Gafisa’s projects value increase

Bloomberg

The amount only includes projects marketed under Gafisa’s own brand and excludes stakes partners may hold in the projects, company director Antonio Carlos Ferreira said in Sao Paulo yesterday.

The developer "remains optimistic about 2009" as lower demand will be offset by declining supply, Chief Executive Officer Wilson Amaral said. "As long as there’s financing, which we believe there will be, we don’t foresee anything dramatic changing," Amaral said. "On the one hand, demand might be softer, but on the other hand there will be less supply pressure."Slowing economic growth and the global credit squeeze are making Brazilians more reluctant to purchase expensive items such as homes.

Growth in Brazil, Latin America’s largest economy, may slow to 2.9 percent in 2009 after a 5.2 percent expansion this year, Bloomberg data shows.Gafisa in September announced it agreed to buy a controlling stake in competitor Construtora Tenda, aiming to boost its presence in the low-income housing market. It now owns 60 percent of Tenda.