Landlords are leaving one in seven homes empty in Buenos Aires rather than let to locals in Argentine pesos, as triple-digit inflation, tight regulations and an influx of dollar-wielding foreigners disrupt the city’s rented housing market.
Inflation has surged in Argentina in recent years, with the annual rate hitting 160.9 per cent in November — a big factor, analysts say, in the triumph of Javier Milei, a radical libertarian economist who has promised “shock therapy” to fix the country’s dysfunctional finances, in November’s presidential election.
For locals, finding a new flat had become “mission impossible”, said Gastón Levy, a 39-year-old administrative assistant in the capital.