Breno Damascena
02-04-2024 – Reading time: 2 minutes
The city of Itajaí, on the coast of Santa Catarina, surpassed São Paulo (SP) and now boasts the 5th most expensive square meter in Brazil, according to the FipeZAP Residential Sales Index, released by DataZAP. With the average m² valued at R$ 10,814, the municipality registered an appreciation of 12.15% in the last 12 months and corroborates the positive scenario for incorporation in the state of Santa Catarina.
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“The appreciation of Itajaí is part of the context of the appreciation of the coast of Santa Catarina, a phenomenon that was catalyzed by the pandemic. Cities in the region tend to offer good infrastructure, are close to nature and attract those looking for ‘quality of life’”, claims Pedro Tenório, economist at DataZAP.
He argues, however, that the scope of the research also helps to influence the value of properties. “Although the municipalities on the coast of Santa Catarina are not small, they are smaller than the average of the other municipalities monitored in the study. Even more so when considering the concentrated spatial configuration of apartments in these municipalities, which makes appreciation movements more intense,” he explains.
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The fact is that Santa Catarina now has 4 of the 5 most expensive cities in the country to buy a property, according to the index. The leadership remains occupied by Balneário Camboriú, where the price per m² costs, on average, R$12,903. Itapema (SC) and Florianópolis (SC) are the other municipalities in Santa Catarina in the top 5.
The only “intruder” is Vitória (ES), which registered an appreciation of 8.86% in the last 12 months and now has a square meter valued at more than R$11 thousand. Pedro understands that the city is going through something similar to what was observed on the coast of Santa Catarina. “The pandemic and its impacts catalyzed a rediscovery of the market in the municipalities of Vitória and Maceió, which exhibit similar characteristics in their more vertical regions: infrastructure and appeal to the sought-after ‘“quality of life”’, he notes.
However, there is another city in the state of Santa Catarina that is experiencing a good moment: São José (SC) registered an appreciation of 17.94% in the last 12 months.
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“The trajectory of accelerated price growth in São José is synchronous with that of Florianópolis, but with less deceleration from 2022 onwards. As the Santa Catarina coast still has price growth rates higher than the national average and several municipalities, especially São José, it is likely that we will see São José move up some positions throughout the year”, understands the economist.
