Analysis of real case studies will provide the basis for deliberations at a Conference that will consider the institutional and financial mechanisms needed for cooperation between public and private sector participants in the provision of housing in Latin America.

The Third Latin American Housing and Financing Conference, organized by the Planner Group and the International Centre for Real Estate of the IESE, will be held on 29th and 30th May, 2007 as part of the ninth Madrid Real Estate Show. Under the direction of Eduardo Rojas, researcher in the Housing and Financing Department of the Inter American Development Bank, the Conference will evaluate investments in real estate and housing developments in different Latin American countries which have resulted from cooperation between the public and private sectors. The program will follow two parallel themes: analysis of public/private cooperation in the development of real estate and analysis of private financing for housing developments in Latin America.

On 29th May, the first day of the Conference, to be held in the Ifema Northern Conference Centre, will address cooperation between public and private sector participants in the development of large scale real estate projects from three different points of view, using case studies of actual projects. The Santa Fe Project in Mexico City and the Portal Bicentenario in Santiago de Chile will be used as subjects for discussion and analysis of real estate developments lead by the public sector. In contrast, the restoration of the Guayaquil city center in Ecuador and its associated pier project will provide material for consideration of the rehabilitation of urban areas by both public and private sector participants. Finally, the City of Knowledge in Panama City — a project involving the transformation of military installations in the Canal Zone into a high technology research, teaching and production center — will be used as a case study on the recycling of real estate assets led by the private sector.

Private financing for housing, and especially the growth in private sector participation in social housing development, will be the focus for the Conference’s second day, 30th May in the IESE, and will center on considering two important questions. On the one hand, the use of public guarantees to facilitate and incentivize the provision of mortgage financing, either on the basis of capital recovery or to subsidize the loan terms and repayments. The other aspect for consideration will involve private financing from both national and international sources, based on real life experience of private ownership of residential lease contracts. Finally, the issue of micro credits for housing will be considered as a way of supporting the construction of lower cost housing in Latin America.

The Conference is aimed at directors and managers of public entities and public companies, real estate companies, senior managers of financial institutions, architects, professors from universities or post graduate schools and media professionals.

Three years studying real estate activity in Latin America

The first Latin American Housing and Financing Conference was held three years ago with the two fold aim of getting a better understanding of the real estate sector in Latin American countries, and of the commercial relationships between Latin American and European countries.

The first two Conferences brought together government ministries of countries such as Brazil, Peru, Chile, Mexico and Argentina, and those in charge of entities and institutions representing the local scene in Spain and Latin America. These representatives discussed, analyzed and shared experiences relating both to housing policies and to initiatives to renovate run down urban areas, rehabilitating city centers, consolidating urban overflow projects and the provision of infrastructure.