New sales strategies try to revive the real estate market

Data from the housing market in the first half of the year indicate a trend towards stability this year, but registered a drop in the number of residential sales.

A survey by Cbic (Brazilian Chamber of the Construction Industry) with Senai Nacional and Brain Inteligência Estratégica shows a 5.5% decline in sales in the last quarter compared to the same period in 2021.

Demand, however, has not cooled down. What has kept buyers away from sales stands is the price of real estate, driven by construction costs above inflation in the country, and which should continue to rise in the coming months.

To close sales, builders and developers offer cashback to payment with cryptocurrencies and rent before purchase.

Even has a partnership with startup aMora to offer a new way to buy your own home. The client chooses the property he wants, the startup makes the acquisition and rents it for 36 months. Part of the amount paid monthly to aMora will serve as a savings for the consumer in the future purchase of the property.

“It’s another way to facilitate payment and can be an option for liberal and self-employed professionals, who need more time to build up cash before entering into a financing”, says Marcelo Dzik, director of incorporation at Even.

Rafael Tellechea Cerqueira, one of the founders of aMora, says that the idea came from a bad personal experience when buying a house.

“I thought of a new way of buying, an intermediary way. While renting the property, the client can make improvements that will stay for him or will be recovered at the time of sale”, he says.

Another attraction of Even is the payment by cryptocurrencies. In partnership with Mercado Bitcoin, the company accepts two types of crypto assets.

Vitacon has also entered tokenization and follows another increasingly popular concept, cashback.

Owners of some of the construction company’s properties receive a digital wallet on Insignia’s Exchange, where a monthly amount is deposited referring to the part of the sales of the minimarket that is in the development. This cashback will be used to partially or fully reduce the condominium fee.

The Apê11 digital platform, acquired by Santander in 2021, accepts used property as part of the payment for a new one and devises a digital system for buyers and sellers to meet, as in dating apps.

“There is legal certainty for this type of business. It is an alternative for those who are in a hurry”, says Leonardo Azevedo, CEO of Apê11.

We make a report with an independent audit and the buyer chooses whether to give as credit for the entry into the financing. If he buys another property within six months, he still has the tax benefit, he says.

The executive refers to the expansion of exemption in the Income Tax recently authorized by the Federal Revenue. Under the new rule, anyone who pays off a loan within six months of the sale of the first property is exempt from the tax charged on profit.

According to Azevedo, giving away the house as part of the payment when buying a new one can become as common as giving away the car when financing someone else.

There is a lot of open space in the market for alternatives that facilitate the acquisition of real estate, he says.

Lello once again offered cashback of R$ 10,000 to anyone who buys a house or apartment in the capital of São Paulo or Grande ABC until August 31. The value is double that offered in a similar real estate initiative in 2020.

We are attentive to the consumer’s desire all the time. In this campaign, we selected some properties. When the deal is closed, the buyer receives the value back, in cash in his checking account, says Pedro Venturini, marketing director at Lello Imóveis.

According to the director, the cashback value is deducted from the broker’s sales commission.

Lello’s next campaign, scheduled for September, will be in partnership with Arquiteto de Bolso. For those who close the purchase or lease of a property, the real estate agency will provide, free of charge, consulting with architects and experts in interior design to transform the property.

Resale, a real estate outlet that sells properties that return to the market after auctions, has also joined the cashback marketing trend.

The company allows the consumer to have up to R$ 136 thousand back when buying a property through the proptech website.

Today, according to Resale, there are 145 properties participating in this business model, with assets estimated between R$7.3 thousand and R$7.2 million.

The main audience is the investor. Another 30% are buyers looking for a second property. The model makes real estate more and more attractive, says Marcelo Prata, from Resale.