O POVO Cariri - março 2015

PLANNED GROWTH

WITH ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS CONTRIBUTING TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE REAL ESTATE MARKET, THE SECTOR IN CARIRI REACHES A MOMENT OF STABILITY WHEN IT IS NECESSARY TO UNDERSTAND WHERE TO GROW AND WHAT THAT GROWTH DEPENDS ON

Sabryna Esmeraldo

The creation of a university center, culture, nature and the carrying out of structuring works in recent years. There are many factors that contribute to the growth of the real estate market in Cariri and provide good expectations for the future. The fact is that, in recent years, the sector has been gaining prominence and, today, it has reached a period of stability, presenting itself as a more mature segment, which understands its demands, its deficiencies and its potential.

The steps forward

According to data from the Annual List of Social Information (Rais), from the Ministry of Labor and Employment of the Federal Government, in 2013, the Southern Mesoregion (Federal Government classification for the region of Cariri, including the Metropolitan Region) accounted for 447 establishments or companies in the civil construction, with 3,393 formal jobs opened by the sector in the period. Currently, according to information from the Civil Construction Industry Union (Sinduscon), there are approximately 11 thousand jobs, both direct and indirect, generated by civil construction in the Region.

According to the Regional Council of Engineering and Agronomy of Ceará (Crea/CE), there are more than 1,200 professionals and about 350 construction companies registered in the system in the Cariri region alone, making the area the second with the highest number of registered professionals, second only to Fortaleza and the Metropolitan Region. In addition, during 2014, 4,744 registrations of new works and services related to buildings in Cariri were carried out, demonstrating an increase in relation to 2013, when 3,895 registrations were carried out. “CREA/CE has noticed an increase in these records every year”, says civil engineer Victor Cesar da Frota Pinto, president of the Council.

FAVORABLE CONDITIONS

Among the characteristics of the Region that contributed to this market growth in recent years, Frota cites: the implementation of the Regional University of Cariri (Urca), in the 1980s; recognition by Unesco of the geotectonic values of the Region in the 2000s, when the Geopark was created, with international repercussions; the implementation of large undertakings, such as industries; and wholesale trades.

Another factor, highlighted by the president of Crea/CE, is the virtuous circle that Cariri has been going through, in recent years, with structuring works. “Such as the expansion of the airport, the implementation of the VLT, the construction of the Regional Hospital, the construction of shopping malls, the opening and widening of roads such as Avenida Padre Cícero, which connects Juazeiro to Crato, in addition to the social housing works of the Federal Government, which contributed to this impulse in the real estate market”, he points out.

Patrícia Coelho, superintendent of Sinduscon do Ceará in Cariri and financial administrative director of construction company CRC, explains that there was a repressed demand for all audiences, which increased with the development of the region. “Cariri, due to its privileged geographic location and great commercial potential, attracts people daily for business in general”, explains Patrícia.

A novelty planned for this first quarter is the announcement of a new undertaking by the companies ABM Empreendimentos e Participações and A&B Engenharia, by entrepreneurs Adauto Bezerra, former governor of the State of Ceará, and Aristarco Sobreira, an engineer known in the state real estate market, respectively.

STABILITY

According to Felipe Néri, regional director of Sinduscon in Cariri and director of CRC, there was no increase in the number of units sold in 2014 compared to previous years, a picture that already demonstrates the stability towards which the region's market is heading. For 2015, the expectation is even a certain drop in sales.

According to Néri, however, there is still great demand for the construction of housing in Cariri, which requires the construction of at least ten thousand units for a public that earns salaries of up to three minimum wages. “The growth of the real estate market will depend on the country's macroeconomic conditions”, he points out.

Agreeing with the position, Victor Cesar da Frota, president of Crea/CE, adds that the trend towards stabilization is also due to these uncertainties in relation to the growth of the national economy. “There is a record of low property sales in the Region, but the political moment we are living in creates uncertainties, which ends up undermining expectations for long-term investments.”

Remaining positive about the future of the real estate market in Cariri, Apolo Scherer, president of the Regional Council of Real Estate Brokers (Creci), assesses the region's market as promising. “Many builders, developers and entrepreneurs have invested in the Region. I see Cariri as an important hub for real estate development over the next ten years”, he anticipates.

What makes the Cariri Region stand out

- Privileged geographical location. Proximity to several cities in other states, often even closer than their own capitals;

- Religious tourism;

- Latent commercial potential;

- Education Center. From elementary school to higher education, of excellent quality;

- Strong footwear industry;

- Health Center. Concentration of hospitals, clinics and self-employed professionals, which end up serving neighboring cities, a situation that is happening more and more, with the installation of the Regional Hospital;

- The Orlando Bezerra de Menezes Airport.

Data: Sinduscon

THE MARKET IN NUMBERS

In 2013, Cariri counted 447 construction establishments or companies.

In the same year, 3,393 formal jobs were created in the sector.

Currently, 350 construction companies and 1,200 professionals are registered in the region of Cariri in the system of the Regional Council of Engineering and Agronomy of Ceará (Crea/CE).

In 2013, Crea/CE accounted for 3,895 registrations of new works and services related to buildings in Cariri. In 2014, the number increased to 4,744 registrations.

Data: Fiec/Indi, Crea/CE e Sinduscon

QUALIFICATION: CAUSE AND CONSEQUENCE

According to data from the Council of Architecture and Urbanism of Ceará (CAU/CE), of the approximately 111,000 architects working throughout Brazil, 1,922 are registered in Ceará and, among these, only 36 in the Cariri region. “Calculating the proportion of architects in relation to the respective populations, we find that, in Brazil, we have about one architect for every 1,800 inhabitants; in Ceará, one architect for 4,600 inhabitants; and in Cariri, one architect for 16,000 inhabitants. For comparative purposes, in the State of São Paulo, the proportion is one architect for every 1,200 inhabitants”, informs Odilo Almeida Filho, president of CAU/CE.

The situation, however, is changing with the creation of the Architecture and Urbanism course at the College of Juazeiro do Norte (FJN), whose ordinance was authorized by the Ministry of Education (MEC) on November 22, 2013.

According to the president of CAU/CE, current numbers indicate that the supply of specialized labor in Architecture and Urbanism for the nine municipalities in the Cariri region is still far below the national and state average. “From this point of view, the opening of another Architecture and Urbanism course in our state – there are nine in all – is welcome”, he says.

According to architect Valdo Figueiredo, coordinator of the graduation in Architecture and Urbanism at FJN, the course has been the most popular of all those offered by the college. In its third class, the graduation receives, every semester, from 50 to 55 students. “In addition to students from other cities taking the entrance exam, we have several requests for transfer and entry as a graduate from students who had to leave their city”, comments Figueiredo.