LETTER FROM BUENOS AIRES
For weeks, 43-year-old Maria del Mar has been asking her estate agent about her soon-to-expire rental contract. The answer is always the same: Now is not the time to talk about it, we will see later. So this artist and teacher from Buenos Aires began browsing the rental ads. Offers are rare and prices are steep. "The uncertainty makes you want to cry," she said, adding that she and her partner have just adopted an 11-year-old child. To reassure themselves, the middle-class couple imagines different scenarios. "At worst, we won't be homeless, we'll be able to rent a one-bedroom or a studio, but with an 11-year-old child?" said the 40-something.
As a token of the solidarity of their friends and family, acting as a last line of defense against Argentina's economic difficulties, a friend offered to house del Mar and her family until they find a solution. Finally, with 10 days to go before the end of their contract, nothing has yet been signed. The agency did, however, offer an extension, but with a new rent, three and a half times higher than the current amount. This is equivalent to 250,000 pesos, including charges (€657 at the official rate, and about half that at the parallel rate) for a 45-square-meter two-bedroom apartment. By way of comparison, the minimum wage is 112,500 pesos (€298).
This family's situation is not unique. Buenos Aires is experiencing an unprecedented housing crisis, symptomatic of an Argentina in a state of stagnation. Rampant inflation – 113% over one year – is disrupting all price projections and eating away at wages, even when adjusted upwards. The widening gap between the official peso-dollar exchange rate, controlled by the state, and the parallel rate – considered the "right" value by economic players – further undermines confidence in the national currency, the peso.
The presidential primary on Sunday, August 13, did not help matters, with the unexpected breakthrough of ultra-liberal Javier Milei only adding to the uncertainty. On Monday, August 14, the government devalued the currency by 18%, causing prices to soar. "The housing crisis is extremely serious throughout the country," said Gervasio Muñoz of the NGO Inquilinos Agrupados, which defends tenants' rights.
In the capital, supply has virtually dried up. According to the Argentine Real Estate Chamber, quoted by the daily El Cronista, the number of properties currently available for private rental represents just 5% of the stock at the start of 2020. "We can't speak of a stock of offers but of a flow; apartments are rented almost immediately after the ad is published. The market has collapsed," said Isaac Weisvein, director of a real estate agency in Buenos Aires.
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