The difficult health and economic situation has affected all sectors of society worldwide. In the case of the real estate business in Guatemala it has not been different ...
The difficult health and economic situation that is being experienced globally has not left a puppet with head and has affected all sectors of society worldwide. In the case of the real estate business in Guatemala it has not been different, and there has been a severe recession in the sale of real estate due to the decrease in purchasing power. However, rents are on the rise, as it is the easiest way to access a home these days
The real estate sector has been one of the most affected by the crisis generated by Covid-19 due to uncertainty about the future, the unfavorable economic situation and social distancing measures. This is the most shocking global crisis in recent decades and the future is presented as uncertain.
The Real Estate in Guatemala
The real estate sector, far from being oblivious to the global crisis generated by the coronavirus, is one of the industries most affected. The current crisis has changed the way people live, work and consume goods and services, without the certainty of knowing when they will be able to return to life as it was known before, or not even if that will be possible.
These are the aspects in which the global crisis has impacted on the real estate sector.
News of the real estate sector
Operations and purchase and sale transactions have practically been paralyzed since the pandemic hit. The real estate sector is focused on reducing its operating expenses, maintaining the value of its assets and analyzing possible future scenarios .
The population, for its part, in the face of uncertainty, prefers rent over purchase . It is not known for sure where they will be tomorrow, if they will have to change cities or even countries in search of work ... This feeling of rootlessness coupled with the economic problems experienced at street level makes the sale of homes not feasible right now. As the experts of the Listacasas sector point out , Listacasas.com/casas-en-alquiler-en-guatemala is the most visited section of its web portal .
Difficult scenario also for investors
The covid has brought with it a significant loss of purchasing power in the population, which is why many investors in the real estate sector are seeing their monthly income decrease while delinquency among their tenants grows.
However, for those who have healthy accounts it will be a good opportunity to acquire properties that are currently at a significant discount due to the current economic crisis . However, due to the uncertainty, these investment operations should be deeply analyzed considering various alternative scenarios that may arise when this health, social and economic crisis passes.
Business closing
The demand for office space falls , since workers are operating remotely from the safety of their homes. It is possible that this trend will continue over time, even prevailing when the health crisis has passed. It is a natural evolution that was already taking place before the arrival of the pandemic, teleworking was adding more and more followers every day and now it has had a notable boost given the circumstances .
The closure of commercial premises grows , especially those that are not dedicated to the sale of basic necessities. Many retailers will have to renegotiate their rental agreements. E-commerce, on the other hand, is experiencing a time of prosperity, so small businesses that have not yet made the adaptation to the digital market should direct all their efforts in this regard.
Warehouse and logistics distribution network
With the growth in the volume of electronic commerce , industrial warehouses and department stores are the most important sector within the current work chain of companies.
In the same way that happened with teleworking, electronic commerce had already been experiencing strong growth in recent decades, which has been exponentially favored with the arrival of the coronavirus. Everything seems to indicate that this behavior on the part of consumers will be permanent and that it will not diminish after the pandemic, so that companies will increase the demand for logistics spaces for inventory storage .
Hostelry
It is one of the sectors hardest hit by the crisis. Restrictions on mobility and the cancellation of conferences and events globally have caused demand for hotels to drop dramatically .
Private and investor properties that were temporarily rented for tourism will now be offered with long-term residential contracts , reducing their profitability. The magnitude of the impact will depend on the measures adopted by the government to stop the health crisis and reactivate tourism once normality is reached.
