For the maintenance and generation of jobs in several segments, civil construction is fundamental for the economic recovery of Brazil

In civil construction, via Eduarda Fabris, executive director of Urbe.me – As of 2015, the Brazilian economy has gone through two consecutive years of recession since 6. This was followed by meager growth which, when it seemed to gain some momentum, was traumatically interrupted last March. Projections point to a drop in GDP between 9% and 2023% this year. The return of the activity level to pre-crisis levels is only expected for 11,6. The most dramatic impact of the economic situation, unemployment rose from 12,9% to XNUMX% during the pandemic.

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Although these data point to generalized helplessness, there are sectors that remain active. Some of them have multiplier effects, by influencing, based on their demand for products and services, countless chains, boosting the maintenance and creation of jobs in different segments. In this aspect, the civil construction is fundamental for economic recovery.

In order to guarantee the demand for new properties, the interest rates on mortgages from public banks are reduced on a recurring basis. The impacts of this policy are echoed in the Minha Casa Minha Vida program which, due to the housing deficit of more than 55 million homes, maintains sales in the low-income segment even amid the generalized loss of purchasing power. Some launch profiles also ensure activity for the sector, particularly those aimed at middle-class and high-end segments.

It turns out that the industry's offers at the moment are, basically, those that were in stock, sufficient today due to the effects of the crisis resulting from the pandemic. Even with the current scenario leading to the postponement of purchase intentions, civil construction will have to build new projects to meet a demand that, even if repressed, will still be present. To do so, it will need new sources of credit. If there are alternatives at the end consumer end, the resources that make the activity of companies in the sector viable – and their consequent multiplier effects on the economy – become scarce.

Innovation is the key to the works and civil construction market

A civil construction already uses innovative ways to finance itself, which, starting from the current framework, tend to multiply, gain scale and, in the existing modalities, scope. Appearing in the country five years ago, real estate crowdfunding has attracted a growing number of small investors who, seduced by yields of around 15% per year, gather, from small contributions, increasing amounts of resources used by developers in carrying out their projects. . In the country, the model allows individuals to invest, with contributions starting at R$ 1, in a significantly profitable segment of civil construction financing, previously restricted to qualified investors.

Credit from banks to the sector has one of the lowest rates in the market. But it only reaches the companies as stages of the works are concluded. In addition to being capital that arrives later – covering expenses already incurred –, it is restricted to the work itself. To fund activities such as incorporation, documentation, launching, marketing and others, companies had to resort, in exchange for a few million, to the entry of a partner. While this type of investor postpones decisions due to the crisis, crowdfunding grows as an option.

Despite the remuneration paid to quota holders in this modality being among the highest in the market today, it represents a much smaller outlay than developers would have resorted to traditional sources to fund these stages of their projects. In addition to being a cheaper source of capital, crowdfunding has been essential for developers and builders to be able, with works already started, to obtain, at a time of credit retraction, the bank financing necessary for the completion of their projects.

Another alternative that is in line with the global trend towards the popularization of collective credit is the sale of tokens – a virtual portion of an asset validated by records shared serially by several computers. Investments in real estate are already made possible by large Brazilian banks in this way. Financing works via tokenization is an area that is beginning to be explored by fintechs.

Even in the current crisis, some segments maintain their level of activity and, with the setting of the interest rate at its lowest historical level, investments in real economy assets become among the most profitable. If the moment is not favorable for large disbursements, these new credit modalities, by allowing excellent remuneration from small contributions, guarantee the arrival of capital to the productive sector.