Is the property market in Buenos Aires still growing?

How busy is the Buenos Aires property market in 2026?

Very busy, but no longer speeding up.

Completed sales show it best. The Colegio de Escribanos de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires counted 41,583 sale deeds from January to August 2026, only 2.3% fewer than in the same months of 2025.

August alone brought 6,055 deeds, 4.9% below August 2025. July had 6,051, 9% below a very strong July 2025, yet the Colegio noted that the last two Julys were the strongest since 2008.

Someone looking only at growth rates would say the market has stalled. Someone looking at the number of sales sees a market near its busiest level in almost twenty years.

The second view is closer to the truth, with one catch: all this activity has not pushed prices up.

Buenos Aires indicator	Latest reading	Change	What it shows
CABA sale deeds, Jan–Aug 2026	41,583	-2.3% y/y	Activity still very high
August 2026 deeds	6,055	-4.9% y/y	Below a strong August 2025
July 2026 deeds	6,051	-9.0% y/y	Below a very strong July 2025
Asking price (Zonaprop, Sept 2026)	USD 2,484/m²	+1.4% since January	Very slow price growth
Used-apartment closing price (M² Real, Sept 2026)	USD 2,097/m²	-0.4% y/y	Buyers are not paying more

Has the Buenos Aires property boom already ended?

The boom has lost its speed, but most of the recovery behind it is still there.

Zoom out. CABA recorded 40,539 purchases in 2023, roughly 54,800 in 2024 and 69,461 in 2025. That is about 71% more sales in two years.

In 2025 alone, deeds jumped 26.8%, and the Colegio de Escribanos ranked it the fifth-strongest year in its 27-year series.

That is the base 2026 is being compared with. A 2.3% dip from there is not a crash: Buenos Aires went from about 40,500 sales a year to a market that can handle close to 70,000, and it is staying near that level.

Volume came back much faster than prices. Apartments that used to sit unsold are changing hands again, sellers are more confident, and for a while in 2025 mortgages came back too.

That catch-up phase is mostly done. The open question is whether a busy market can now turn into rising prices. So far, it hasn't.

Period	CABA sale deeds	Approx. change	What was happening
2023	40,539	~+20%	Recovery starting
2024	~54,800	~+35%	Sales accelerating
2025	69,461	+26.8%	Exceptional year
January–August 2026	41,583	-2.3% y/y	High plateau

Are Buenos Aires property prices still going up?

On listing sites, barely.

Zonaprop puts the average asking price of a CABA apartment at USD 2,484 per square meter in September 2026. That is +0.3% on the month, the biggest monthly rise of the year, and only +1.4% since January.

Back in mid-2026, Zonaprop's twelve-month rise had already slowed to 1.3%, its weakest in more than two years. At one point in 2025 it was running above 6%.

The longer story: asking prices fell 7.1% in 2020, 7.5% in 2021, 6.6% in 2022 and about 1% in 2023, then rose 6.8% in 2024 and kept climbing through most of 2025. That rebound has now flattened.

Prices are still 11.3% below Zonaprop's historical high, which puts the old peak around USD 2,800/m². Buenos Aires has won back part of the fall, not all of it.

Are buyers actually paying more for Buenos Aires apartments?

No. Buyers are paying about what they paid a year ago.

The M² Real index (RE/MAX Argentina, UCEMA and Reporte Inmobiliario) tracks real closings, not ads. It put used CABA apartments at USD 2,097/m² in September 2026, against USD 2,105 a year earlier: down 0.4%.

The month-to-month line is noisy. The index read USD 2,112 in July, USD 2,150 in August and USD 2,097 in September, mostly because the mix of apartments sold changes each month.

There is still room to negotiate. On the same deals, buyers closed 4.75% below the last asking price in September 2026, about the same as in August.

Sellers have pushed listings up; buyers are not following. When you judge whether prices are rising, trust the closing index over listing headlines.

Price measure (Sept 2026)	Latest value	Y/y change	What it measures
CABA average asking price	USD 2,484/m²	+1.4% since January	Advertised apartments
Used-apartment closing price	USD 2,097/m²	-0.4%	Completed sales
One-room closing price	USD 2,211/m²	+0.05%	Completed sales
Two-room closing price	USD 2,118/m²	+1.0%	Completed sales
Three-room closing price	USD 2,038/m²	+0.9%	Completed sales
Gap from last asking price	-4.75%	Stable	Negotiated discount

Why are Buenos Aires asking prices rising if real sale prices are flat?

Because sellers feel better, but buyers still have plenty to choose from.

Supply is huge. Monitor Inmobiliario counted about 110,214 properties listed for sale in CABA in August 2026, and Zonaprop data reported by La Nación showed the stock still 3.4% higher than a year earlier in June.

Sellers have reasons to hold firm: sales are high and the market no longer feels frozen, so they don't cut the ad price just to get an offer.

Buyers can scroll through tens of thousands of alternatives, walk away from overpriced units or move one barrio over.

Result: listings drift up while closings stay in a narrow band. That is how CABA can sign about 6,000 deeds a month without a clear citywide price rise.

Is Buenos Aires running out of good properties for sale?

No overall, but the good ones go fast in some barrios.

Local market reports point to shortages in a few types: good three-room apartments in Palermo and Belgrano, newer units with parking in middle-income barrios, and apartments with usable outdoor space.

Those don't compete with an old unit that needs a full renovation, carries heavy expensas or has sat on the portals for months at a fantasy price.

Official city statistics (IDECBA, based on Argenprop listings) show the split. In Q1 2026, asking prices for used one-room apartments rose 8.1% over a year in Boedo, 7.6% in Villa del Parque, 7.3% in Colegiales and 6.7% in Belgrano.

At the other end, Floresta fell 5.4%, Retiro 5.3%, San Nicolás 3.5% and Villa General Mitre 3.4%.

So the CABA average tells an individual buyer less and less. A renovated flat on a good block in Belgrano can get several offers while a weaker one elsewhere keeps cutting its price.

Which Buenos Aires neighborhoods are holding up best?

The prime, well-connected barrios still carry a big premium; cheaper barrios depend more on local wages and credit.

Zonaprop put Puerto Madero at about USD 6,165/m² and Palermo at USD 3,409/m² in September 2026. TuLugar's September listings put Núñez at USD 3,238/m². The CABA average is USD 2,484/m².

At the other end, Nueva Pompeya sits near USD 1,299/m² and Villa Lugano near USD 1,057/m². A square meter in Puerto Madero costs about 5.8 times one in Lugano.

Puerto Madero draws wealthy local buyers and foreign money. Palermo mixes lifestyle demand, tourism and rentals with a deep resale market. Núñez and Belgrano have strong family demand and a lot of new building. Cheaper barrios live off Argentine household income.

Expensive does not mean fastest-growing: some mid-market barrios recently rose faster than the luxury ones. There is no single Buenos Aires price cycle any more.

Neighborhood	Asking price (Sept 2026)	Vs CABA average	Position
Puerto Madero	~USD 6,165/m²	~2.5×	Ultra-premium
Palermo	~USD 3,409/m²	~1.4×	Prime, high demand
Núñez (TuLugar)	~USD 3,238/m²	~1.3×	Prime residential
CABA average	USD 2,484/m²	1.0×	City benchmark
Nueva Pompeya	~USD 1,299/m²	~0.5×	Lower-priced
Villa Lugano	~USD 1,057/m²	~0.4×	Among the cheapest

Are people in Buenos Aires actually interested in buying homes again?

Yes. Buying is back on people's radar after years when renting dominated.

Zonaprop's search data for greater Buenos Aires showed that purchases made up 45% of property demand in Q1 2026, 7 points more than a year earlier and 16 points more than two years earlier, so up from about 29%.

That is more than a mood swing: a real group of households that had given up on buying is looking again.

Buenos Aires has been higher, though. Zonaprop measured buying demand around 57% in 2017, when mortgages were much easier to get.

People want to buy, but the credit system still stops most of that interest from turning into purchases. That gap is the biggest source of possible upside.

Are mortgages still helping the Buenos Aires property market?

A little. The 2025 mortgage boom has faded fast.

In 2025 CABA recorded 13,953 sales with a mortgage, almost 180% more than in 2024. That same year total sales jumped from about 54,800 to 69,461.

2026 looks very different. From January to August, the Colegio de Escribanos counted 6,170 mortgage deeds against 9,341 a year earlier: down 34%. August brought 1,059, down 20.8%; July 959, down 31.2%.

Total sales fell only 2.3% over the same months. So Buenos Aires kept almost all its volume while losing a big chunk of its mortgage buyers. Cash, savings and developer instalment plans are doing the work: only 14.8% of deeds from January to August used a mortgage.

There is a limit to that. A cash market can keep resales going, but broad price growth is hard when middle-class buyers can't borrow.

Mortgage indicator	Previous reading	Current reading	Change
Mortgage deeds in 2025	4,994 in 2024	13,953	~+180%
Mortgage deeds, Jan–Aug 2026	9,341 in 2025	6,170	-34%
August mortgage deeds	~1,340 in 2025	1,059	-20.8%
July mortgage deeds	~1,390 in 2025	959	-31.2%
Total deeds, Jan–Aug 2026	~42,600 in 2025	41,583	-2.3%

Could mortgages start pushing Buenos Aires property prices higher again?

Yes, and quite quickly if lending really picks up.

We have already seen it: mortgage deeds went from fewer than 5,000 in 2024 to almost 14,000 in 2025, while total CABA sales rose by about 14,700. Mortgages were not the only cause, but the timing is hard to ignore.

Today's setup is interesting. The market has kept its volume without much credit. If banks lend more again, those buyers enter a busy market, not a frozen one, and that is what could finally lift closing prices.

The rates are there for locals: Banco Nación lends at UVA+6.7% to eligible salary clients and UVA+12% otherwise; Banco Ciudad offers UVA+6.5% for a first home of up to 80 m² and UVA+7.5% in general, until 31 December 2026.

We still would not call a new mortgage boom the base case. The 2026 fall is too big. A return to year-on-year growth in mortgage deeds would be the clearest signal to turn more positive on prices.

Are Buenos Aires rental returns getting better?

Yes, much better than a few years ago.

Zonaprop puts the average gross rental yield in CABA at 5.70% a year in September 2026, about 17.5 years of gross rent to pay back the price, 12.5% less time than a year earlier.

Compare: yields were close to 3% in 2019, about 2.3% in 2020, roughly 2.9% in 2021 and about 3.8% in 2022. Investors used to accept almost no income.

5.70% is gross. Expensas when the flat is empty, repairs, vacancy and management all eat into it. Average CABA expensas reached ARS 379,774 a month in September 2026 (about USD 245), up 28.6% in a year.

Tax matters too. Since January 2026 long-term rents are tax-free for resident individuals (Decree 406/2026), but the decree says nothing clear about non-residents. Until an adviser confirms otherwise, a foreign landlord should plan on 21% of gross rent, which turns 5.70% into about 4.5% before other costs.

Even so, investors no longer depend only on price growth, which helps explain why prices hold firm despite fewer mortgages.

Period	Approx. gross yield	Gross payback period
2019	~3.0%	~33 years
2020	~2.3%	~43 years
2021	~2.9%	~34 years
2022	~3.8%	~26 years
September 2026	5.70%	17.5 years

Are Buenos Aires rents still rising fast?

In pesos yes, in real terms no.

Zonaprop's average asking rent for a two-room CABA apartment was ARS 898,154 a month in September 2026 (about USD 580), and ARS 1,214,267 (about USD 785) for a three-room unit.

Over twelve months, rents rose 28.7%. Inflation rose 33.4% (INDEC). From January to September, rents rose 20.8% against about 23.6% inflation, so the same flat costs roughly 2% less in real terms than in January.

Since rent control ended (DNU 70/2023), supply has come back: rental listings are about 3.6 times their February 2023 low. Tenants have choice again.

For an investor, that is healthier than rents racing ahead of wages. The yield improved because sale prices stayed flat, not because tenants are being squeezed.

Is new construction making Buenos Aires property more expensive?

In the best areas, yes: buyers pay a clear premium for new buildings.

Official city figures (IDECBA, Q2 2026) put new studios at USD 3,105/m² against USD 2,561 used, about 21% more. The gap grows with size: 37% for two-room units (about USD 3,215 vs 2,343) and 55% for three-room units (about USD 3,349 vs 2,160).

By barrio, in Q1 2026, new one-room units asked about USD 3,789/m² in Palermo against USD 3,166 used, USD 3,628 against USD 3,225 in Belgrano, and USD 3,253 against USD 2,791 in Villa Urquiza.

Part of that is the product: better layouts, balconies, amenities, parking, lower upkeep. Construction costs, which rise in dollars when the peso is strong, also set a floor for developers.

But more is coming. Building permits in CABA were up 37% in Q2 2026 on a year earlier (CEPA). With that pipeline and a big resale stock, developers can't push prices wherever they like. New builds lift a few submarkets, not the whole city.

Is Buenos Aires property still cheap today?

Cheap next to its own old peak, yes. That alone doesn't promise a rise.

Zonaprop's USD 2,484/m² is still 11.3% below its record, so roughly USD 316/m² short of the old high.

Typical asking prices stay affordable by big-city standards: about USD 110,000 for a 40 m² studio, USD 131,000 for a 50 m² two-room and USD 180,000 for a 70 m² three-room (Zonaprop, September 2026). At the USD 2,097/m² closing benchmark, the two-room is closer to USD 105,000.

Don't treat the old peak as a price target. Rates, the currency, wages and credit were all different then.

The strong peso cuts the other way: the wholesale dollar rose only about 4.9% this year while consumer prices rose about 23.6%, so expensas, works and fees cost more in dollars every month even though apartment prices don't.

Will the new pension-fund mortgage money restart the Buenos Aires market?

It could help locals, but it won't help most foreign buyers.

The government's pension fund (FGS) set aside up to ARS 2 trillion for home loans. It auctioned ARS 200 billion to 13 banks on 7 September 2026 and another ARS 200 billion to 12 banks on 6 October 2026, and widened eligibility to any single permanent home. Loans funded this way cost at most UVA+7.5%, over at least 15 years.

That money only shows up in deeds months later, so don't expect it in the figures before late 2026 or early 2027. Watch the Colegio de Escribanos monthly report: a mortgage share climbing back above 20% of deeds would be the signal.

For a foreign buyer: non-residents earning only abroad have no confirmed access to UVA mortgages. Plan to pay cash in dollars. If you are buying anyway, buying before credit-funded buyers come back is the argument for not waiting, but price that in modestly: closing prices are flat today.

Does the 2026 tax reform make buying in Buenos Aires more attractive?

For exiting and for long rentals by residents, yes. For a non-resident landlord, not clearly.

Since 1 January 2026, individuals, residents or not, pay no income tax on the gain when they sell a property (Law 27.802, Decree 406/2026 published 1 June 2026). The 1.5% transfer tax (ITI) was already abolished in July 2024. Companies are not covered.

Long-term rents to a tenant's permanent home are tax-free for resident individuals since January 2026. For non-residents the decree is silent; the default is 21% of gross rent unless your adviser confirms the exemption. Short-term and tourist rentals are not covered at all.

Buying still costs about 6% to 9% on top of the price in CABA (stamp tax 2.7%, usually split, notary 1% to 2% plus VAT, agent 3% to 4% plus VAT). What to do: ask your notary in writing how the 2026 rules apply to you before signing, and hold the property in your own name if you want the sale exemption.

What would prove that Buenos Aires property is really booming again?

Rising closing prices, growing mortgages and shrinking supply, on top of today's high sales.

Today only the sales part passes. Closing prices are 0.4% below a year ago. Mortgage deeds are down 34% from January to August. About 110,000 properties are still listed. Asking prices are up only 1.4% since January.

A real boom is hard to hide: deals close higher, discounts shrink, stock gets hard to replace, credit grows.

If mortgage deeds return to growth while listings fall and M² Real climbs clearly above last year's level, a new growth phase will have started. Until then, "boom" goes too far.

What we would expect in a new boom	Situation now	Verdict
Sales rising strongly	High, but -2.3% Jan–Aug	Not yet
Closing prices rising	-0.4% y/y	No
Asking prices accelerating	+1.4% since January	No
Mortgage deeds increasing	-34% Jan–Aug	No
Sale stock falling sharply	About 110,000 listings	No
Rental returns supporting investors	5.70% gross	Yes

So, is the property market in Buenos Aires still growing?

Yes, through activity rather than prices.

The recovery is solid: 40,539 sales in 2023, about 54,800 in 2024, 69,461 in 2025, and 2026 is running only 2.3% below that pace with 41,583 deeds from January to August.

Prices tell a weaker story. Listings are up only 1.4% since January, used apartments close 0.4% below last year at about USD 2,097/m², and mortgage deeds are down 34%.

We would call Buenos Aires a strong market on a plateau after a big recovery. The next leg depends on credit; the FGS auctions could help from late 2026 or 2027.

Our take for a foreign buyer: there is no rush, but no reason to wait for a crash either. Negotiate from closing prices, expect about 5% off the asking price, add 6% to 9% for costs, pick the barrio before the building, and judge the deal on its rent (about 4.5% after the non-resident tax) rather than on a price jump.