Commercial real estate in Latin America - statistics & facts

While often overshadowed by the colossal commercial real estate markets in other parts of the world, Latin America's commercial real estate sector offers unique opportunities to investors and stakeholders. The Latin American commercial real estate market was approximately one-tenth the size of the estimated market in the United States and Canada in 2022. Nevertheless, the region has a growing population and an expanding economy, revealing future growth potential. Another key strength lies in the proximity to the U.S. market, making Latin America, and especially Mexico and the Caribbean, an appealing choice for businesses seeking to leverage the advantages of nearshoring. Nearshoring, the practice of outsourcing manufacturing or services to a close geographical location, has seen a surge in popularity since the coronavirus pandemic disrupted global production and trade.

Latin America’s best performing commercial real estate markets

Large cities with diversified economies and rich business opportunities offer the best prospects for office real estate. These markets are especially appealing to investors due to their potential for lower vacancy rates and sustained rental growth. In 2022, the rental cost for office real estate in Argentina’s capital city, Buenos Aires, was higher than in any other major market in the region. Meanwhile, Bogota, Colombia, boasted the lowest vacancy rate at less than 10 percent. Costa Rica’s capital, San Jose, had the highest office real estate net absorption – a crucial metric for gauging demand by subtracting vacated space from total occupied space over a specific period. San Jose was also the city with the most expensive industrial and logistics real estate rent in 2022, further emphasizing the economic importance of the city. While demand for offices has been sluggish, industrial and logistics real estate has demonstrated notable strength. In 2022, Sao Paulo, Brazil’s largest industrial and logistics market, recorded more than one million square meters in net absorption in 2022. Vacancy rates for warehouses were also notably lower than for offices: In many Mexican cities, including Guadalajara, Monterrey, and Tijuana, less than one percent of the total stock was vacant.

Which markets are expected to grow the most by 2028?

The prospects of the sector are strongly interlinked with the economic development of the different countries and their ability to provide a stable economic landscape for investors and occupiers. Brazil – the largest market in the region – is forecast to see the value of commercial real estate hit close to 1.9 trillion U.S. dollars by 2028. Nevertheless, the market is projected to grow the most in Haiti, where the value of commercial real estate is forecast to rise from 38 billion U.S. dollars in 2023 to 58 billion U.S. dollars in 2028, or 35 percent over the five-year period.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.
Published by Statista Research Department, Jan 16, 2024

Key insights

Country with the largest GDP in Latin America
Brazil
Foreign direct investment in Brazil
91.5bn USD
Total industrial and logistics inventory in Mexico
13.6m sq m
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Editor’s Picks Current statistics on this topic

Average asking rent of industrial and logistics real estate in Brazil in 1st quarter 2023, by market (in BRL per square meter per month)

Industrial

Industrial and logistics real estate rent per square meter in Brazil 2023, by market

Volume of industrial and logistics real estate space in Latin America (LATAM) in 2022, by market (in million square meters)

Industrial

Industrial and logistics real estate inventory in Latin America 2022, by market

Value of commercial real estate market in the Americas region as of December 2023, by country (in billion U.S. dollars)

Commercial Real Estate

Commercial real estate market size in Americas 2023, by country

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