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Properties: August sales disappoint the real estate market - La Nacion Propiedades
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Propiedades: las ventas de agosto desilusionan al mercado inmobiliario
Las operaciones en CABA registraron una leve caída en agosto, la primera señal de un sector que se prepara para dos meses inciertos
www.lanacion.com.ar
September 22, 2025
Operations in Buenos Aires City registered a slight decline in August, the first sign of a sector preparing for two uncertain months.
By Candela Contreras
In August, 4.2% fewer deeds were signed than the previous month. Freepik photo
The Buenos Aires real estate market saw a slight contraction in the number of deeds of sale in August, a sign that analysts attribute to the impact of the mortgage downturn .
Although trading volume remains at historically high levels for the month , the decline compared to July suggests that the funding slowdown evident months ago is beginning to trickle down to the transaction log .
According to data from the Buenos Aires Notary Association, 6,370 deeds were signed in August , 4.2% fewer than the 6,651 closed in July . This year-on-year increase was 20.2% compared to August 2024. The total amount involved amounted to $1,048,201 million (a 103.5% year-on-year increase), with an average value per transaction of $164,552,842 (equivalent to US$122,569). This demonstrates that the departments with average ticket prices for used units were the main protagonists of this period, but that they will be the most affected when the data for the following months are known.
However, the used segment has a major advantage : historically low prices and a price-to-asset ratio that makes it relatively cheaper than other instruments in the Argentine economy.
Despite the monthly decline, August was the fourth-best record in history and the best performance since 2007, according to Jorge De Bártolo, president of the College of Notaries. "This August was once again one of the best records in the entire historical series for this month, ranking fourth, and it was the best performance since 2007," he stated.
These data had already been anticipated by various market analysts, who a couple of weeks ago predicted that the market had entered what they call a "hinge period" : August and September will reflect a lag effect—positive data will continue to be seen from transactions initiated in previous months— but the last quarter of the year will lose predictability . Traditionally, October and November witness the greatest activity; today, it will depend on the political direction, macroeconomic management, and the behavior of the dollar. If liquidity continues to be restricted, seasonality will be broken, and mortgages will increasingly lose prominence.
What happened to the mortgage loan?
Mortgage lending, a key driver of the recovery, also showed a slight slowdown in August. A total of 1,338 mortgage deeds were formalized, representing a 221.6% year-over-year increase , but a slight decrease compared to the 1,393 transactions recorded in July . In eight months, Buenos Aires City has recorded 9,341 mortgage transactions (representing a 638% year-over-year increase). De Bártolo emphasized that, in mortgages, August "once again had a very good index and is clearly positioned as the best since 2018."The concern stems from the trend in recent months regarding the granting of new loans. A report by Tejido Urbano, cited in July, already warned that June 2025 had marked the second consecutive month of decline in loan issuance nationwide, with 3,511 loans compared to 3,866 in May. This slowdown is not immediately reflected in deeds, as they are usually completed with a lag of three to four months. The deeds for August still reflect transactions initiated in May or June, when the financing outlook was more favorable.
Banks anticipate tightening lending conditions during the second half of the year due to the financial system's lack of liquidity and the absence of a developed secondary market for recycling mortgage portfolios. This raises serious doubts about the sustainability of this pace. "Beyond speculation, September will slow down lending ," De Bártolo noted.
"We always insist that stability is key to real estate transactions and that we must find the tools to consolidate every mortgage transaction generated in Argentina. As notaries, we always work to speed up processing times and generate a secure document," he added.
Thus, a more pronounced decline in the current mortgage lending situation is expected to begin in September : with annual rates exceeding 15% at some private banks, scoring levels that are practically impossible to achieve, and a dollar that, despite opening lower this Monday compared to last Friday's close, remains at higher levels than two or three months ago.
Soledad Balayán, owner of Maure Inmobiliaria, says that "activity has come to a standstill" and that "inquiries have dropped significantly" following the recent rate hikes and the surge in the dollar.
In practice, the changes are being seen in real estate agencies. "There were practically closed transactions that were halted at the last minute: buyers with initial approval who, when the bank recalculated, found themselves with new requirements or lower loan amounts than expected," concluded Daniel Bryn, head of Invertire Real Estate .
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