Apartments up to 40 square meters gain luxury and hotel services

Changes in municipal laws and low interest rates in the past resulted in the current boom in compact real estate in Brazilian capitals.

These are apartments built in central or high-cost neighborhoods, with a square meter above R$ 12,000 and a greater offer of services and leisure for residents.

Driven by lower cost financing for the end customer, companies in the sector bet on properties with up to 40 m². Both more luxurious options and those aimed at housing programs emerged. The final value of the property attracts two audiences: the one who buys to live and the investor.

“The price is attractive to the buyer because the property is small, that’s the magic. You share an area and have more people paying”, says Sylvio Pinheiro, a specialist in project and construction management.

“If you divide it by square meter, you will see that they are selling for a better price for them [incorporadores].”

To offer services such as laundry, mini-market and cabinets for purchases for delivery, the developers close partnerships with brands, which will earn money within the condominium.

“Compact cars have become protagonists in a scenario of lower interest rates and real estate appetite”, says Guilherme Werner, partner at Brain Inteligência Estratégica.

Being close to subway stations is one of the requirements of the São Paulo master plan, in force since 2014, for the construction of the studios.

In Rio de Janeiro, upscale neighborhoods have been receiving compacts since 2018, when the building code authorized films smaller than 40 m², provided they were within 800 meters of a subway station.

“In São Paulo, the movement intensified in the pre-pandemic period, with Selic [taxa básica de juros] to 2%, due to the advent of Airbnb and the city’s master plan, which promotes similar products,” says Werner.

“In Rio, they are products oriented to the economic market. In Curitiba, they are basically restricted to investments”, says the Brain consultant.

According to a Brain survey carried out at the request of Sheet, the participation of compact cars among the properties launched in 2022 approaches 30%. There are more than 3,700 units in this first quarter alone. In all of 2019, just over 13,000 studios were launched.

Paulo Assis, CEO of Riva Incorporadora, says that, in addition to the feeling of security brought by owning a home, the property is a reserve of value in times of high inflation.

“Buyers still find rates close to 9%, and there are properties classified as Casa Verde and Amarela, with interest of 6.7% per year, far below the Selic rate, which is at 13.25%.”

modern infrastructure

For the developer Vitacon, the “fever” is also due to the interest in the multifunctionality of the house. “It comes together with a lighter lifestyle on a day-to-day basis, with practicality. Having spaces for coexistence, not simply a condominium with full infrastructure, but utility”, says Nayara Técia, CEO of ON Brokers.

Despite being smaller, studios can be considered high-end properties when they offer a leisure area, connectivity and hotel services, such as a spa and concierge.

The current São Paulo master plan allows construction companies to have larger and more compact apartments in the same development, and sell them through the popular housing program.

“The ones from 31 to 40 m² are basically oriented towards Casa Verde Amarela, and are located in neighborhoods that are desirable even for high incomes. São Paulo was democratized in this sense”, says researcher Guilherme Werner.

One of You,inc’s launches, next to the Moema subway station (south zone), has 30 apartments measuring 141 m² and 63 studios measuring 23 m² to 32 m² with high ceilings.

The architecture focused on the different characteristics of each square, with exclusive access and services to enhance the residents’ experience, according to Douglas Tolaine, from Perkins & Will, responsible for the project.

At Alameda Jaú, close to the financial center of São Paulo, Gafisa is building a development with apartments ranging from 21 m² to 498 m².

There will be 50 studios with a decoration project signed by Italian designer Tonino Lamborghini, son of the founder of the car brand that bears his surname.

In coastal capitals, developers and architects use nature as another attraction of their studios for buyers.

Mozak will build in Gávea (south zone of Rio) an enterprise with more than 25 thousand m² of area integrated to the Atlantic Forest. Among the films offered are the garden studios, a concept of a private garden. The proposal is to be a refuge in the second most populous city in the country.

According to Daniel Afonso, director of D2J Construtora, the smaller size takes those who cannot pay for apartments of more than 60 m² in the region to the south of Rio. But it’s mandatory to have laundry facilities, bike racks and a coworking space, he says.

With a development in the middle of the native forest of Teresópolis (RJ) to be delivered in 2024, Gabriel Mauad says that the studios have attracted a new audience to the national capital of mountaineering: retirees.

“There is a migration from the centers to Teresópolis because of the quality of life. Many buy the property to live in, others to invest. And the units with less than 40 m² are the ones that finish first”, says Mauad.

Luxury apartments of up to 40 m² are also heating up the real estate market in Recife (PE), according to the founder of developer Haut, Thiago Monteiro.

For the architect, the new way of relating to the house has made people seek the experience they find in boutique hotels, with personalized and more welcoming service.

“Staying at home in a compact apartment is a challenge. That’s why there is a focus on services and inviting architecture, attentive to the habits and routine of the resident”, says Monteiro.

Its developments of up to 40 m² have bookstores, chefs, masseurs and pet sitters (pet nanny, in literal translation) among the services available to residents.

For R$15,000 per square meter, the studios also have a heated pool on the balcony and bathroom with floor-to-ceiling glass windows.

“It’s the contemporary living of young married or single people, of couples with children who have left home and do not want to stay in a large apartment, full of memories and which gives work”, says the architect.

Smaller footage for more free time

Retired civil servant Neusa Moreira Marques, 67, chose to buy a studio for her mother, Ana Lúcia, 95, in Ipiranga (South Zone), the neighborhood where she grew up.

The objective was to avoid renting, but it was the less maintenance that a compact requires and the leisure area that made her hit the nail on the head.

“Ten years ago, I wanted to buy an apartment that had a suite, three bedrooms and I bought it. Today I see that it’s all illusion. On a daily basis, what do you do with this apartment? It’s all more expensive”, says Neusa.

“I saw the studio and was delighted to have just what I needed. My mother will sew and go for walks, there is easy access to transportation, which makes it a lot easier.”

According to Vitor Del Santo, CEO of Lumy Incorporadora, people give up square meters to gain better transportation and access to conveniences.

Project manager Diogo Costa, 39, bet on a 24 m² apartment to be able to return to live in Pinheiros (west zone of SP), where he was born. His intention is to rent the studio over the next few years to earn income or sell, if that is more favourable.

“I wanted a property that gave little maintenance and had a pool and gym. I found a studio on a street close to services and restaurants, but quiet”, says Costa, who works from a home office.