Itapema surpassed Balneário Camboriú. Now, where to buy by the sea in Santa Catarina?

In May this year, the FipeZAP index recorded something that hadn't happened since 2022: Balneário Camboriú stopped being the city with the most expensive square meter in Brazil.

What does this tie mean in practice

Two years ago, Itapema was "the cheapest option next to Balneário." Not anymore.

What happened was simple: demand didn't stop in Balneário Camboriú. It overflowed. First to Itapema. Then to Porto Belo and Bombinhas.

It's the same movement Miami experienced when South Beach became impossible and money moved north. The buyer doesn't give up on the region—they just drive a few more kilometers.

The map of 25 kilometers

Between Balneário Camboriú and Bombinhas there are 25 kilometers of coastline. In that stretch:

• Balneário Camboriú — R$ 15,215/m². The mature market. Buildings 200 meters tall, established brand, little free land.

• Itapema — R$ 15,226/m². Surpassed Balneário this year. Still has new construction, but the price is no longer an advantage.

• Porto Belo — the immediate neighbor. Same beach, same highway, same airport. Average price in the city still below the two.

• Bombinhas — the tip of the peninsula. Preserved, touristy, with very little land to build.

Anyone arriving now and wanting to buy near the ocean in Santa Catarina is, in practice, buying within this corridor. The question isn't whether the region will appreciate. It's where you can still get in.

Why Porto Belo came into the picture

Porto Belo has 25 thousand permanent residents and receives over 300 thousand people in summer. It's the city of Porto Belo Island, the calling port for transatlantic liners, and the beaches that appear in photos you see on Instagram thinking you're in the Caribbean.

Until recently it was "the pass-through city" between Itapema and Bombinhas. That changed.

In 2022, the municipality and private initiative launched a ten-year plan to reorganize the Perequê waterfront — R$ 2 billion in confirmed private investment through 2032. The first phase, the Perequê and Perequezinho river breakwaters, was completed in 2025. Coming next: waterfront revitalization, navigable canals, marinas, bike paths and a new bridge.

A city that receives R$ 2 billion in ten years doesn't go back to being a pass-through city.

What you can buy today

Inside Porto Belo is a neighborhood planned from scratch: Vivapark. It's not a condominium—it's a neighborhood, with plazas, bike path, school, shops and thirteen buildings under construction in the same project.

Today's numbers, straight from the September 2026 price list:

• 755 units still available in 13 developments

• 76% of the neighborhood already sold

• Lowest monthly installment: R$ 3,256

• Staggered deliveries between 2027 and 2033

And the condition that matters for buyers from abroad: the purchase is made directly with the developer, with 2% down payment of the property value and the balance in installments over up to 120 months, with no interest during the construction period.

It's not "no down payment." It's a small, predictable down payment that fits into a budget planned from another country.

The math the foreign buyer does

With the dollar around R$ 5.17, an R$ 3,256 monthly installment comes out to less than US$ 630 a month.

That's less than a lot of people pay in rent in a medium-sized American city. And here, instead of rent, it's equity in a neighborhood still under construction, in a stretch of coastline where the two neighboring cities just shared the title of most expensive square meter in the country.

Whoever bought in Itapema in 2022 bought "the cheapest option next to Balneário." Today Itapema is at the top of the list.

How to see what's available

The list changes every week—a reserved unit disappears from the list the same day. If you want to see what exists today, with floor plan, floor, view and payment terms for each unit, talk directly with our team on WhatsApp (47) 99953-6922.

We answer in Portuguese, English and Spanish, and we reply with the current month's list—not a brochure.

Sources: FipeZAP Index, May 2026 report · Portuária Magazine, November 2025 (Perequê Masterplan) · Vivapark sales list, September 2026.