He real estatebetween construction and real estate activity, represents 12% of the GDP of Uruguay. Only last year, 50,730 housing vouchers were signed, representing 3.5 billion dollars. However, informality exceeds 50%, so the Real Estate Chamber of Uruguay (CIU) presented to Parliament a bill to professionalize the trade.
scope.com spoke with the president of the CIU, Beatriz Carambulaand the vice president Matias Medina to know details of the project currently under study by the Constitution and Codes Commission of the Chamber of Deputies.
– What central aspects do you consider this bill has?
Carámbula: This bill is being proposed by the most representative unions in the sector, the Real Estate Chamber together with all the associated chambers that work throughout the territory. what we want is formalize and professionalize the sector. That consists of making a registry of real estate operators which is under the orbit of the Ministry of Labor with a commission that with three members of the Executive and two people from the unions who are in charge of issuing the license plates and collecting the records, see that all the operators are working correctly, sanction if necessary and also what we consider important in that commission is the creation of a real estate observatory. As there is a lot of informality in the sector, what we want is that in order to be working, you have to have the real estate operator course endorsed by this institute that is recognized by the Ministry of Education and Culture.
– What would happen to the real estate companies that already operate?
Carámbula: Real estate companies that are working and can prove that they have been in business for one year, would register without having to take the real estate operator course, but as soon as the law is out. The owners can perfectly sell, without having to incorporate a real estate agency and for those who are working in the sector informally or irregularly, they have to formalize.
Medina: What the law seeks is to solve different aspects that today are partially ordered. It comes to professionalize the sector as it exists in all the countries of the world. Here we have since 1900 a real estate operator career at the tertiary level, which has 1,664 hours of training, four semesters that the suitability to be able to work professionally. From now on, each operator will be trained in the best way, but that is the minimum that we consider necessary to be able to carry out the activity because there is a risk also linked to assets, appraisals, the marketing plan, even with the subject of the asset laundering. There is a control problem there because they can control the people who are formally affiliated, but when money comes from abroad and you want to do some kind of laundering or suspicious operation there is no control.
– What is the percentage of informality today?
Medina: It is estimated that it is over 50%. There are border departments where it can be higher and in Montevideo That may be less, but that’s average.
Carámbula: It is a problem at the country level, what we are looking for is to solve the problem for real estate operators so that they are all in the same conditions and also for the final consumer. What is needed is that there is a guarantee in the business, that the person is trained to be advising well and for the State, having a regulation will increase the collection and will comply with what the Senaclaft demands of real estate operators. that we are obligated subjects.
– What about digital platforms?
Medina: The real estate operator works with all platforms and is one more channel than all the ones we use. For the operator, the platform is an ally, not a rival. What is going to happen is that, as established by law, when one makes the notice on the platform, the professional’s registration number will appear. It is not considered a problem, but an ally from a technological point of view. The problem could be if the platform operates as a real estate agency. That would have to be tested and there the roles would be confused.
– Are we facing a good moment in terms of investments in the real estate sector?
Carámbula: We come from 2022, which was a record in terms of sales, 50,730 real estate transactions were made, 15% more than in 2021, which was also a very good year. There are many foreign interests to invest. There are 170 projects in the national housing agency approved. The interest is You have to take a good look at the dollar issue as it is.
– Is the exchange rate delay a problem, have they raised it?
Medina: There is a constant dialogue with actors because you have to focus on the problem, because maybe it hadn’t manifested itself on a day-to-day basis, but you have to see the projection and the works,
Carámbula: There are many inputs that are in dollars, that was a bit complicated, but also don’t forget that now comes the Salary CouncilThese are all issues that need to be resolved.
– What response have you had from the political system?
Carámbula: We presented the project last year in mid-July and in October we had the first commission, they made some specific considerations, we made those modifications that we presented in December and they called us this week to go to the commission again, let’s see some doubts that had arisen. We see that there is great interest on the part of legislators.
Source: Ambito
