The Unassuming Economist

The report points out that “most of the expansion in the real estate market in recent years had been concentrated in the urban luxury segment, and according to anecdotal evidence, has received heavy foreign investment (mainly from Argentina). The vast majority of real estate transactions are done in cash (household mortgages stood at 4 percent of GDP in July 2013, broadly unchanged from levels in recent years). Tight foreign exchange restrictions in Argentina, and a new bilateral tax treaty on information exchange between Argentina and Uruguay, appear to have cooled the market, with the growth of house prices softening in 2012. Market participants pointed out that this trend continued in 2013.”