Equity International (EI), the Chicago-based investment firm co-founded by real estate specialist Sam Zell, expects an explosion of growth in the Brazilian mortgage market in the coming years. The belief is among the reasons driving the company’s purchase of a 20.7% stake in Brazilian Finance & Real Estate (BFRE) announced yesterday, Thomas Mcdonald, chief strategic officer, tells LatinFinance. “Mortgage origination [in Brazil] has a high growth trajectory,” says McDonald.

“There’s an assured medium and long term projection [of growth] based on long term fundamentals,” he adds, noting in Brazil, the mortgage to GDP ratio stands at between 2%-3% today. “I think that needs to be in double digits,” he says, adding that could happen within 3 to 5 years. In Mexico that figure stands around 12%. “I think in 3 years [Brazil’s mortgage to GDP ratio] could reach 13%,” chimes in Fabio Nogueira co-founder of BFRE, one of whose main businesses includes writing mortgages...

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