STORY: For 61-year-old Sandra Cattan in Argentina, high inflation and a healthy distrust of banks made buying a home complicated.
With the help of hand-drawn plans and scribbled calculations, she and her husband bought a property in Buenos Aires.
They paid $30,000 in cash and raised more money by selling their cars and trucks.
She then used her credit card to buy the materials needed to build and paid the workers from her teacher's salary.
Kattan: “We don't take mortgages. We decided to build this way because we were a bit worried about bank loans. At the time, mortgages were too expensive for us and we couldn't afford them. We chose this way because we were afraid of the inflation caused by bank quotas.”
Kattan's fears about bank lenders are not unique.
Economic uncertainty in Argentina has both borrowers and lenders fearful of long-term credit risks, especially given Argentina's history of sovereign debt defaults and the mass protests they have sparked.
Free-market President Javier Milley is trying to reverse course and revive the country's mortgage market.
But buyers and real estate agents say it's not easy.
Juan Verzero, owner of Succeso Propiedades brokerage in Buenos Aires:
“People who buy property in Argentina come with cash in their backpacks or bags.”
Juan Verzelos is a real estate broker in Buenos Aires.
Belzero: “Today, and in recent years, all the properties we sell are sold without mortgages. There are still not many sales with mortgages, apart from all this new credit on the market. This new credit makes a small difference, but at least in my experience, it doesn't translate into a lot of closings. How is real estate being sold today? People in Argentina have savings in dollars. Many people have dollar savings in their pockets.”
Only a small percentage of Buenos Aires residents actually buy property.
Currently, the mortgage market is very small, accounting for less than 1% of the country's GDP.
And even with new, more attractive mortgage options, bankers say most potential buyers in Argentina are still afraid to take financial risks in a country where inflation is among the world's highest.