Lnow Maia She is typing hurriedly on her laptop, leaning on the desk that occupies a space between the fridge and the closet, facing the bed against the wall. in his apartment 16m2this Brazilian resident of sao paulo he manages to live and work.
“I don’t need more: I’m close to everything and I feel free to leave whenever I want with a few suitcases,” the 34-year-old computer scientist told AFP as she watched the sunset over the skyscrapers of the paulista center from the 16th floor.
Located in the neighborhood beautiful viewnext to the heart of the city, this micro apartment reflects a growing trend in recent years in the most populated city of Latin America and in others of Brazilwhere housing the size of hotel rooms multiplied.
Lara Maia checks her fridge in her 16-square-meter micro-apartment in downtown Sao Paulo, Brazil
Although it is already common in major world capitals, in sao paulothe boom in residential apartments of up to 30m2 is more recent: between 2016 and 2022, the supply rose from 461 units to 16,261, 21% of the total, according to the State Housing Union (Secovi-SP).
A flow of investment into the sector and incentives from the urbanization plan boosted the market for these apartments in this city of 11.5 million inhabitants.
Some, with fitted furniture such as tetris pieces or the kitchen centimeters from the bathroom, became the subject of viral jokes on social networks, where a user baptized them as “Gourmet Captivity”.
That did not scare off the demand, made up mainly of adults between the ages of 20 and 39, according to a survey by digital real estate firm Quinto Andar.
“They are young professionals – middle and upper-middle class -, starting their career, mostly single, attracted by modern and well-located properties, close to jobs or public transport connections”, something very valuable in a city with chaotic traffic, he describes ely wertheimexecutive president of Secovi-SP.
minimalism and sustainability
Raised in a large house in Baurumunicipality of the interior of São Paulo, Maya admits that “I could get a bigger apartment” in another neighborhood for the 2,300 reais (almost 430 euros) per month that he pays for his mini-studio.
However, he resigns meters to be close to his family and his face-to-face work, which he alternates with remote.
At the end of the day of telecommutingHe closes the screen and makes tea with toast that he heats in his single pan on an electric burner. Afterward, she unfolds a rolling table hidden under the desk and sits down to eat.
Lara Maia poses for a photo in her 16-square-meter micro-apartment in downtown Sao Paulo, Brazil
“In such a small space you learn to get rid of many things and change the perception of what you need,” he says. Mayaadapted to a more minimalist and sustainable lifestyle, even moderating laundry.
Meetings with friends take place in a living room on the terrace, a shared area that has become common in newer buildings, offering laundry, meeting rooms, coworking and games, and even spaces to bathe pets.
oscar borghia 39-year-old engineer, lives with his girlfriend since last year in a 28m2 apartment with two rooms, in the south of the city.
«We thought it would be small, but we are comfortable with the layout and spaces of the building: when we agreed on home officeone works in the coworking“, says Borghiwho also lives close to his office and the train station.
Like NY and Tokyo
Rodger Fieldseconomist from the Loft platform, assimilates sao paulothe fifth largest city in the world, to others such as NY either tokyowhere the micro apartments: “It has population density (concentration), global connection, and is a pole of work, health, and education.”
In addition, the flood of micro-housing is explained by interest rates, which registered a drop between 2018 and 2021 (from 6.75% to a historical floor of 2% due to the pandemic), he says Jose Armenianassistant secretary of the Municipal Secretary of Urbanism of Sao Paulo.
Those levels increased capital in the sector and encouraged investors to buy rental properties.
It also contributed to a reduction in building permits for small apartments ordered by the Municipality in 2014, it indicates Armenian.
The objective was to increase the concentration of inhabitants in areas served by public transport, with more accessible housing for a less affluent class.
But the result was different: “Apartments of up to 30 m2 have the most expensive m2 in the city,” he details. fields.
The municipal chamber recently approved a revision of the urban plan that makes the construction of micro apartmentsto create more family homes.
Although some believe that an oversupply in the market is what will stop the trend.
