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Expensive or cheap rent?: The 3-step formula to know if what you pay for your home is a fair price - La Nacion Propiedades
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www.lanacion.com.ar
February 28, 2026
In a market with record supply following deregulation, a new way of calculating real estate returns is emerging; the debate over expenses and why salary now matters more than mathematics
By Robertino Imberti
The supply in the Buenos Aires real estate market jumped from 5,000 to more than 14,000 available units in one yearHernan Zenteno - La Nacion
The Buenos Aires real estate market is undergoing a paradigm shift . Following the repeal of the Rental Law in 2023, the scarcity of properties has been replaced by an oversupply. In this ecosystem of contractual freedom, landlords and tenants are using a new language that was previously reserved only for investors: the language of profitability .
Following this logic, the central question arises: How can we know if the asking price for a two-room apartment in Palermo or a studio apartment in Caballito is reasonable? Real estate developers and brokers consulted by LA NACION point to a “magic number” that serves as a compass: 5% annually . However, the method for arriving at that percentage has sparked a technical debate that is dividing opinions within the sector.
For many developers, like Juan Manuel Tapiola , founder of Spazios , there is a quick way for the tenant to know where they stand.
The formula states:
If that result is 5%, the market is in equilibrium. " When the calculation gives you 3%, the rent is cheap; if it gives you 8%, it's expensive ," say sources in the construction sector.
Tapiola explains that this approach aims to help tenants understand their "total cost of living." If a unit is worth US$120,000, the tenant would need to spend around US$5,000 a year on rent and common expenses to be within the average range.
The entrepreneur developed his own system to transform renters into homeowners, with more than 4,000 families already having stopped renting. “ We don’t sell apartments, we help people become homeowners, ” he summarizes.
According to the developer, the 5% isn't just a number for the landlord, but a "fairness guarantee" for the tenant. " If the tenant knows the apartment they're living in is worth US$120,000 and the interest rate is 3% annually, they're paying well. But if it's 6% or 7%, they have a legal basis to sit down with the landlord and ask for a discount ," he argues. Tapiola believes this transparency is what ultimately "cleans up" the market of abusive pricing.
According to Balayan, the real gross profitability in CABA today is around 4.5% to 5% for used units, but calculated strictly on the cash flow left to the landlord.
The variation in gross annual income from the business of renting an apartmentZonaprop
Andrés Sicouly, Corporate Real Estate Manager at Interwin, agrees that 5% is the local historical standard (known as the “ cap rate ”), but warns that the rise in services and maintenance “ is eating away ” at the portion of rent that used to go directly into the owner's pocket.
“ Countless times a client asks for US$315,000 for something that the market values at US$250,000 because 'their children learned to walk there.' That biased view makes the profitability calculation incorrect, but it's a pricing error, not a problem with the rental market,” explains Götz.
However, in high-demand neighborhoods like Recoleta or Palermo , an elasticity phenomenon occurs : tenants often accept rentals that yield a return of 6% or 7% (considered expensive).)The reason? Saving time, proximity to work, and above all, the cost of avoiding the hassle of moving.
Palermo is the neighborhood with the largest rental supply. Shutterstock
Profitability ranking: Caballito is positioned as the neighborhood with the best return for property owners in the City, reaching an annual average of 5.06%.zonaprop
“ What we are seeing today is a realization. Rents are returning to international equilibrium levels ,” says the Interwin executive.
Furthermore, he adds a warning: with the resurgence of mortgage lending, landlords are no longer competing solely against other landlords. “Renters now have the option of becoming buyers. This competition will keep profitability in check, forcing landlords to be more competitive in both price and quality,” he concludes.
Despite international formulas, the local market has an ultimate judge: the consumer's wallet . With inflation forcing quarterly adjustments (mostly based on the Consumer Price Index), experts agree that prices are no longer determined by the owner's wishes, but by the ability to pay.
“The reality is that tenants don’t calculate the landlord’s profitability; they look at their own paycheck ,” says Balayan. Today, with the current oversupply, if a landlord asks for a rent that exceeds the salary ceiling in their area, the unit remains vacant . “The rental market today offers multiple options, and that gives tenants negotiating power they haven’t had in the last four years,” concludes the head of Maure.
www.buysellba.com
Source:
¿Alquiler caro o barato?: la fórmula de 3 pasos para saber si lo que pagás por tu casa es un precio justo
En un mercado con oferta récord tras la desregulación, surge una nueva forma de calcular el rendimiento inmobiliario; el debate por las expensas y por qué el salario hoy manda más que la matemática
www.lanacion.com.ar
February 28, 2026
In a market with record supply following deregulation, a new way of calculating real estate returns is emerging; the debate over expenses and why salary now matters more than mathematics
By Robertino Imberti
The supply in the Buenos Aires real estate market jumped from 5,000 to more than 14,000 available units in one yearHernan Zenteno - La Nacion
The Buenos Aires real estate market is undergoing a paradigm shift . Following the repeal of the Rental Law in 2023, the scarcity of properties has been replaced by an oversupply. In this ecosystem of contractual freedom, landlords and tenants are using a new language that was previously reserved only for investors: the language of profitability .
Following this logic, the central question arises: How can we know if the asking price for a two-room apartment in Palermo or a studio apartment in Caballito is reasonable? Real estate developers and brokers consulted by LA NACION point to a “magic number” that serves as a compass: 5% annually . However, the method for arriving at that percentage has sparked a technical debate that is dividing opinions within the sector.
For many developers, like Juan Manuel Tapiola , founder of Spazios , there is a quick way for the tenant to know where they stand.
The formula states:
- Add the monthly rent plus the expenses
- multiply it by 12
- divide it by the real value of the property
- The result is multiplied by 100 to obtain a percentage.
If that result is 5%, the market is in equilibrium. " When the calculation gives you 3%, the rent is cheap; if it gives you 8%, it's expensive ," say sources in the construction sector.
Tapiola explains that this approach aims to help tenants understand their "total cost of living." If a unit is worth US$120,000, the tenant would need to spend around US$5,000 a year on rent and common expenses to be within the average range.
Stop renting “sight unseen”
For Tapiola, Argentina's historical problem is the lack of clear parameters. “ The real estate market was a black box for tenants. At Spazios, our intention is to stop people from renting blindly,” the developer explains.The entrepreneur developed his own system to transform renters into homeowners, with more than 4,000 families already having stopped renting. “ We don’t sell apartments, we help people become homeowners, ” he summarizes.
According to the developer, the 5% isn't just a number for the landlord, but a "fairness guarantee" for the tenant. " If the tenant knows the apartment they're living in is worth US$120,000 and the interest rate is 3% annually, they're paying well. But if it's 6% or 7%, they have a legal basis to sit down with the landlord and ask for a discount ," he argues. Tapiola believes this transparency is what ultimately "cleans up" the market of abusive pricing.
Should expenses be included in this formula?
This is where the first flaw in the formula appears. Soledad Balayan, owner of Maure Inmobiliaria, states that, from an accounting perspective, maintenance fees cannot be included in the profitability calculation. “ Maintenance fees are an expense, not income for the owner. If the apartment is vacant, the owner pays them out of their own pocket. Including them in the formula overestimates the actual return,” the expert explains.According to Balayan, the real gross profitability in CABA today is around 4.5% to 5% for used units, but calculated strictly on the cash flow left to the landlord.
The variation in gross annual income from the business of renting an apartmentZonaprop
Andrés Sicouly, Corporate Real Estate Manager at Interwin, agrees that 5% is the local historical standard (known as the “ cap rate ”), but warns that the rise in services and maintenance “ is eating away ” at the portion of rent that used to go directly into the owner's pocket.
The “affective” value of the property vs. the real value
One of the biggest obstacles to making the math work is the property's sale price (the common denominator in the formula). Maximiliano Götz, director of MGNI, points out that profitability often seems low because listing prices are inflated by subjective factors.“ Countless times a client asks for US$315,000 for something that the market values at US$250,000 because 'their children learned to walk there.' That biased view makes the profitability calculation incorrect, but it's a pricing error, not a problem with the rental market,” explains Götz.
However, in high-demand neighborhoods like Recoleta or Palermo , an elasticity phenomenon occurs : tenants often accept rentals that yield a return of 6% or 7% (considered expensive).)The reason? Saving time, proximity to work, and above all, the cost of avoiding the hassle of moving.
Palermo is the neighborhood with the largest rental supply. Shutterstock
Return on investment and the salary cap
Sicouly offers a perspective that connects real estate with the financial world. “The 5% threshold is what makes investors see real estate as an asset again, not a headache,” he reflects. According to Sicouly, the market is emerging from a “stagnation of negative returns” of 2% or 3% that affected the sector under the previous legislation.
Profitability ranking: Caballito is positioned as the neighborhood with the best return for property owners in the City, reaching an annual average of 5.06%.zonaprop
“ What we are seeing today is a realization. Rents are returning to international equilibrium levels ,” says the Interwin executive.
Furthermore, he adds a warning: with the resurgence of mortgage lending, landlords are no longer competing solely against other landlords. “Renters now have the option of becoming buyers. This competition will keep profitability in check, forcing landlords to be more competitive in both price and quality,” he concludes.
Despite international formulas, the local market has an ultimate judge: the consumer's wallet . With inflation forcing quarterly adjustments (mostly based on the Consumer Price Index), experts agree that prices are no longer determined by the owner's wishes, but by the ability to pay.
“The reality is that tenants don’t calculate the landlord’s profitability; they look at their own paycheck ,” says Balayan. Today, with the current oversupply, if a landlord asks for a rent that exceeds the salary ceiling in their area, the unit remains vacant . “The rental market today offers multiple options, and that gives tenants negotiating power they haven’t had in the last four years,” concludes the head of Maure.
www.buysellba.com
