House Hunting in Chile: A Bright, Modern Villa in the Andes for $1.3 Million

(As of Sept. 29, Chile had reported 461,300 cases of Covid-19 — a much higher rate per capita than neighboring Bolivia and Argentina, and higher even than Brazil’s — and 12,725 deaths, according to The New York Times’s coronavirus map.)

Santiago’s high-end market has been stable for decades, said Luis Novoa, the CEO of Chile Sotheby’s International Realty. He estimated the average asking price among properties with his agency is about $800,000, or $330 a square foot.

The social unrest that erupted last fall initially led to an increase in supply of high-end properties, as affluent homeowners decided to sell vacation homes, but that trend has slowed, Mr. Novoa said. Now buyers are awaiting the results of a coming national referendum in October. Investors, though, have started to jump on properties with price cuts, and some are buying sight unseen. These conditions are also emboldening high-end buyers to offer well below asking price.

Across Chile, luxury prices range between $750,000 for a family villa in Santiago to $20 million for select properties in Patagonia, said Martin Rivera Saez, the director of Alto Andes, a luxury agency based in Santiago. But there has been a shift in what is deemed to be luxury, he added. In the past, buyers wanted “large mansions with luxurious finishes, located in areas with privileged views.” A few years ago, the “concept began to change,” and buyers began to seek “less ostentatious” apartments that are easier to maintain.

Because land for new developments is scarce, “we have seen a vertical densification,” with large single-family properties being replaced by high-end condominiums with seven to 10 dwellings, Mr. Novoa said. Meanwhile, areas “with large spaces and better quality of life” are increasingly in demand with the upper middle class.