The latest update from the most referred to index of Brazilian real estate asking prices – FipeZap – has indicated that there has been a further deceleration in April.  After a phase of slowing down between April 2011 and January 2012, the index rose by 1.5 percent in February, 1.4 percent in March and 1.2 percent in April.

Salvador saw negative growth at -0.6 percent and Fortaleza grew by just 0.1 percent.  With a 1.2 percent rise, São Paulo saw its slowest pace of growth since the index was initiated in 2008 (the accumulated rise of the four first months of the year was 5.3 percent in 2012 compared to 9.2 percent in 2011).  In Rio de Janeiro, the Federal District and Recife – there was a rise of 1.4 percent and Belo Horizonte reported a rise of 2.5 percent.

The index also demonstrated that the rise in property prices has continued above inflation – since 2008 properties prices have risen by 170 percent in Rio de Janeiro and 135 percent in São Paulo.

Ruban Selvanayagam www.brazilinvestmentguide.com