Discover the trends for real estate in 2022

The pandemic forced people to spend more time at home and, with the return to work and study in person or in a hybrid model, it still affects the way properties are seen.

According to entrepreneurs in the real estate sector, trends that gained strength with social isolation —​such as the valuation of space and comfort, greater use of technology at home and the concern with sustainability — remain important for 2022.

One of them is the difference of having a large property or at least well divided, with space to rest, do physical activities, work, eat and sleep. Having a balcony or, even better, a terrace, remains a feature sought by many buyers.

“All the considerations that the pandemic brought, in the search for quality of life and more airy and ventilated environments, are still valid. This is not related to size”, says Cyro Naufel, institutional director of Lopes real estate.

Homes continue to be in high demand in real estate, especially within São Paulo, in contrast to the rush for properties in the interior and on the coast that took place until the middle of this year.

“The work, even hybrid, you can do at a distance, but the face-to-face school made the families begin the movement of returning to their homes in São Paulo”, evaluates Naufel.

The personalization of apartments is also expected to gain traction in the next year, so that buyers can live in an environment more suited to their needs — as if they had built a house.

The developer Paes & Gregori, for example, launched two projects with an area that can be transformed into different environments, from a cellar to an office or a toilet.

“At the launch, we defined it for the client as a multipurpose space, which could be adapted later”, says Guilherme Gregori, executive director of the company.

The company also allows, in some units, the buyer to choose whether he prefers a traditional kitchen or an island, leaving the room facilities adequate for both options.

For Marcello Romero, executive director of real estate Bossa Nova Sotheby’s, the search for more space leads to a new segment that has been gaining strength in the city, of small condominiums (with 6 to 12 houses) in neighborhoods like Jardim Guedala, Morumbi and Butantã, that reconcile the comfort and privacy of homes with increased security.

“It was something very difficult to see in São Paulo, but now several developers are turning their attention to this type of product”, he says.

“We are going to see, in the coming years, a profound process of transformation of horizontal residential neighborhoods, developers buy two or three houses and build a closed condominium.”

Those who bought property in high-end condominiums in the interior from the end of 2020 paid a high price — in May, the specialized real estate companies spoke of a 200% appreciation — but they may not be able to sell for the same value if they try to dispose of the property. now.

“Real estate in the interior worries me a little, I think there was an overvaluation in some situations. It was easy to sell at any price, and it is something that is no longer at that speed”, says Marco Tulio, executive director of Schema Imóveis.

The return of preference for a well-located property is one of the trends for 2022.
As Ricardo Pajero, commercial manager of MAC developer, says: whoever got used to waking up half an hour before starting work during the total home office period no longer wants to waste hours in traffic to get to the office.

A well-located property does not need to be one in the most expensive and central neighborhoods, but one that is close to the resident’s work and has easy access to means of transport, such as the subway, bus lanes or avenues.

“Location has always been a predominant factor in choosing the property, but it gained other points in the pandemic, because people got used to having a better quality of life in the home office”, he says.

In the company’s studio launches, the care with the location is redoubled, so that the product remains attractive to investors, even with the increase in the interest rate, which makes fixed income more profitable.

With a good location, the need to use individual transport is less, and this is already reflected in the number of spaces for cars in the developments. Eduardo Fischer, executive director of MRV, says that his launches are leaving with less space for cars, something that started to be done in São Paulo, following the 2014 Master Plan, which limited the number of vacancies in good areas.
serviced by public transport, and now reaches other parts of the country.

“We are designing projects that will be ready in three or four years and can find another world, where you have an ever stronger idea of ​​not having a car,” he says.

An alternative presented by the developer is to have rental vehicles available in its Luggo branded developments, which are exclusive for rental.

Another reflection of the pandemic: various daily activities are now being done virtually, from home, which requires good internet connection. During this period, the adoption of virtual assistants, such as Alexa, from Amazon, which allows controlling automated items, also grew.

In this scenario, having a good connectivity infrastructure is essential, and can be a differential for sales, says Gustavo Favaron, global president of the GRI Club, the industry’s relationship club.

“In the past, you had a house with an internet point in the living room and, sometimes, in the bedroom. Nowadays, it is very common to have an internet cable in the kitchen and also in the office, with faster speed.”

Home automation is no longer just aimed at high standards, and homeowners need to make this process easier. Buildings launched today, which will be ready in three or four years, for example, will find a world even more dependent on fast connection. “A house that is not designed to have a good internet is a house that will soon be compared to not having tap water,” says Favaron.

The technology arrives with force not only inside the units, but also outside them, in the common areas of the condominiums. Systems that allow entry of residents through facial recognition and biometrics are already common and reach all building standards.

For Angélica Arbex, marketing and innovation director at Lello Condomínios, the old system of a visitor talking to the concierge, who calls the resident and only then has the entrance cleared, will be a thing of the past.

There are already ways to send the visitor a QR Code, which can only be used for a defined period of time. By showing the code, the entry is automatically released and the resident receives a notice that his visitor has entered the building.

“The technology that gets you in and out and allows access by people you authorize, in a more fluid way, will boom in the coming years.”

Another technological adaptation seen as a trend is the structure for recharging electric cars. And it is not enough to have a single point for the entire building or condominium of houses.

“It is absurd to build a building today that is not designed for electric vehicles, it is obvious that in five years we will have many cars, it has to be thought of now. If there is only one point to charge an electric car in the condominium, there will be a fight, it is complicated” , says Favaron.

The list also includes the care for sustainability. Having the means to produce energy and reuse water inside the building, in addition to being friendly to the environment, helps to reduce the value of the condominium.
“You can put solar panels on the roof, on top of the garage. It is possible to generate more energy, sell it to the concessionaire and reduce the cost of the condominium”, says the president of the GRI Club.