Real Estate Funds in Argentina: tensions and volatility under financial subordination (1996-2021

SOCOLOFF, IVANA

Seminario; Investir dans le logement. Formes et pratiques de la marchandisation du logement en Argentine, au Canada et en France; 2023

REHAL Reseaux

Although current economic geography and urban studies research points to Real Estate Investment Trusts' worldwide expansion, including many Developing and Emerging Economies (DEE), Argentina shows a different trajectory despite strong regulatory support meant to facilitate real estate finance. This paper aims to address the functioning of a 'real estate-financial complex' in a so-called developing economy by looking at the structural and social dimensions of the real estate business to explain the comparatively more restricted diffusion of real estate funds in Argentina. By identifying three sources of tensions -clashing timings, regulations and currencies - between the functioning of the capital market and how real estate developers manage risk outside regulated markets, the paper advances ideas on how real estate funds work in practice under international financial subordination conditions. It is argued that subordinate financialization explains the historically limited role of the capital market in pooling capital and has intensified these tensions due to macroeconomic volatility and capital flight.