A bold but not inaccurate statement. There's enough evidence to suggest that Brazil is amongst the first to rebound from the economic slump in an emphatic manner. In fact the OECD is predicting 4% economic growth for Brazil in 2010. What’s its secret?
Samantha Gore, Head of Sales and Marketing for Brazil property experts uv10, comments, "President Lula da Silva can be credited for helping to reduce poverty in Brazil and initiating a massive expansion of the middle class which has in turn stimulated huge growth in the property market – a sector that has been critical in the country’s resilience to recession. Whilst it would be spurious to suggest that Brazil’s property market is going to accelerate at the rates of recent years, it is highly unlikely that it will come to a halt for a number of reasons."
"At the heart of Government policy is its low income housing scheme 'Minha Casa, Minha Vida – My House, My Life' which, with the aid of cash grants and discounted mortgages, will create one million affordable homes for an ownership-hungry population." Samantha continues, "Many developers are keeping themselves busy working on this project and are posting significant profits – a contrast to their Spanish counterparts who are tumbling into insolvency by the dozen.
Brazil's Central Bank is also doing its best to keep the economy moving and has taken bold steps to slash interest rates to their lowest level ever – 8.75% – a fifth consecutive cut for 2009 which brings rates down by five percentage points since the start of the year. This has led to an enormous expansion in first-time credit and a 20% increase in bank lending over this time last year."
Samantha concludes, "Add abundant natural resources, increased retail sales, strong investment in infrastructure, the FIFA World Cup 2014 factor and huge expenditure on tourism resulting in a massive 5.2 million international arrivals for 2008 – up from just 1.9 million in 1995 – and it’s clear why Brazil is making a sharp exit from recession."
