Section 2 - Searching properties in Buenos Aires.

Now that we know our goal, is time to search. Searching for property can be very time consuming. There are hundreds of different real estate agencies.

They all will promise you to search all the market though their databases, and to offer you the best properties.

But in my experienced they always will try to sell you what they have in stock so they don't have to share their commissions with other realtors.

Commission is 3% is charged to the selller, and 3% to the buyer. In some cases it can be 4% each, some new buildings constructors will ask 4%.

The best source for finding a property are the Classifieds ads in La Nación and Clarín Newspapers on weekends.

Sometimes is not easy for myself to understand the abbreviations of the ads. The area to look is Barrio Norte (this includes Retiro, Recoleta, some parts of Palermo, and anything close to Recoleta).

Barrio Norte (North Neighborhood) does not really exist in the maps, but people call the Retiro + Recoleta that way.

Because it is a desirable area, Barrio Norte is a growing denomination, some realtors will advertise properties in Barrio Norte that are not really neither loctaed in Recoleta or Retiro.

In the ads you usually have the address of the apartment, the sq meters it has, the price, and a description. We will create a dictionary of real estate abbreviations, so it is easier for you to look up.

Mark the properties you are interested. It can be helpful to mark them also in a map so you get an idea of the location and the relation price / location.

Finally, you have to take in account how far is the property from main avenues like Santa Fe, Alvear, Callao, etc.

Santa Fe Avenue is one of the main dividing lines, to the south of Santa Fe will be cheaper, to the north more expensive. The same happens with Alvear Av.

The South of the city is less wealthy and developed than the North (Recoleta, Barrio Norte, Palermo, Belgrano, etc). The only area in the South that developed incredibly well in the last years is Puerto Madero (the docklands) which are now one of the most expensive areas of the city).

This division has historical reasons. In the 19th century the South was originally the best part of the city, but a yellow fever epidemic struck in 1850's in this area (specially in San Telmo), and everybody who could afford it, moved to the North of the City, far from the water and the Port, where the epidemic was originated in those days. The epidemic is something of the past, but no one moved back after it, and this dividing line continues to exist up to the present.

The local Government tries to promote the Southern areas of Buenos Aires City, but I would bet in the success of this plans. This may -or not- change in the future if the prices in the North increase too much, but right now, the hot area to invest is the North.