The micro-trend in Latin America: apartments from 8m².
- brian384
- Jan 31
- 3 min read
It is no secret that the micro-trend is taking over real estate markets in large cities around the world, and Panama is no exception. For different reasons, overpopulation, one of them, small spaces are being the must have of real estate developers, however, amenities such as a flexible distribution, having a coworking and being located in a cool area should significantly balance this reduction in footage.
Large conglomerates with small-space condominiums are not new. In the old continent it is a “trend” that has been around for centuries. In the USA, New York is the flagship city for micro-apartments with more “affordable” rents. And let's not forget to mention Tokyo, with one of the highest population densities in the world, where there are homes from 8m².
Finding homes of more than 60m² is a luxury that not everyone can afford, if they want to live in the center, otherwise they have to opt for the suburbs, where transportation, traffic jams and long distances, with the passage of time are exhausting and exhausting. Hence, many experts agree that “big cities drive out their inhabitants”. Let us look at some examples.
In Latin America, in cities like Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, Bogota or Mexico City, people can easily spend three hours a day commuting from home to work. Many might say: Panama doesn't have anywhere near the amount of inhabitants of any of these cities, of course not, but let's face it, rush hour traffic can be a nightmare, especially for those living in the western part of the province and the solutions to this issue have no clear outlook, much less plans to solve it in the medium term, and the population is clearly on the rise.
Sao Paulo has the smallest mini apartments in Latin America: 10m² that cost about USD$18,000. What do you find in these apartments? A single room with kitchen-living room-bathroom and shared laundry. Who is applying? Young students, or with their first job, and investors, who see in them a profitable opportunity.
Bogota and Buenos Aires are not far behind either. The former already has offers in the Zona Rosa - the most expensive commercial area in Latin America - with areas ranging from 15m² (minimum allowed by law) to 30m², starting at USD $50,000. In the second, there are already numerous projects, especially in the areas of Belgrano or Palermo, with projects from 18m² to 30m², with a value starting at USD $40,000 or USD $50,000. Mexico City, on the other hand, has, in many cases, remodeling of old homes - rather than new projects - which are divided and rented in parts starting at 20m².
While there are architects who are against this, who think that these apartments are “cages for people”, there are those who staunchly defend the new trend, claiming that the phenomenon responds to the way in which the “gig economy” or shared economy works, where young people work independently, have children later, or perhaps not at all, and use common spaces to socialize.
Regardless of the conflicting opinions, this trend is here to stay and is emerging as a solution rather than a fashion, which adapts to a millennial generation - perhaps wrongly labeled - where having something of their own may be important but is not “the goal”, whose income may fluctuate, coupled with some job instability, nomadic life is much more entertaining and living at home with their parents to save as much as they can is key if they want to undertake new projects.
However, for this generation, investing may be more attractive than living. Undoubtedly, having an asset that will appreciate in value in the future and guarantee a place to retire, after going around the world, is an idea that gains weight as the years go by. Maybe it is time to take a look, compare and do the math.
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