Brazil Home prices fall sharply in March

Brazilian home prices fell for the first time in 13 months in March, signaling that demand for residential property remains weak as Latin America's largest economy struggles with a three-year recession and household indebtedness near all-time highs. The FipeZap indicator, a monthly gauge of home sale prices that covers 20 major Brazilian cities, fell 0.04 % last month from February, university research center Fipe and online classified ad platform Zap Imóveis said in a Wednesday report. On an annual basis, prices measured by FipeZap survey rose 0.84 percent. The data suggests how government steps to revive the sector through interest-rate cuts and homebuying incentives may take longer to bear fruit, as households remain mired in debt, analysts said. The industry's downturn has lasted over four years, with cancellations and unsold homes hitting record highs. Despite a long streak of consecutive gains that were interrupted by March's small decline, home prices rose below annual inflation in the 12 months through March. When adjusted by inflation, home prices for the cities surveyed by FipeZap slipped about 3.62 percent in the period, FipeZap said. Sellers in Rio de Janeiro, capital Brasilia and another three cities saw prices for their homes declining over the past 12 months. Prices per square meter in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil's second most populous city, remained the highest in the sample, FipeZap said.