Eztec defies Brazil housing cooldown with record H1 launches
São Paulo homebuilder Eztec posted record first-half launches and sales despite Brazil's highest mortgage rates since 2006, proving targeted project selection can buck a sector-wide slowdown.
São Paulo homebuilder Eztec posted record first-half launches and sales on Monday, defying a broader Brazilian housing cooldown driven by the highest borrowing costs in nearly two decades.
The company’s H1 2026 operating preview showed launches surged 53.5 percent year-on-year to 1.7 billion reais. Net pre-sales climbed 47.3 percent to 1.27 billion reais, while gross sales rose 47.7 percent. Both the launch and sales totals are the highest the mid-to-high-end apartment builder has ever recorded for a first half.
The results stand out because Eztec operates in the segment most sensitive to Brazil's strict monetary policy. Its buyers rely on mortgages at full market rates, yet the central bank has held its Selic benchmark at 15 percent, a level not seen since 2006.
The second quarter carried the performance. Eztec launched three Greater São Paulo projects worth 773 million reais, up 57.8 percent year-on-year. The 457-million-real Reserva São Caetano GranResort was already 41 percent sold by June, while a 199-million-real Osasco project reached 55 percent sold in the same period.
There are signs of strain beneath the record top line. Cancellations tracked the larger sales base, rising roughly 40 percent to about 97 million reais. Unsold inventory also expanded, reaching 3.31 billion reais.
However, the rapid early sell-through of new stock pushed Eztec's 12-month sell-through rate up to 27.8 percent, from 24.1 percent a year earlier. That improvement separates Eztec from its peers. In the same week, larger rival Cyrela saw its sell-through slip despite growing launches, and affordable-housing specialist Cury reported softer sales alongside a record land bank.
For investors, the takeaway is that Brazil's high-rate housing squeeze is highly uneven. Eztec’s numbers point to disciplined project selection rather than a broad macroeconomic recovery. The central bank’s future rate path remains the critical variable for sustained demand, with full quarterly results due later in the earnings season to reveal margin details.
