Willing to travel greater distances to be in isolated spaces and with nature during the pandemic, young people from large cities have been part of a change in the profile of visitors from small municipalities on the banks of the Rio Grande, on the border between São Paulo and Minas Gerais.
The inclusion of inland cities in vacation and holiday itineraries boosted the real estate market in the region. The City of Rifaina (464 km from São Paulo), for example, has nine subdivision applications awaiting approval, which should generate 2,604 new properties.
The number of properties planned is greater than that recorded in the last five years, when four subdivisions and five buildings were licensed, with a total of 1,596 properties, being 776 lots and 820 apartments.
A luxury apartment today in Rifaina (120 square meters, 3 bedrooms) can cost up to BRL 784,000, and a plot of 200 square meters can cost BRL 840,000.
The appreciation of the region took place in the midst of the pandemic, when the city adopted restrictive measures and there was a change in the tourist profile in the region.
Rifaina’s Secretary of Tourism, Claudio Masson says that, although he lost an audience that only went to the beach for the day, the city managed to keep a new tourist, who consumes more in the region.
“There was a more outstanding change in the period when the beach was closed and only the boardwalk was open. We only had the public that comes to frequent kiosks, restaurants and bars on the edge for consumption”, he says.
In the mining region of Sacramento, which is bathed by the Jaguara, Igarapava and Estreito dams, the arrival of tourists from regions within a radius of 300 km increased from 40% to 65%.
“Another relevant aspect is the decrease in the age group of tourists who come to our city”, stated Patrick Pacheco, municipal secretary of Economic and Tourism Development.
The greatest demand, according to Pacheco, has been for adventure tourism, especially cycle tourism, making the region’s destinations go beyond the Rio Grande area.
Of the properties approved in Rifaina, 60% are classified as luxury. In the case of rentals, the values per weekend, out of season, vary from R$ 3 thousand to R$ 5 thousand, and can reach R$ 15 thousand on busier holidays, such as Carnival.
Businessman João Mansano, 54, is from Ribeirão Preto and has owned a ranch on the Jaguara dam for about 30 years. According to him, the number of people looking for spaces to buy and rent has grown.
At Bendito Rancho, the entrepreneur’s high-end space, the main renters before the pandemic were from nearby cities, such as Franca (SP) or Araxá (MG). Now, however, orders come from Greater São Paulo to Belo Horizonte.
“It’s a safe way for families to meet and enjoy time together during this pandemic that we’re experiencing. We feel that people want to leave the city for a more isolated place,” said Mansano.
Amir Choaib, 64, civil engineer and owner of Urbanfield Empreendimentos de Ribeirão Preto, built his first subdivision —Morada da Fronteira— on the Jaguara dam in 2000. In the following years, Enseada da Fronteira, the Kanoah Home tourist complex Resort and other high-end residential in the region.
This year, in June, the launch of another closed subdivision with 300 residential lots and 46 mixed/commercial use lots is already scheduled to meet the growing demand in the area.
“The expectation is that this new venture called Jardim América will become a new neighborhood in Rifaina in the future”, said the engineer.
For Choaib, the residential and verticalizations of recent years have helped to accelerate the consolidation of the interior as a lakeside tourism hub. “Rifaina is already a Municipality of Tourist Interest and, with all these new ventures, in a short period it should become a Tourist Resort.
The builder highlighted that real estate “privileged by nature” is usually acquired for second homes and for leisure purposes, but the pandemic has changed some habits. “In the phase of social isolation, people also sought quality of life and a more peaceful place, and we had more than 70 families living in one of our residential homes while they were at home office”, said the engineer.
Entrepreneur Marcelo Adriano Silva, 41, is from Sertãozinho and works in the food industry. He bought the first lot in Rifaina to have a summer home for his family in 2000, but then started building to resell. He has already built eight properties and has just acquired another residential lot.
“It’s almost a hobby to build and I also go almost every week with family and friends,” said the businessman. For him, the proximity to the dam is an important differential. For him, the proximity to the dam is an important differential.
“I like to go by speedboat and jet-ski, but to go to the coast it takes at least five hours to travel. Here we can get there in an hour and a half. come back the same day.”
Oversight
The secretary of Sacramento said that this year inspections should be intensified on ranches that are not legally registered with City Hall.
“We are in the process of reviewing the Master Plan and the due procedure will be given so that we can regularize all existing situations in our municipality, providing legal certainty for the owners, in return for offering the appropriate and justifiable public service”, said Pacheco.
This initiative will be carried out in partnership with Cemig (Companhia Energética de Minas Gerais) and the Property Registry.
The Master Plan proposal has already passed through five public hearings, in which there was the participation of the public, the Public Ministry, municipal councils, the City Council and leaders of civil society.
From 2020 to 2021, 31 properties were licensed individually and 11 condominiums in Sacramento.
Part of the ranches in Rifaina and Sacramento are located in rural areas, including stretches of land that lead to farms, where it is possible to have an afternoon coffee from Minas Gerais or buy jam and cheese pastries.
In addition to gastronomic tourism, there are also kayak rentals, stand-up paddle boards and diving lessons (to see the submerged ruins of the ancient city that used to be where the dam is today).
The nautical potential is another highlight and there are speedboat and boat trips in the region. Those who like hiking can visit the hill of Olimpo and the hill of Chapéu, in Serra da Canastra.
Masson, Rifaina’s Secretary of Tourism, recalls that there are no canyons in this stretch of the Rio Grande, only cliffs – especially the sandstone one in Sacramento.
“We make information about safety and, in the case of speedboats and schooners, we guide the companies”, said Masson.
Pacheco, in turn, stressed that there is no municipal regulation of tours on the Rio Grande dams, since the obligations on the Sacramento side regarding vessels are established by federal regulations and are regularly inspected by the Captaincy of the Ports of Minas Gerais.
Even so, the municipality plans to carry out a technical survey on the risks and critical points within each tourist equipment advertised by the city.
“Such information will be duly made available on our website, so that we can not only promote a tourist destination, but that we do it with all security”, reinforced Pacheco.
The Swiss Dimitri Hebert Bottani, 51, is a businessman in the gastronomy sector and came to Brazil for medical treatment for his son.
After living in Ribeirão Preto, he was invited to invest in a real estate development in Rifaina, where in addition to a business opportunity, he found the chance to bring a little bit of Europe closer to him.
“I remember when I went down the mountain for the first time and saw the dam. It looked like my Lugano, Switzerland, which is a lake town. Our day to day here is very cool, I take my son to school by speedboat, it’s a little paradise “, Bottani said.
For the entrepreneur, in addition to the natural beauty, Rifaina has the advantage of organization, good sanitation and the potential for growth brought by new ventures.
“I accepted the challenge and we found balance here. My son moved from a city to a village with lots of nature and friends and I managed to develop my profession, I have no intention of changing, I love Rifaina”, said the investor.
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