For years taking money out of Argentina through the formal banking sector was very challenging.
Earlier this week this all changed with the partial removal of capital controls by the government. This means that taking your money out of the country, such as dividends, rental income, or even the sale of property, will be a lot simpler.
This is obviously big news for the real estate market. As soon as I heard this I set up a call with Max to understand the potential impact this could have on the real estate market, as well as to discuss the risk of capital flight.
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Transcript of “Removal of capital controls in Argentina – impact on Buenos Aires real estate market”
LADISLAS MAURICE: Hello, everyone. Ladislas of The Wandering Investor. Today, we have fantastic news from Argentina. Max, can you tell us about the latest reforms that have just been implemented?
MAX: Absolutely. Hey, Ladislas. Good to see you again. What’s happening here is that, as of this month, April 2025, Argentina has implemented significant reforms to its long-standing currency and capital controls, which locally are referred to as cepo. These changes are part of President Mileiโs broader economic strategy to stabilize the economy and attract investment.
Removal of capital and currency controls in Argentina
MAX: Let’s get to it. What does it mean? The Argentine Government, starting yesterday, so this is very, very new, has lifted most of its capital and currency controls, which is obviously a move aimed at stabilizing the economy and attracting foreign investment. These controls, which have existed since 2011, had restricted access to US dollars and limited capital movement. And this in turn, contributed to a black market for foreign currency, and I guess, essentially, eroding confidence by consumers, all consumers and all investors, not least of which is foreign.
This reform, what does it do? It will include the allowing of the peso to fluctuate within a band of between 1,000 pesos to 1,400 pesos to the dollar, with a monthly 1% expansion of this band. And further to this, the restrictions of foreign currency access and profit repatriation for companies are being eased. This is another bit of good news for locals.
LADISLAS MAURICE: This is huge, I mean, for foreign investors. I mean, that was one of the biggest issues, when you’re a large company or even a small company trying to invest in Argentina, getting the money out, paying out the dividends, all of that legally, without having to do dodgy accounting and go into the black market and pay a bunch of fees.
MAX: There had been any number of multinational companies that, over the years, had had to shut down their operations in Argentina because of this. And I can promise you that a sizable amount of those are going to be coming back, and new ones as well. In fact, there’s already been an influx of news on that front.
Risk of capital flight from Argentina
LADISLAS MAURICE: I mean, when there are capital controls, there’s a reason there are capital controls. It’s because if there are no capital controls, then capital would flee, so capital controls are meant to keep money in the country. Now that they’re being partially removed, isnโt there the risk of capital flight and of the situation actually becoming worse, or is there enough confidence in the market right now?
MAX: Yeah, there always is a risk of capital flight, or fuga, as we call it here, and that’s always been that way.
LADISLAS MAURICE: There’s actually a term in Argentina for this phenomenon, fuga? [laughs]
MAX: It happens often enough that we have coined a term, which is really not anything we coined. Fuga, in Spanish, is nothing more than an escape of or a flight of something or someone. But yes, it is something that has happened over the years enough that we refer to it as fuga de capitales, which could be capital, investment, money, and also people, people who โescapeโ to become doctors, lawyers, what have you, in different places. That, over the years, unfortunately, has happened. To your question, is there a risk? Yes, there is. But by the same token, this kind of thing, I feel, a lot of us feel restores investment and consumer and end-user trust and confidence in what the country is.
If you give people the freedom to do what they will with their currency and with their assets, it will ultimately create more confidence in the market. In fact, not only that, but the possibility of investing overseas, even if you are allowed to legally, is not something that anyone can do. More to the point of our line of work, if you’re from Argentina, that is to say, not anyone can buy property in Miami, Paris, New York, London, whereas Argentina does present that sweet spot of architecture of that je ne sais quoi that Buenos Aires has, all the while being at a fraction of the cost of which you could buy a property in the aforementioned London, Paris, so forth and so on.
LADISLAS MAURICE: What are the potential implications for, specifically, the real estate market? Because, I mean, you have your own real estate agency in Buenos Aires. That’s your specialty, you’re in the real estate market. By the way, I wrote a whole article on the real estate market in Buenos Aires. There’s a link below. What’s the impact for the market, Max?
MAX: I think that, to begin with, there is an increase in investment, which we’re going to see. The easing of currency controls is expected to attract both domestic and foreign investors to the real estate market, potentially leading to a surge in property transactions. It’s one more thing in a long line of things that the President is doing to somehow grease the wheels. And there was an article in The Economist just today, where they said that he is doing something bold, which is normalizing the economy. [laughs] For us, the word normal, or to have a normal economy or a normal political apparatus, is something we strive to, where most countries already have that. It goes to that.
It goes to more movement in the greater scheme of things, of the market in general, and to our particular niche for real estate. It also potentially means that there could be a mortgage market revival. Don’t forget that with improved–
LADISLAS MAURICE: It has already started.
MAX: It has already started. I mean, we’re very cautiously optimistic about that, but always remember that this is like riding a wave. With improved economic stability, there is a potential for an improvement or a bigger revival of the Argentine mortgage market, which has historically been underdeveloped. And I’ll tell you something else, right now, in this first stage of it, it’s reared towards, of course, locals. But if we continue in this optimistic vein of opening up foreign investments, there’s no reason to think that it would also not be something which foreigners could be privy to. One never knows.
LADISLAS MAURICE: Essentially, people have to balance capital controls have been partially removed, so foreign capital is now more interested in coming in. There’s also more confidence locally for people to stay invested. But there’s also a greater window for locals that were potentially overexposed to Argentina to say, โHey, we have a window of opportunity to get some money out. Let’s get some money out.โ
Impact of relaxed currency controls on real estate
MAX: Yeah, absolutely. Now, in terms of the foreign market or the foreign buyers, I think, essentially, the lifting of currency controls simplifies the process of purchasing property in Argentina because it eases restrictions on capital movement and profit repatriation. Even though it’s important to note that certain limitations remain, such as restrictions on the amount of land that can be purchased by foreign investors, which are still subject to ongoing legal and political discussions, but in terms of foreigners buying real estate, they become, I think, for the time being unaffected, whether for good or bad, because locals are the ones that right now are seeing positive trend in this.
Because you have to go no further than Friday of last week, the dollar was at about 1,340 pesos to the dollar. Monday, after this was announced on Friday, the dollar was at 1,245 pesos. And now it’s floating between 1,210 pesos and 1,245 pesos. Simply put, an Argentine has to buy X amount of dollars to buy real estate, it’s now cheaper for them to buy dollars, because it’s now at 1,245 pesos, with a floating amount, as opposed to a black market, and an official, and all these other rates. It simplifies things, and once again, the broader, if you look at it just zooming out, it creates consumer confidence, and it creates a market which is prime for more moving in real estate.
I think that I read that this February, this just last February, was the best one in 17 or so years that the real estate market had seen. Seventeen years, so it’s not nothing.
LADISLAS MAURICE: Yeah. The bull market is underway in Buenos Aires, and it’s still early, it’s not too late at all to get in.
MAX: No.
Buying property in Argentina as a foreigner
LADISLAS MAURICE: I actually gave you my power of attorney back in February when I came through. Now, let’s say, I want to buy something before the money transfers, all that, it was just complicated, has it become easier now? Can I just make a wire into an Argentine bank account, or has this not changed yet?
MAX: Well, you could always do that. That’s always a possibility. Unfortunately, in so far as what we’re talking about here, that has remained unchanged. The methodology of getting money into Argentina remains the same, and for better or worse, it is still somewhat bureaucratic in that it goes from your bank overseas, to the central bank here, to the seller’s bank here in Buenos Aires or any point in Argentina. That still is, unfortunately, a little bit bureaucratic, and there’s red tape there to be had.
But as with other factors, I think that this is another of the items that President Milei is looking to change and make better, so as to make foreign investment an easier thing and just make the process more seamless.
LADISLAS MAURICE: Anyways, you help your clients with the whole process from A to Z.
MAX: Absolutely.
LADISLAS MAURICE: But generally speaking, now it is a bit easier in the sense that there’s much less of a gap between the black market and the official market, so people can go this way, as opposed to buying stocks and bonds and doing the shifting, and I don’t know, like, all these other ways people are getting money into Argentina. Now it’s just a bit more, you can just go through the central bank and get the official–
MAX: You can. Yes, yeah, you can. And you’re right, there’s less of a gap, so there isn’t quite that much which is lost. I think, yeah, the crux of it is, as you say, it becomes kind of a complex scenario, which is, where we step in, and we help, and we explain the whole process. But, yeah, it becomes just a tad more simplified and slightly more seamless, yeah.
LADISLAS MAURICE: Step by step, things are becoming a bit easier and simpler and more optimistic in Argentina. Let’s hope the reforms continue and that Argentines just hang in there, because it’s not necessarily easy, easy. I mean, just yesterday, or a few days ago, I was on the beach, I’m in Mexico right now, in Playa del Carmen, and I met this Boomer couple that were relaxing, and we started talking. And they’re like, โYeah, thanks to Milei, we can now afford to go on vacation overseas, which we couldn’t before.โ But then, three minutes later, they said how they initially wanted to go to Bariloche, but they couldn’t afford to go there. As always, it’s complex in Argentina. [laughs]
MAX: Itโs six of one, yeah. Half of us are happy with something, and the other half are not, and that same thing they’re not happy about makes them angry about the other thing. So yeah, it’s on a par with how we are, yeah.
How to contact Max and free eBook
LADISLAS MAURICE: Cool. Max, you wrote a whole book on investing in Argentina that people can get from you for free. Can you say two, three words about it?
MAX: Sure. The Real Deal is the name of the book, and basically it speaks to the entire process of buying property in Argentina, the ifโs, howโs, whenโs, whyโs, everything, with everything having to do with the minutia of living In Argentina and getting things in Argentina, and explaining, in comparable fashion, why it’s different to other places, and what to expect. A lot of what we do, and a lot of what we try to put into that book is really hand holding, which is what we do. We explain to people, and we don’t want people to get caught, like deers in the headlight, with what to expect or not to be surprised with anything. We explain everything. And of course, the videos with you have explained that as well, but the book is free for any and all who want to have it.
LADISLAS MAURICE: Cool. Yeah. There’s a link below, and you can get in touch with Max to ask for the book. And then also, I wrote a whole analysis of the real estate market in Buenos Aires, the neighborhoods that are interesting, the neighborhoods that are a bit less interesting, things about taxes, etc., so really full, complete analysis. There is a link below as well. Max, thank you very much for your time today.
MAX: My pleasure as always. Thanks for having me.
