[Bond James Bond]

Rio’s housing prices spell trouble in paradise

Armed with the Sunday classifieds, I launched what was to become my epic quest for an apartment back in January. I went first to Rio’s showcase neighborhoods: tony, seaside Copacabana, Ipanema and Leblon, the ones everyone imagines when they think of fabulous Rio. Perusing the ads, however, it seemed as if an extra zero had been tacked onto the price of every apartment. A studio with a shared toilet on the landing for $1,000 a month? Or $2,750 for a 400-square-foot, one-bedroom on the first floor, apparently with no natural light? Could I be reading this right?

Unfortunately, I was. For the rent I used to pay on my Paris penthouse looking out onto the Eiffel Tower, I found I could get a postage stamp-sized place on the third floor of a down-at-the-heels Ipanema building with a spectacular view — into the neighbor’s bathroom.

 

[bayviews]

Rio’s housing prices spell trouble in paradise

All the telltale signs of bubble about to burst. Brazil's really boomed over the past decade, but over the past several months, its economy has begun to stall

 

[FAAN]

All the telltale signs of bubble about to burst. Brazil's really boomed over the past decade, but over the past several months, its economy has begun to stall

Like many other countries in crisis. Brazil's economy is growing lower, because the world is in crisis, which ultimately affects directly and indirectly Brazil, consumption also fell slightly because consumption rates were extremely high between 2009 and 2010.

But the Brazil is one of the major economies less affected by the crisis and is expected to grow between 4 and 5% in 2012, even though this is below average now is a recovery. And since they are ongoing major works of infrastructure, incentives to industry to consumption and the country will return soon to their normal rhythm of growth, which is common in emerging nations.