Ceará, Brazil: A Prime Investment For Foreigners

Brazil is vast. It’s the fifth largest country in the world.

And it hides both some of the most amazing beaches on this planet… as well as some of the best beachfront real estate opportunities to be found anywhere today…

If you know where to look.

The trick is to follow the locals.

Upper- and middle-class Brazilians are vacationing and relocating to the northeastern coast because they are fed up with the sweltering summer conditions in the south. They are lured by a better lifestyle and more affordable property prices.

Specifically, Brazilians in the know are relocating to Fortaleza, capital city of the Ceará state, and the towns and villages in the surrounding area.

Ceará has miles and miles of pristine beaches with consistent breezes that make the area both comfortable and one of the wind-surfing capitals of the world.

But the secret isn’t out yet. That’s what I find most appealing about Fortaleza.

It remains undiscovered by outsiders.

Foreign investors don’t know about the rock-bottom pricing for fabulous beachfront property, thanks to an undervalued market made even more affordable for dollar holders by a beaten-down real. The Brazilian currency has lost almost 40% of its value in the last five years.

The best deals are to be found 45 to 90 minutes outside Fortaleza. The spectacular beaches, appealing towns, and quaint fishing villages outside the city are quieter, uncongested, safe, and welcoming. The area isn’t blighted by mega resorts, but there are plenty of places to eat and all the services you need close by.

And the best news is the cost. Beach properties here cost one-tenth what they would cost in the United States.

If you want property on the water close to lovely towns, places where you can have a nice dinner for a few bucks, and where you can relax and be inspired… on a tiny budget… you have come to the right place.

Another advantage of the northeastern coast of Brazil is that it doesn’t see hurricanes. They peel north or south and almost never make landfall in this area.

English-speaking locals are friendly, but my friends in the region have found that those who don’t speak English are even friendlier. They go out of their way to help you and are not out to hustle or panhandle you. These are decent, humble people who live how folks lived in the States back in the 1950s.

You don’t need to learn Portuguese to live in Brazil, but learning simple phrases will help you integrate into the local community.

Brazil Big Picture

The Brazilian economy has more going for it than tourism. It is the seventh largest in the world with a relative buying power of about US$3 trillion.

Brazil borders every country in South America except Ecuador and Chile, making trade easy across the continent and helping to create a diversified economy, with heavy and light industries, huge natural resource reserves, and a rapidly expanding services sector. Brazil has also proven to be insulated from the war in Ukraine.

Brazil is the sixth most populous country on Earth, with a young population of 210 million people that’s growing fast.

Brazil’s unemployment rate dropped to 9.8% in May, meaning there are no possibilities of inflationary pressures caused by labor shortages like we are seeing in the United States.

Commodity prices are surging around the globe. This benefits Brazil because it’s a huge producer of global commodities including soy, iron, metal ores, sugar, gas, and corn. Even though Brazil is exposed to the rising costs of oil derivatives and other raw materials, the global price surge in commodities that Brazil produces compensates for the price increases in these few categories.

Brazil had a trade surplus in 2021 of nearly 10 billion. It’s uncommon for a developing nation to enjoy such huge surpluses, especially after a crisis like COVID-19. It’s a strong indication of the general heath and diversity of the economy.

Ceará’s Real Estate Market

The real estate market in the Fortaleza area has tremendous growth potential. As I’ve mentioned, prices are as little as a tenth of what you would pay for similar properties in Florida or California.

What’s the catch? How can they afford to sell these amazing beachfront homes starting at less than the price of a nice SUV?

You can buy new homes on the beach in northeastern Brazil for less than US$70,000 because Brazil has a fully integrated economy and an abundance of labor, as I laid out above.

While America imports everything from China, the Brazilians make everything they need themselves.

This means no import tariffs on building materials. The steel, concrete, floor tiles, roof tiles, wood, cabinets, granite countertops… everything is locally sourced.

These local supply chains allow savvy developers to build at a better price than anyone else.

These property bargains come with another advantage…

If you are interested in acquiring residency in Brazil, an investment in beachfront property in Fortaleza can make that happen. Invest 700,000 reals (roughly US$140,000) in property in northeastern Brazil and you’re eligible for the country’s Investor Visa. This is a lower qualifying threshold than if you were to buy in southern Brazil.

We’ve identified several developments within an hour or two of Fortaleza and its international airport that check every box for us.

Our development partner is a boutique building company that has been active in the area for over two decades.

These guys don’t build 30-story concrete condo towers. Their specialty is finding small plots of land on pristine beaches and developing a limited number of boutique villas and bungalows.

They attract a different type of consumer than your typical condo buyer.

Unique to the Fortaleza area is the year-round rental market. This is what makes investing here much more lucrative than elsewhere in Brazil. Most of Brazil caters to the summer vacation rental market (June to August) or the winter vacation market (December to February) and everything else is off-season.

You can reasonably expect anywhere between a 10% and 15% return on your rental investments due to the year-round tourism rental market and the very low entry costs, coupled with the fact that they develop desirable seaside properties.

The rental occupancy rate in this area is an impressive 88%, making this an appealing investment opportunity.

Located in Canoa Quebrada (90 minutes from the city of Fortaleza) in the Ceará state, this developer is selling bungalows with their own pool, located on the best stretch of beach in the area.

The bungalows have a living space of 37 square meters (400 square feet), one bedroom, one bathroom, and a private pool. Construction is expected to be completed by August 2024.

This investment has full-service property rental and management available.

The property has a cash price of US$67,000.

Developer financing is available from US$77,000. You’ll put 25% down with interest-free payments for the remaining balance over 24 months.

The development is near one of Ceará’s most popular tourist destinations, with access to great restaurants, supermarkets, shops, and tourist activities such as dune buggy rides, kite surfing, diving, paragliding, ATV tours, fishing, boat trips, and several of Brazil’s most beautiful beaches.

To find out more about this one-of-a-kind opportunity in one of our favorite markets anywhere, take a look here now.

Con Murphy
Editor, Overseas Property Alert