Common object specifics

- name complex
Paraisopolis, Sao Paulo, Brazil

- number of dwellings per type 

It is difficult to say how many dwellings per type can be defined, and this is also not

really important for this analyses. There can be made a difference in types of houses by the ‘phases’ described in the article ‘Eagerly taking risks’. If the types will be defined 

accordingly, focus will be put on ‘phase three’. More adequate will be to define types of dwellings by there location within the ‘favela’, this seems to be the biggest issue when investing in such property. Houses on the main street have a different price then houses in the alleys where no or just a little transport can pass, paved or unpaved is also a big issue. It can be said that dwellings that are situated near good infrastructure have a higher value or at least a higher price. So types can be defined by street types. They differ from alley to ‘viela’, the main street to the ‘Boco’. Where the alleys are the smallest streets where only pedestrians can enter, the viela is already a little bit bigger and accessible by (moter)bike. The main street is the street is a wide street with all the stores that connects the neighbourhood to the rest of the city, while the ‘Boco’ has the same size but is less crowded and often connects two main roads.

Alley: R$10.000

Viela: R$15.000 - R$25.000

Main street: R$40.000
Boco:  R$40.000 - R$60.000

(number of rooms)

An apartment on the main street has an average of about 6 rooms and takes up about one floor. In one dwelling often three floors are situated. The rooms are the following:

Living room
Kitchen
Dormitory
Bathroom
Service area (laundry room etc.)
Garage or car park

- year of construction
Paraisopolis is an illegal settlement of which the construction started in the 80’s and has grown a lot in the 25 years that followed, at the moment Paraisopolis is still growing and people are expending their houses or building new ones. Houses are often rebuild to increase comfort or to expand, so it is difficult to state construction year per type. The determination per dwelling is easier, but does not give an insurance for the quality of the building (a not always correct but rather often made link in the Netherlands, age versus quality decline).

- lot size (m2)
Paraisopolis is divided in equal sized lots of 10m x 50m. Within these lots smaller pieces of 30 square meters are used as construction area per dwelling. The floors of a dwelling have therefore a surface area of 30m2.

- size of dwelling per type
With this given fact of 30m2 per floor of a dwelling, the total size will come to about 90 square meters as most of the building have three building floors. What often happens is that someone lives on the ground floor and rents out the first and the second floor to pay for his own expenses. This could also be a reason for the large amount of expansions of buildings are made in the area. The fact that buildings have a lot of the same sizes indicates that the size is not that big a factor in the price difference.

Checklist Favelas

The checklist entered below is a checklist used for Dutch housing projects, but already slightly adapted to the favela dwellings by removing certain topics as technical installations like elevators, central heating and for example sprinkler installations. The interpretation of certain topics will be different for favela dwellings than for Dutch houses (this interpretation will be explained while giving more information per topic), it will also be possible to add more topics during the investigation if this turns out to be needed. The topics that are stated below can help the user to make an analysis and form an opinion on the state and location of the real estate property, which can on their end help to create variables for the valuation excel model. Note that not every subtopic has to be addressed to make a good analysis, it is sometimes very difficult and the time that it consumes is not always in proportion with the retrieved information.     

Common object specifics
- name complex
- number of dwellings per type
         (number of garages (parking places))
         (other rooms)
- year of construction
- lot size (m2)
- size of dwelling per type

Housing market (demand)
- housing regulation by municipality (permit needed?)
- demand for more expensive dwellings
- competition of reference projects
         (other building complexes in the neighbourhood or surrounding area)
         (which type)
         (dwelling size)        
         (size of the rooms)
         (rent levels)
         (location grading)
         (rentability and waiting list)
- marketability of dwelling for renter

Housing market (supply)
- future development in the neighbourhood for the years to come (looking at location, numbers, price range)
- What is the competition of this development with the existing property
- vacancy development in the neighbourhood (where, which type, causes)

Construction
- foundation
- construction
- façade
- roof
- window frame                    (This topic has an overlap with Jasper, extra attention!)
- floors
- stairs
- ceilings
- glazing

Facililties
- schools
- stores
- medical facilities
- public transport
- sport facilities
- public parking spaces
- other facilities

Government
- relation with surrounding municipalities on topics as public housing and local/regional policy
           (is the municipality involved in a collaboration)
           (does the municipality have the regional to house people)
           (is there a limit of what can be build yearly)
- government taxes

Financial
- Market rent value of dwelling (per type)
- vacant value of dwelling (per type)
- market value in rented state (per type)
- land value
- rebuilding value
- sell off value
- rent level
- comparable transactions in the past few years
- determining and founding of exit yield

A DAY IN PARAISOPOLIS

15 April 2009

This day we went to the "Favela" called Paraisopolis to gather information. We were welcomed at the community centre were people wich contained a library and was a place where people could turn to if they needed help with problems they could not solve themselves. Here we meet Isaac, an employee who guided us through they neighborhood and answered all sorts of questions for us and provided the contact with they local people. Afterwards he took us to two building material shops and to construction sites in the neighborhood. we also had a meeting with a broker (Helena Santos) for more information about the marketvalue of the dwellings in Paroisopolis, and about what the most important terms are to value a property in this kind of area.

It seems that informal and formal are mixing a lot here. Dwellings are informaly constructed but are sold more or less 'formaly' by use of contracts. An other example is the fact that people who are building a house (illegaly) have to order a building waste container by law, otherwise they get a fine of the government. A strange contradiction in our opinion.

View Team 01 Paraisopolis in a larger map

Constructing The Favela

Protect Outline:

Making a Timeline of the Favela to see how the evolving works with as criteria the building construction and dwelling typology. this will be combined with Daan van der Berg outcome so valuating can be done. so property value is linked in which state de building and location is and can be better been prized and rebuilding value can be determined

Method:

The project Outline of Constructing the Favela is to investigate how in time the Favela is evolving from a first settlement until the municipality is giving it a permanent destination, there for research is done in Paraisopolis one of the biggest favela in Sao Paulo. In this evalution of the favela there will be looked at the Building materials if there is a difference between building materials and the age and prospection of the favela is one of the important criteria to categories the fase evolution. next will be the Building Typology this is the apperance off the dwelling is it only a functional way or has it also a decorating function, are there one or two stories, is the window framing present, etc... To get the information there will be some meeting with persons in paraisopolis, and trying to get information of a building site and building supplier

Project Achilles:

Because of only visiting Paraisopolis there is no comparison between different favelas so outcome is not representing image of the Total area off Sao Paulo, the Favela off paraisopolis is allready here for 25 years so problem is to see how a new area is suaqed, therefore the first fase off the Timeline is not certain to be complete corrected.


Products:

Timeline
Material list
Common dwelling construction

Real estate valuation of illegal settlements

When valuating real estate property, one of the most important things is to look at is the location. But there are also other aspects that have to be taken in to account, think about the state of the construction for example or the size of the property, and also supply and demand markets play a big part in the analysing process. This analysis can be formed by creating and using a checklist to describe and measure the impact of the aspects mentioned above. Conclusions and assumptions can be made by implementing subjective variables (for example ‘object risk’), together with more measurable variables like ‘rent level’ or ‘building costs’ into an excel model to valuate the real estate property.

The right information needed to complete the model will be gathered during visits to Paraisopolis, one of the so called favelas of Sao Paulo. Visits will probably take place on Tuesday 14-04-2009 (and Wednesday 15-04-2009 if necessary) and will be guided by SEHAB, therefore caution of the independence of the investigation should be guarded.
A reference excel model for Dutch housing will be used (distributed by ROZ, ‘Raad voor Onroerende Zaken’), this model will be adapted to form an accurate valuation of the housing in the Brazilian illegal settlements. (Method)

Intervention and investment in a certain place has consequences for the surrounding area. Land and property value will change during the planning and creation of future developments. Houses and land will decrease in value if there is for example a plan to create a big public park and houses have to be demolished (‘Pantanal’), but houses and land will rise in value while interventions are being made without demolishing the nearby houses. The housing market in the favelas seems to be fluctuating a lot, but is this really the case. What do people want to pay, and what is the actual value of the property and is the price versus quality in proportion?
It is difficult to say when an intervention in a favela should take place, when information about the evaluation and growth in the beginning of ‘phase one’ (see Eagerly taking risks) is scarce while the possibilities at that point are endless. While continuing in time (‘phase two’ and ‘phase three’), the stream of information increases but the possibility to intervene without the cause of too much trouble decreases. (Questions/problem).

The excel model will be useful for investors (private or commercial) to define the actual value of a real estate property at a certain moment in time. A comparison between areas or property can be made and the model can help in the form of a decision tool. To use the model a manual or at least a description has to be made. (Goal)