São Paulo Rent Surge: Multifamily Market Expands and Moves Around R$ 89.6 Million per Month

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Data shows that multifamily developments are well received across all income brackets. Assets aimed at higher-income residents and located in central, high-value areas of the city have an occupancy rate of 81.8% and an average rent of R$ 214.74 per square meter. Together, they total 198,000 square meters of space, generating an estimated monthly revenue of R$ 34.8 million.

In the Class B segment—made up of mid-range projects with strong presence along urban mobility corridors—performance is even stronger: occupancy reaches 93.6% across 307,000 square meters of total area, with an average rent of R$ 165.74 per square meter. These developments account for R$ 47.6 million in monthly rental income, more than half of all revenue generated by the sector.

Class C developments, aimed at lower-income groups, maintain an 88.9% occupancy rate with an average rent of R$ 89.62 per square meter. Even though they represent the smallest share of inventory, with 67,000 square meters, they still generate about R$ 5.3 million per month.

Muniz explains that one of the segment’s main drivers is precisely the current market context: high interest rates and elevated construction costs are discouraging families from buying property. “The cost of buying a home is higher, and that pushes people to wait longer before purchasing their first property. In the previous generation, a middle-class person could buy their first home at 32 or 33 years old. Now it’s closer to 40. This extended rental period is exactly where we want to operate,” he notes.

Another relevant factor, according to Brio’s partner, is that multifamily offers investors more attractive returns than purchasing scattered residential units. Muniz highlights that, in addition to generating higher yields, multifamily investment avoids internal competition in the leasing process, since the entire property belongs to a single owner.

“An individual investor who buys a studio to rent out gets low yields: 6–7% per year, maybe 10% in some cases, but that’s the average. And there’s a structural problem: cannibalization. If you buy two units and I buy two others, and I run into financial trouble, I’ll drop my price in desperation. Your tenant sees that and pressures you. That drags down returns for the whole building. On top of that, individual landlords can be difficult to deal with and demand excessive guarantees. Institutional multifamily provides legal security and stability. Most no longer even require lease guarantees. As the market grows, tenants will understand that it’s better to live in a multifamily building than in a scattered-ownership one,” he concludes.