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Mortgage loans changed everything: from the most sought-after apartments to their prices - La Nacion Propiedades
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Los créditos hipotecarios cambiaron todo: desde los departamentos más buscados hasta sus precios
Con la vuelta de los préstamos UVA son otros los compradores que mueven la demanda
www.lanacion.com.ar
May 20, 2025
With the return of UVA loans, other buyers are driving demand.
By Candela Contreras
March is the sixth consecutive month in which there are records of a thousand credit operations.
The real estate market is once again showing signs of dynamism , this time driven by a player that has regained prominence since last year: mortgage lending . And with it, not only are the rules of the game changing , but buyer preferences are also shifting , as new players enter the market that until now had no opportunity to do so.
Mortgage credit is essential for a society that dreams of owning its own roof , since without financing, most people cannot purchase a property.
The numbers reflect this new scenario . In March, 4,747 deeds were signed in the City of Buenos Aires , 10.94% more than in February and 39.66% more than the same month last year. Twenty percent of these transactions were carried out with a mortgage , according to the Buenos Aires Notary Association. A year ago, that figure was almost nonexistent. So far this year, nearly 3,000 mortgage transactions have been registered, compared to fewer than 250 in the same period in 2024.
Despite these positive figures for the sector, they are still below those of 2018 : in March of that year, there were more than 6,000 transactions, of which 2,200 were mortgages. That's more than 30%.
The most sought-after apartments
In this sense, three- and four-room apartments are beginning to establish themselves as the main protagonists of this new era , leaving behind the reign of studio apartments and marking a transformation in the demand profile."Credit creates a virtuous cycle. Buyers appear who weren't previously in the market, and this energizes the entire chain. Those who sell often buy something larger or of greater value," explains the Buenos Aires Notary Association.
Property turnover also reflects this new trend: while in 2020 it took an average of 10.3 years for a unit to be sold from its listing, the absorption time for the property supply in December 2024 was 1.5 years, seven times below the maximum and "also below the historical average of 3 years," says Fabián Achával of the eponymous real estate agency.
20% of purchase and sale transactions in the City of Buenos Aires in March were carried out with a mortgage.Uladzimir Zuyeu - Shutterstock
According to the latest Real Estate Operations Survey (ROI), prepared by Selectia, the most sold units in 2024 were one- and two-bedroom apartments, which represented 25% and 30% of transactions , respectively - a situation that continues so far in 2025.
In third place are four-bedroom apartments, with 22% of the total. They are followed by five-bedroom apartments (12%), and finally, studio apartments, which barely accounted for 11% of transactions.
The explanation behind this is the recovery of UVA (Purchasing Value Unit) mortgage loans , which returned to the market starting in April 2024, after almost five years of practically nonexistent supply. " Today, the star product on the market is one- and two-bedroom units ," agrees Daniel Salaya Romera, president of the eponymous real estate agency. " The end consumer , who is the one who accesses the credit, is looking for larger homes . And studio apartments are losing prominence because they are no longer attractive in this context," he adds.
“Last year, the market recovery was driven by the search for homeownership, not by investors . And credit was the main driver of that change. But that credit didn't flow to studio apartments ,” explains Soledad Balayán, owner of Maure Inmobiliaria. “ Those who buy to live in aren't looking for just one bedroom .”
The broker adds that the two-bedroom apartment "has always been the most popular type of apartment for purchase because it reflects a typical family structure, that is, a married couple with at least one child or a newlywed couple. There is also a segment that wants to downsize because they come from large apartments, and their grown children no longer live with them, and they are interested in this large apartment as a new home."
For its part, the three-bedroom apartment "is aimed at a similar or larger family size, or one that requires more work space, such as a desk or office. It's also logical that these types of apartments are in demand among people who use a mortgage to help with their purchase," adds Balayán.
Martín Piantoni, CEO of Alton Desarrollos, agrees: “The great accelerator of this new market is mortgage lending, which is allowing many individuals and families to move from a one-bedroom apartment to a two-bedroom apartment, and from a two-bedroom apartment to a three- or four-bedroom apartment. It's a dream that's been delayed for a long time .”
An unexpected phenomenon
Another striking fact is that the value per square meter of larger apartments is beginning to match —and even exceed in some neighborhoods—that of studio apartments, especially in areas in the north of the city with a high density of schools. “Building a studio apartment is less profitable than a larger one, which is why their price per square meter is more expensive. But today they are catching up with larger apartments,” says Salaya Romera.Although the market is showing signs of recovery , there's still room to recover. " Pre-owned properties—those purchased on credit— in Buenos Aires, Córdoba, and Rosario are trading 20% below their recent peak . Adjusted for inflation in dollars, the drop exceeds 30%," explains González Rouco.
For specialists, in an economy without restrictions, with available credit and tools that strengthen supply, the potential for recovery is considerable.
Three- and three-bedroom apartments regained prominence.Daniel Karp
Elimination of the currency controls: key to the credit market
The elimination of the exchange rate restriction also plays a key role in mortgage lending today. Since the return to operating with the official dollar within a new exchange rate band (between $1,000 and $1,400), the Mexican peso is no longer used as a reference .According to Federico González Rouco, a housing economist at the consulting firm Empiria, this has led to an improvement in the purchasing power of those who access credit . "The current official dollar is 10% lower than the MEP before the elimination of the "cepo," which allows people to buy 10% more square meters with the same income, or reduce the monthly payment by the same amount for the same property."
For his part, José Rozados, director of Reporte Inmobiliario, explains: "It's a positive sign to know that the amount of pesos you'll need to buy the same amount of dollars won't continue to skyrocket." According to the specialist, the exchange rate liberalization reduces uncertainty and the cost of properties in pesos , which facilitates access to credit, lowers income requirements, and reduces installments.
This situation could accelerate buyers' decisions , especially while the dollar remains within the low range. It could also cause homeowners to adjust their dollar values if they perceive demand picking up faster than expected.
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