It is a shock for brazilians to see how quickly real state sells abroad.

Another problem, especially in rural areas, is that the properties have no official register, which makes it impossible to get a mortgage. It's just a "compra e venda" (buy & sell) contract between two parties.

Quick sidenote given some of the comments: The video is about selling, not buying. Buying in Brazil can be quite speedy if you don't rely on financing and you found a property for a price you feel you can pay. Having cash in hand (or cash in the bank) solves most of the problems and you can even use that as a bargaining chip. We were able to shave some money off in our apartment exactly because we did not have to go through financing, and the sellers needed the money fast, so they accepted a slightly lower bid from us compared to someone who bid just before us but needed to get a mortgage from the bank. Granted, we're extremely privileged of being able to buy under these conditions, but given that the audience of this channel involves foreigners with means who might be interested in setting up in Brazil, it's a tip to share. And yeah, the overpricing and emotional attachment from sellers is insane, one of my neighbors has had their apartment in the market for four three years now, she clearly is not ready to sell. It's a super common story.

In Germany, the large Baby Boomer generation is currently selling houses they have inherited. Consequently, there is an oversupply of houses in need of renovation.

6:40 A friend of mine sold his house for money, a car, a Harley Davidson and 2 horses.
He was buying a small rural property and already had horses so for him it made sense.

The main reason why it's so hard selling a house in Brazil is because people don't have money to buy a house. Simple! Most people struggle renting a house, imagine buying one.

When I was trying to buy a house, most of the sellers had outstanding liens against their properties and couldn’t resolve their own paperwork. So it was a mess. When I found one with a clean title it was fairly straightforward

Brazil needs a nationwide system like the MLS in the U.S for transparency and education about recent sales. It's a total shot in the dark when it comes to pricing property in Brazil. Realtors don't have any comps other than their own private database. Wild! Lack of exclusivity is also a problem because realtors then have no incentive to sell or market your property. It needs an overhaul to the system. I am helping my mom sell a lot she owns, the realtor priced the land at an insane asking price that will NOT sell. It pleases the seller but it has no explanation to how they came to that number, and that seems to be the norm in Brazil.

I totally agree. Very good video. I have one point to add: Mostly all of the apartments or houses are completely worn out. So no renovations in decades.

We are trying to buy an apartment in salvador near the beach. Vacation home. The seller asked we pay 10% to hold, 40% in December  to help him move, and 50% in March at signing. After all that we agreed. We got our lawyer to reach out and the next day the seller canceled. You be surprised how hard it's been to find a apartment in salvador bahia. Its like no one wants our money lol. Cash buyers around 250k.

great content. You have a very wide and clear understanding of how things go about in Brazil

I believe the 2nd reason is the main reason. Brazil supposedly has the highest interest rates in the world at the moment. So buying anything that is expensive, such as a house, a warehouse, a building, but also land, machinery, high end vehicles, trucks, tractors will be very difficult for most of the population. But for someone that was in Brazil in 2011-2014 the situation was very different: interest rates were going lower, plenty of credit sloshing around and suddenly everyone was rich, buying new houses, apartments, investment property, etc... In today's Brazil, it is simply best to leave your money parked at the bank and generating a hefty profit. This situation is the direct consequence of a left leaning government on a spending spree that disregards the consequences of their actions in the general economy. Meanwhile, the situation in many parts of Europe, Canada, Australia and the US is different and for different reasons. In these countries governments also spend too much money and tax the hell out of the individual, often imposing negative real interest rates so as to pay debt with inflation. So the opposite effect is produced: people do not want to leave their money in the bank as it loses to inflation. They then buy property to rent. Also, governments artificially control the amount of houses that are built, often severely limiting supply (as they have to build all the infrastructure). Government intervention and social engineering. When I was living in Stuttgart in 2018, a 67 m2 apartment was selling for over 1M euros. A ridiculous number by any measure. Meanwhile you had wineries in the middle of the city, something that seems incompatible with the price of real estate.

Very informative thank you for this useful video

Apparently here in Netherlands we are really spoiled when it's about buying/selling a house or a car. In case of buying a house the agenda of the notary is probably the most slowing factor.

Here's one more ingredient to the list of potential delay-causing red tape foreign-born sellers face in Brazil. The Brazilian Civil Code mandates that the seller (foreign or not) must provide an updated Certificado de Registro Civil, a.k.a birth/marriage certificate, for the transaction to go through. This is meant to protect spouses and former spouses from property evasion. And the legalization of these certificates can take some time. Since 2015, Brazil is signatory to a Hague Convention on Apostilles, which defines how countries treat official documents issued by one another. This has expedited the process quite a bit, but it still takes some time. So if you are a foreign person buying a real estate property in Brazil, you should expect at time of sale to provide an updated birth/marriage certificate issued by the country you were born in and recognized officially by Brazil, either through the Brazilian consulate in your country, or by the new "apostille" process if your country is a signatory to the Hague Apostille Convention. Whatever the process, the document must then be sworn translated before it is provided to the Cartório de Notas (for the deed) and the Registro de Imóvel (for the property title).

Super interesting, I remember  a person I knew was trying to sell a family flat in a large city in Brazil, and I remember it took them over 5 years.

We have been buying and selling real estate in Brazil for a number of years, especially in the regions in and around Belém, Fortaleza and Florianópolis. Very recognizable what is being told here. Especially the story about the people who build themselves and then sell. I had to laugh a lot when I heard you tell this so dryly. Our experience is that the lead time is on average about 8 months. And that includes purchase, renovation, sale (mortgage, cartorio, and so on). So that's a bit less than stated here. It can be done faster, but then you have to have the right entrances. The process with the real estate agents is indeed bizarre: you put your own ad and before you know it, there are 10 real estate agents who copy your ad on their site. I remember this was the first time this happened; I was completely stunned, but my Brazilian wife (who is also a real estate agent) said that this is quite normal. They also often share the commission. That is all well organized within the Creci (brokers' association). Super fun video!
Sou um grande fã do seu canal. Gosto da forma como você discute os "problemas" entre homens europeus e mulheres brasileiras. Isso é tão reconhecível! Grande Abraço!

Main problem are two: Selic and low salarial mass.

We bought our house here, but the paperwork took a year to go through because the owner’s new wife had family debts that ended up blocking the transfer. The bureaucracy can be incredible.

Right now in my condomínio there are houses that have been for sale for two years or more. The asking prices are crazy high and I’m sure some would sell if they simply lowered them. But it’s almost as if people are wealthy enough that they don’t really need the money, they’re happy to leave a house sitting there while paying R$2.5k a month in condomínio fees waiting for someone to eventually pay their price.

Coming from the UK, where you’d normally expect the market to tell you fairly quickly that the price is wrong, it’s a very different mentality.

I live in São Paulo and I know dozens of houses that are in the market for 20 years or more because of stubborn sellers. I know a elderly man that inherited a house from his parents, the house stayed in the market for 3 years asking R$ 3 million, he ended up selling the house for 2,2 million  and the neighbourhood gone mad with him for "devaluing the neighborhood".