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The City Hall of Itapema, a city with the second most expensive square meter in Brazil, is building more than a thousand affordable housing units through the Casa Itapema project with installments ranging from R$ 80 to R$ 400. Families receiving Bolsa Família or Continuous Benefit can have total exemption from payment. The program includes two modalities: social housing in Range 1 of My House My Life and financing through Caixa in Ranges 2 and 3.
Itapema, on the coast of Santa Catarina, is known for its oceanfront apartments that cost millions of reais and for the square meter that is only surpassed by Balneário Camboriú in the national ranking. But the same city that attracts high-end investors has just implemented a program for affordable housing with installments starting at R$ 80 for families in social vulnerability. The Casa Itapema project already has 90 units under construction in the Sertão neighborhood and plans to deliver more than a thousand properties including houses and apartments aimed at those who cannot compete with the local real estate market.
The contrast between the million-dollar square meter and the R$ 80 installments is what makes the program so relevant. In a city where the rent for a basic apartment can exceed R$ 3,000, offering housing with monthly payments lower than the price of a supermarket bill is a policy that acknowledges the problem created by the very real estate growth: essential workers such as teachers, nurses, and retail workers cannot afford to live in the city where they work. The city hall contributes by donating land, executing external infrastructure, and organizing documentation, significantly reducing the final cost for beneficiaries.
How the Casa Itapema project works and who can participate
According to information released by the NSC portal, the program structures the housing policy of the municipality in two modalities. The first is aimed at social housing, intended for families in Range 1 of My House My Life, with a monthly income of up to two minimum wages. In this modality, the installments range from R$ 80 to R$ 400, and the selection of beneficiaries is based on social criteria, not exclusively on income. Families receiving Bolsa Família or Continuous Benefit (BPC) can have total exemption from payment.
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The second modality includes Ranges 2 and 3 of My House My Life, with financing through the Caixa Econômica Federal. In this range, families undergo credit analysis and take on monthly payments that, in many cases, are close to the value of a rent. The city hall provides the land donation and infrastructure, which reduces the cost of the property and makes financing accessible for families that would have difficulty buying anything in the private real estate market of Itapema.
Why Itapema needs affordable housing with such an expensive square meter
The real estate growth in Itapema over the past decades has transformed the city into one of the most valued destinations on the Brazilian coast, but it has created a side effect that the city hall is now trying to correct. The second most expensive square meter in Brazil means that only high-income buyers can acquire properties in the private market, pushing low-income residents to neighboring municipalities or into precarious housing conditions.
The result is a city that depends on workers who cannot live in it. Essential service professionals, commerce, and construction workers travel daily from neighboring municipalities because the cost of housing in Itapema is incompatible with their salaries. The Casa Itapema project addresses this imbalance by offering housing within the municipality for families who, without public subsidy, would never be able to buy a property in the city where they work and contribute to the local economy.
The 90 units under construction and what comes next
The first 90 units of the project are under construction in the Sertão neighborhood, an area that offers space for housing development without directly competing with the valued waterfront zones. Applications for the program have not yet opened, and the city hall is expected to release the schedule in the coming months, including detailed selection criteria and necessary documentation to participate.
The plan foresees the delivery of over a thousand homes in total, a significant number for a municipality with just over 70,000 inhabitants. The scale of the program indicates that the city hall recognizes the housing deficit as a structural problem, not a punctual demand, and that the solution requires a volume of properties compatible with the size of the queue of families who need affordable housing in one of the most expensive cities in the country.
Total exemption for those who receive Bolsa Família or BPC
The most impactful point of the Casa Itapema project is the possibility of total payment exemption for families who receive Bolsa Família or the Continuous Cash Benefit. In practice, this means that families in the most vulnerable situations can receive housing without any monthly cost, eliminating the financial barrier that prevents access to homeownership for those living on minimum income.
For families who do not qualify for total exemption but are in Band 1, the installments of R$ 80 to R$ 400 represent values lower than the rent for a room in Itapema. The difference between paying R$ 80 per month for one’s own home and R$ 1,500 in rent for a single room is what separates housing dignity from precariousness, and the program aims precisely to eliminate this gap for those at the base of the social pyramid in a wealthy city.
What the program means for other cities with valued square footage
The Itapema model can serve as a reference for other Brazilian municipalities facing the same paradox: wealthy cities where the low-income population cannot afford to live. Balneário Camboriú, Florianópolis, and other cities on the Santa Catarina coast experience a similar situation, with real estate appreciation that displaces workers and creates dependence on labor from neighboring municipalities.
The Casa Itapema formula combines public land, municipal infrastructure, and Minha Casa Minha Vida subsidy to deliver homes at a cost that the private market would never offer. If the program is successful in delivering the more than one thousand planned units, the experience could pressure other city halls to adopt housing policies that recognize that real estate growth, without social compensation, creates beautiful cities where only those with a lot of money can live.
Do you think cities with millionaire square footage should be obliged to offer popular housing, or should the market solve it alone? Tell us in the comments if you would pay R$ 80 per month for your own home in Itapema and what you think about total exemption for those who receive Bolsa Família.
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