Further north lies the Costa do Sauipe resort, which is situated in a lagoon setting and includes an 18-hole golf course, a tennis centre built to house the Brazilian Tennis Open, an equestrian centre, spa and beach village. Buyers at the adjoining Quintas de Sauipe Grande Laguna complex, available in the UK through Alexander Richards, can choose a variety of property styles, with prices starting at around £180,000.

Even further to the north and beyond Bahia, in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, the area centred on the city of Natal is considered by many to be the 'next big thing' in Brazil. With around 250 miles of beaches, Natal is already well-established as of the country's leading beach destinations in terms of domestic tourism, receiving more than 1.7 million domestic tourists in 2005. It is also the closest point to Europe from South America - around 8.5 hours flying time from London, although less than 350,000 non-Brazilians visited during 2005, so there is lots of growth potential and Natal property.

nt in new hotels, golf courses and resorts equivalent to more than £400 million is expected over the next five years and several leading tour operators including Thomson have already launched package holidays to Natal; a new airport, which will be the biggest in South America and the eighth biggest in the world, is scheduled for completion in summer 2009.

65 kilometres north of Natal, both GEM Estates and Essential Worldwide are selling off-plan Maracajau property, a picturesque fishing village, from as little as £27,000, with three-bedroom duplex villas costing less than £70,000, at the Porto Dos Corais complex. The development, which has a bank guarantee in place, is around half a mile from the beach and will have four golf courses - one of them an 18-hole course just behind the complex - and around five kilometres out to sea is a 13-kilometre long coral reef, along with four shipwrecks from the colonial era.

Natal Ocean Club, available in the UK through Property Frontiers and due to be launched for sale in early spring 2007, is around 20 minutes north of Natal city, and will offer investors a mixture of villas and condos, all with sea views, set amid eight hectares of landscaped gardens. The villas will have infinity pools, there is a 300-metre private beach and the resort facilities will also include three swimming pools, a spa, a Championship golf course, gym, bar/restaurant, a range of water sports facilities and a helipad.

But developments aimed at UK and other international buyers are also springing up elsewhere as the whole of Brazil's coastline starts the process of opening up to a wider audience. In the area around Fortaleza - Brazil's fifth largest city and the capital of Ceara state, Dream Properties Brazil has Fortaleza property's Village development near the centre of Cumbuco village and directly on the beach, from less than £65,000, for example.

Meanwhile, towards the south of Salvador, Property Logic, the developers behind Morocco's Le Jardin de Fleur resort at Mediterranea-Saidia, are set to launch a new self-contained, luxury residential resort set within an 1,100-hectare nature reserve on the Ilha de Cajaiba - an island in All Saints Bay that will be car-free and accessible only via ferry from Salvador - this spring, for example.

Wherever you buy, tread carefully though - without an established international tourist market as yet, rental yields may disappoint for some years to come; and bear in mind that the resale market for European-style holiday property in Brazil is relatively untested. The sheer size of the country's coastline means that if Brazil's tourism industry does take off to the extent predicted, potential property buyers could, before long, end up spoilt for choice; so as in other 'sun and sand' destinations, make sure you buy in a location and development that really does offer something future property buyers will continue to demand.

First published in March 2007.
Some information contained within this article may have changed since it was first published. Homes Overseas strongly advises you to seek current legal and financial advise from a qualified professional.

See all properties in Brazil

Some properties in Brazil

	Ref 5127443, Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil
	Price: £17,000 Type: Apartment Bedrooms: 2
	A unique opportunity to invest at developer level in Natal, North East Brazil - something usually only available to large joint venture partners and investment funds investing hundreds of thousands of Reals. 220
	View details | Enquire further

	Ref 487726, Pernambuco region, Brazil
	Price: £19,860 Type: Apartment Bedrooms: 1
	Brazil is now on schedule to becoming the fifth largest economy in the world by 2050. Find out how you can make a fortune in the world's largest and most exciting emerging property market.
	View details | Enquire further

	Ref 4500431, Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil
	Price: £23,000 Type: New Home Bedrooms: 23000
	20% Fixed Return in 12 months or less. * Full UK Escrow account to protect the clients investment * Waiting list of 25,000 buyers in place * Government backed scheme, MCMV * Just £23,000 to invest * First Phase units, 90% complete220
	View details | Enquire further

	Rio Grande Do Norte, BRAZIL
	Price: € 27,724 Type: Apartment
	Location: Rio Grande Do Norte, BRAZIL Price: € 27,724
	View details | Enquire further

	Ref 4904610, Paraiba, Brazil
	Price: £31,813 Type: Villa
	A Land investment opportunity in a 5 Star Resort in Brazil,host of 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics. For a limited time only, a promotion is being run on plots within the "Miami" Sector of Tambaba Country Club Resort.
	View details | Enquire further

	Ref 2705311, Bahia, Brazil
	Price: £33,302 Type: Apartment
	The Spring of 2010 will see a World Class Resort launched in the world's largest and most exciting emerging market, Brazil. We would like to introduce the ambitious, and long awaited, Pipa Natureza.
	View details | Enquire further

	Ref 2705309, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
	Price: £33,302 Type: Apartment
	The Spring of 2010 will see a World Class Resort launched in the world's largest and most exciting emerging market, Brazil. We would like to introduce the ambitious, and long awaited, Pipa Natureza.
	View details | Enquire further

	Ref 2705307, Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil
	Price: £33,635 Type: Apartment Bedrooms: 1
	The Spring of 2010 will see a World Class Resort launched in the world’s largest and most exciting emerging market, Brazil. We would like to introduce the ambitious, and long awaited, Pipa Natureza. 220
	View details | Enquire further

	Ref 1904851, Ceara, Brazil
	Price: £38,000 Type: Apartment Bedrooms: 3
	Minha Vida, Minha Casa (My Home, My Life) is the largest housing program the world has ever seen with the Brazilian government committing over R$ 34 billion to build more than 1 million homes. The waiting list already exceeds220
	View details | Enquire further

	Ref 1614180, Ceara, Brazil
	Price: £40,704 Type: New Home
	"There is no argument - emerging markets win hands down." Emerging markets such as Brazil are "the future and where the future growth in profits and earnings will come from." [Property guru and billionaire, Sam Zell]220
	View details | Enquire further

See all properties in Brazil