Olympics gives Rio real estate a boost that looks to last long after torch has been extinguished

Real estate agents had hoped to sell the vacated athletes' village to buyers within two years from the end of the Games, but with economic prices affecting vendor financing, they now predict it will take a decade.

With sprawling high-rises along the Barra coast line, an ocean view apartment is all but guaranteed - and the prices are dirt cheap.

After a slump in the real estate market earlier this year, Leonardo Rodrigues – the sales director at one of Rio’s biggest firms Patrimóvel Real Estate - said prices have slightly increased but remain well under average.

"Prices in Rio have dropped and it's practically a buyer’s market at the moment,” he said.

A luxury two-bedroom apartment in a gated complex in Barra costs just over $300,000 Australian.

However the redevelopment of urban areas nearby Olympic venues have increased prices in the last few months.

But Mr Rodrigues says the budget investment opportunities are attracting the attention of foreign investors.

Source: SBS

"Currently there are a large number of external investors wanting to invest in Brazil," he said.

And the biggest investment opportunity is yet to come.

The athletes' village boats about 4,000 brand new apartments, soon to be vacated.

The high rises will undergo a refurbishment before they’re marketed as luxury apartment complexes.

But with the economy still in crisis, estate agents like Mr Rodrigues fear it will take some time to sell.

"Our intention was to sell them (the athletes' village apartments) in two years but in the current situation we foresee it will take ten years."

The problem not a lack of demand, but a lack of finance.

Hundreds of thousands of Brazilians live in abject poverty, with those living above the line doing all they can to stay there.

Juliana Fernandes is staying with friends while she rents out her own house to tourists.

"I feel very well there but it's a little bit strange," she said. “Sleeping on couches when I have a home to go to.”

And she's not the only one.

Ms Fernandes manages 23 other properties for friends and family, the Olympic tourist trade enticing many to enter the market for the first time.

"The rate is maybe two or three times the normal rate so for 20-22 days the Olympic season we can earn some money," said Ms Fernandes.

And hopefully that will continue.

Ms Fernandes says she’s also received holiday bookings throughout September and beyond indicating signs of an economic legacy in Rio that may persist long after the torch has been extinguished.