Trend: house prices up 3.39% y-o-y in Q2 2018

Chile's housing market remains robust, despite the introduction of a property sales tax last year. The average price of new apartments in Greater Santiago rose by 3.39% during the year to Q2 2018, an improvement from the previous year's 2.11% y-o-y rise. However on a quarterly basis, house prices dropped 1.07% in Q2 2018.

Analysis:  The impact of last year's imposition of 19% VAT on property sales by "habitual sellers" such as real estate companies is diminishing. During 2017, the number and value of home sales in Greater Santiago (after a significant drop last year) rose by 16.4% and 21.1%, respectively, according to the Chilean Chamber of Construction (CChC), compensating for last year's slump. In Q1 2018, the value of property sales in Greater Santiago increased 2.5% compared to the same period last year but the number of sales dropped 1.4%. 

Rents, rental yields: moderate yields in Santiago at 4.26%

Santiago apartment costs are low at around $2,771 per sq. m. 

Chile: city centre apartment, buying price, monthly rent (120 sq. m)
	Buying price	Rate per month	Yield
Santiago	$ 332,520	$ 1,181	4.26%

Recent news. Chile’s economy is expected to expand by 3.4% this year, amidst higher copper prices and improving business sentiment after the resolution of political uncertainty related to the 2017 presidential elections. The growth projection is an improvement from meagre growths of 1.3% in 2016 and 1.5% in 2017, according to the International Monetary Fund.