For most middle class families in Venezuela, owning a home has gone from a tangible life plan to an almost impossible dream. The average price per square meter in the Metropolitan Area of Caracas went from VEB 252,851 in January this year to VEB 603,368 in June, which is equivalent to an increase greater than 100%.

This means that the average cost of units on offer in the Greater Caracas area is VEB 60 million. The housing figures in this source are from the Caracas Metropolitan Real Estate Chamber, based on the offer in the real estate market during the first half of 2015. An apartment in the La Candelaria district of central Caracas can cost approximately VEB 40 to 50 million, while in the upper and middle classes areas of the East it can fetch VEB 200 to 600 million. Some transactions on the high-end real estate market are conducted in dollars, but this is not disclosed.

Among the distortions generated in the Venezuelan economy, housing presents a range of factors that further complicate this fundamental area for the development of the cities. Aquiles Martini - who until recently chaired the Real Estate Chamber of Venezuela and currently heads the Committee on Infrastructure and Housing of the Venezuelan Federation of Chambers of Commerce (Fedecámaras) - identifies a number of factors that have brought about the current situation, namely, high inflation, shortage of raw materials, laws that limit real estate investment, a deficit in housing construction, lack of city planning and government intervention brought to bear on promoting and building companies.

An element that further contributes to the overall lack of housing supply is the Law of Regularization and Control of Housing Leases passed in 2011. In 1998 housing units for rent accounted for 30% of residential demand, while in 2015 they had plummeted to less than 1%, according to figures from the Association of Property Owners of Urban Buildings. The number of ongoing lawsuits brought against tenants is 45,000, and that of administrative proceedings is 11,000. Most are nonpayment proceedings or eviction suits filed on grounds of refusal to leave a unit after the tenancy expires. It is worth noting, however, that 65% of the housing units currently leased are located in low-income urban sectors.

See more at:

El Universal