- For foreign buyers
- Built with local realtors
- Updated this quarter
Here's 99% of what you need to know before buying in São Paulo.
The 12 documents we wish we had before buying in São Paulo. What each bairro costs, what it rents for, how long it sits before it sells. Plus the things nobody writes down: what the condomínio and the IPTU take every month, and which certificates have to be clean before you pay anything.
The 12 documents to make a good real estate investment in São Paulo in 2026
Tens of thousands of studios went up along the metro axes for investors who were promised a yield, and most of them are now competing with each other. These documents show you what is actually earned and paid. They are put together with agents, cartório staff and owners we work with in the city.
Questions
Do you list your sources?
Yes, on every table. Each one says where the figures came from and the month they were collected: the property registry, published cartório and transfer tax rates, listing histories we track ourselves, building accounts shared with us by owners, and what the agents we work with in each bairro are seeing week to week. Anything that is an estimate rather than a recorded number is labelled as one.
Can a foreigner actually own property here?
Yes, in your own name, with the same rights as a Brazilian and no permit involved. You will need a Brazilian tax number first, and the money you bring in should be registered with the central bank, because that registration is what lets you send the proceeds out again when you sell.
Why do you check the seller and not just the flat?
Because here a sale can be unwound afterwards if the seller was already being sued when he sold to you. Clearance certificates on the person are as important as the property's own record, and pulling them is quick, cheap and routinely skipped. Document 09 lists which ones and where.
What if I buy off plan and want out?
You will not get most of your money back. The law that governs cancellations lets the developer keep a substantial share of what you have paid, which is why the state of the project matters far more than the brochure. What to check before committing is in document 03.
What do the condomínio and the IPTU actually cost?
More than most buyers budget for. A building with a pool, a gym and a doorman carries a monthly charge that can rival a rental yield, and the city's property tax is reassessed rather than frozen. Both appear in the budget and the viewing documents rather than as a footnote.
Are the prices in reais or dollars?
Reais, because that is how the market quotes and negotiates. Every table also carries a dollar column with the rate and the date we used, which matters here: the currency has moved enough that two buyers a year apart have very different returns in their own money.
How long are the documents?
One to four pages each. They are tables and checklists rather than reports, so any one of them takes about ten minutes to read.
Which areas do you cover?
Eighteen bairros: Jardim Paulista, Jardim América, Vila Nova Conceição, Itaim Bibi, Vila Olímpia, Pinheiros, Vila Madalena, Perdizes, Higienópolis, Consolação, Bela Vista, Paraíso, Vila Mariana, Moema, Campo Belo, Brooklin, Santa Cecília and Tatuapé. If you need somewhere or a specific building that is not in there, write to us and we will put it together for you at no extra cost.
I have a question about my own situation.
Ask us. If the answer is in the research we already have, we will send it. If it needs a call to someone in that bairro or a look at a specific building, we will do that too and come back to you, at no extra cost.
Is $49 a lot for a set of documents?
You are about to spend a few hundred thousand dollars on a property, in a country whose paperwork you did not grow up with. A studio competing with four hundred others, a sale a court can undo, charges nobody mentioned: there are plenty of ways this gets expensive.
What format are they in, and when do I get them?
PDF, so you can read them on your phone, tablet or computer. The download link appears on screen straight after payment and a copy arrives by email.
How often are they updated?
Every quarter. Our contacts in São Paulo re-check the numbers before each release, so the version you download today is the one updated this quarter.
I have another question.
Ask us on the contact page and we will get back to you.
Three packs
The first pack has 4 documents, the second has 6, and the third has all 12 of our São Paulo research.
All the data and information in these documents was checked this year with agents, cartório staff and owners working in São Paulo.