IL Postcard

A Huge Home in Montevideo’s Liveliest Neighborhood for $160,000

Date: 09/30/2008 Author: Lee Harrison

Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2008

Read more about Uruguay in International Living Postcards—your daily escape

Dear International Living Reader,

On my short walk to the gym, a waft of baking bread and pastries fills the air. As I pass the corner bar, Paseo de los Toros, I hear the sound of laughter, music, and clinking glasses. Long after sunup, the dance floor is still full, the bar is still busy, and judging by the overflow on the sidewalk, they’re not going home anytime soon.

That’s life in the Centro district in Montevideo, Uruguay. A place where the early-morning joggers wave cheerfully to the revelers who are still going strong from the night before, in a round-the-clock culture that’s as alive as any you’ll find. But the best thing about this neighborhood is that everything you could need is just a short walk away.

Centro is located adjacent to Ciudad Vieja, Montevideo’s historic center, so its residents are within easy walking distance of the national theater, Ciudad Vieja’s tango and night clubs, and some of the city’s best restaurants. Centro enjoys shady, tree-lined streets, and a number of green and cheerful city parks—the photo above was taken from my balcony. It also boasts the city’s best downtown shopping and so many restaurants and cafés, you’d need years to discover them all. There are 16 small theaters and concert halls hidden among its streets, where you can hear anything from chamber music to jazz to tango.

You’ll find countless examples of fine architecture from the glory days when Montevideo was one of Latin America’s wealthiest cities, as well as grand old homes that were once occupied by Centro’s elite 60 years ago.

What Centro does not have are tourists—at least not many of them. So that means it also does not have tourist prices, or the number of petty criminals that tend to hang out in tourist areas. A good meal at one of the local parrillas, a large wood-fired grill used to prepare Uruguay’s signature selection of meats, will cost about half the price in Centro that it would in Ciudad Vieja’s famous market at the port.

And property prices, too, are well under half of what you’ll pay in Ciudad Vieja, a sector that is now being re-discovered by foreign investors. In fact, we looked at seven properties today in Centro—concentrating on large, older homes—and the average price was just $491 per square meter ($46 per square foot).

The first was a huge 6,000-square-foot house built in 1920, including eight bedrooms and four baths. It has beautiful molding, floors, and woodwork, along with the high ceilings typical of the era. The rooms are huge and it’s situated on two lots. The asking price is $160,000. E-mail ayc@inmobiliaria.com.uy for details. The house needs work: I’d call it more than cosmetic, but less than a restoration.

A bit smaller (at 4,300 square feet), we saw a house not far from our apartment offering seven bedrooms, three baths, and a sea view. The interior courtyard (about 1,000 square feet) is off the kitchen and the house still had its original woodwork and parquet floors. The foyer and entry stairs are marble, which creates a classy first impression. The asking price is $178,000, and you can contact info@heberviglino.com for details.

Just off the main street in Centro, there’s a 2,600-square-foot apartment with a sea view for sale. With four bedrooms and three baths, it had nice woodwork and parquet floors, a big kitchen, and new bathrooms. The radiant floor heating keeps it cozy in the winter, and it was in great condition. Built in 1960, the asking price is $140,000. E-mail info@casatroja.com.

Just down the street from our local wine shop, we found a 1,184-square-foot, sixth-floor apartment with a nice sea view. With three bedrooms and three new bathrooms, it’s in move-in condition, sunny and bright. The asking price is $70,000, and the apartment is currently rented for $550 per month (until March 2009). Contact info@alas.com.uy for more info.

Frankly, Montevideo’s Centro is not for everyone. While it was the “in” location 35 years ago among wealthy Uruguayans, these buyers have since moved on to the attractive, upscale neighborhoods of Pocitos, Punta Carretas, and Carrasco, leaving some of Centro run down.

But for an expat who is a part-year resident—or one who’s on a budget—I think it’s perfect. Centro offers a treasure-trove of fine old homes from a bygone era that now find themselves with few buyers in an undervalued real estate market. So those who live here can get all the benefits and convenience of big-city living in a world capital without having to pay the price.

Lee Harrison
Roving Latin America Editor, International Living

Editor’s Note: Lee has been busy searching for homes in Uruguay for the new and updated Uruguay: The Owner’s Manual, which has just arrived to our IL offices, hot off the press. The manual is bursting with exciting new information about living, investing, and saving money in Uruguay, as well as more excellent real estate bargains. Order your copy here today.

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