Setting the price of a property has always been a challenge in the real estate market. Owners, tenants, and buyers often have different perceptions of a property’s value, which can lead to long and sometimes frustrating negotiations. For investors, questions about what factors to consider to ensure a good return arise even before the asset is acquired. But what actually makes a property appreciate in value? To help answer this question, Thiago Bernardes, Head of Sales at QuintoAndar—the largest housing platform in Latin America—shares some insights on what matters most.

Location
A recent study by the proptech in partnership with Datafolha shows that location is one of the main criteria for determining a property’s value. The survey reveals that 65% of buyers and tenants, and 62% of sellers and owners, consider this factor essential. “Areas with easy access to public transportation, a good supply of shops, essential services, and security tend to appreciate over time. Infrastructure projects, like new metro stations and public investments, can also drive up property prices in areas that were previously undervalued. A good example is Campo Belo, in São Paulo’s South Zone, where average rental prices increased by 20% over the last year,” says Thiago.

Property profile
The type of property also influences pricing. Homes with the same square footage can have different values depending on factors like the number of bedrooms, layout, and the functionality of spaces. For example, a 60 m² apartment with one bedroom may be valued less than one with two bedrooms, especially in more residential neighborhoods where demand for this profile is higher.

The more versatile the space, the better. “A smaller room can be turned into a home office, for instance—a feature that gained great value after the pandemic. This way, the property appeals to a wider range of potential clients,” he explains.

Renovations
Another key factor is the condition of the property. While structural and functional renovations generally add value, overly personalized upgrades can reduce buyer interest. According to the same Datafolha study, identifying whether a property has any structural issues is the second biggest challenge for people looking to rent or buy. Regular maintenance and modern finishes are effective strategies to increase a property’s value and speed up the sale or lease.

Building amenities
Condo features also influence property prices. Amenities such as 24-hour security, a gym, swimming pool, and event spaces directly impact pricing—though they also tend to raise monthly maintenance fees. Buildings with fewer shared amenities usually come with lower prices.

Technology brings more accuracy to the process
With so many variables involved, property pricing often ends up misaligned with market reality, affecting how efficiently deals are closed. Data like the number of bedrooms, parking spaces, and even public data—such as property tax, transfer fees, and transaction history—can offer a clearer, more standardized reference point for determining the ideal price. However, these data are often scattered across different sources—like registry offices, city halls, and real estate platforms—and the limited public data currently available remains hard to access for most people.

“Today, technology allows us to interpret all this data much more quickly, removing much of the subjectivity from the pricing process. One example is QPreço, QuintoAndar’s proprietary data intelligence tool, which guides accurate pricing based on thousands of data points. It also displays the transaction history of a given property and centralizes all information about the building in one place,” explains Bernardes.

According to the expert, it’s the real estate market’s responsibility to encourage the availability of public information combined with private data on platforms that are accessible to the public.