Despite the fact that home sales skyrocketed in 2022 and breaking records month after month, the dynamics this year have begun to drop, not only due to the macroeconomic situation in the country, but also the uncertainty regarding subsidies. It is so for him third month of the year, the sale of homes fell 61%.
(Read: My House would already shelter the 52,000 families that it had pending).
According to the president of the Colombian Chamber of Construction (Camacol), Guillermo Herrera, in the last twelve months, up to March, fewer than 200,000 new homes were sold, which represented a drop of 25.4% compared to the previous period. Of these, 142,950 were low-income housing (VIS) which also decreased by 25.4% in annual terms.
The quarterly data from the VIS also consolidated the slowdown, according to figures from Coordenada Urbana, 21,728 units were sold for a contraction of 58% compared to the same period in 2022. Likewise, the monthly behavior increased a drop of 61%, since 5,806 VIS were sold, which means that it is at the sales level of 2013.
(Read: The new Mi Casa rules would no longer reactivate home sales.)
And it is that according to historical data of the union, the fall of the VIS is unprecedented with the crises that the country has faced in the last decade. In fact, it is selling less than in the subprime crisis (-30%) and oil (-3%); inclusive, fewer homes are being marketed than in the pandemic (-23.4%), to which is added a drop in sales in regional markets.
“We are experiencing an atypical condition, outside the cycle of the last decade, which requires continuing with the actions of the Government and the private sector to encourage a new countercyclical strategy that, by reactivating the sector, is decisive for employment,” Said Herrera, who reiterated that it is not a normal response from the market.
(Read: Keep in mind: the changes that the Mi Casa Ya program will have).
If this dynamic continues, Camacol’s projection of VIS sales will be less than 100,000 compared to 172,000 in 2022.
More subsidies from Mi Casa Ya will be needed
Despite the fact that Herrera highlighted the announcement of the addition of $1 billion to the Mi Casa Ya (MCY) program and described it as a positive response to the union’s call, he mentions that the 52,000 families that are waiting for this financial relief are barely delivered as of March, which which would indicate that By the end of the year, more than 100,000 families will be waiting for this subsidy.
Read: Alerts rise for the housing market in Colombia
In addition, the president of Camacol noted that there is a need to reconsider a effective transition regime for the proposed changes to the program, without additional paperwork, in a simple and efficient way, to honor trust and guarantee financial closure to households, in particular, those with an income of 2 current legal monthly minimum wages, SMMLV, (80% of buyers with Mi Casa Ya).
PAULA ANDREA GALEANO BALAGUERA
Portfolio Journalist
