The Unassuming Economist

“Brazil’s house prices rose substantially over the last few years, especially in two major cities (Figure 1). The national FIPE–Zap index has increased 62 percent from August 2010 to April 2013. It rose 26 and 14 percent in 2011 and 2012 respectively, while construction costs did not rise in tandem. The prices for Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro have almost tripled since January 2009, and grew by 30 and 15 percent in 2011 and 2012. Brazil was one of two countries that showed the highest real house price appreciation in 2011 among 52 advanced and emerging market economies,” according to a new report from the IMF.