Overview
- The Colegio de Escribanos reported that mortgage-backed deeds in the City of Buenos Aires fell about 37% year-to-date and that only 587 mortgage deeds were registered in May, a 54.8% drop from last year.
- Mortgages now finance roughly 10.8% of property transactions in CABA, down from nearly 23% a year earlier, while total deeds through January–May stayed almost flat with a 1.2% decline.
- Analysts cite high mortgage rates (about 8.5% on average), tighter borrower requirements and limited long-term bank funding as the main causes of the credit pullback.
- Some banks have begun small rate cuts, but loan approval and disbursement usually take 60–120 days so any rise in mortgage-backed deeds will likely show with a multi-month lag.
- An oversized supply of used homes is keeping prices flat and pushing the market to depend on cash buyers, which preserves activity now but could cap growth unless financing conditions, inflation and exchange stability improve.