How much does a seasonal apartment in Porto Belo make — and what nobody tells you about the 90 days

Everyone who invests in a beach property hears the same promise: this apartment will pay for itself through seasonal rentals.

Sometimes it's true. Often it's not. The difference is in understanding how this market really works — and nobody explains that before the sale.

Let's break it down.

The truth about seasonality

The Santa Catarina coast lives off a short, intense window: December, January, and February. These are 90 days that concentrate most of the year's revenue.

Beyond those, there are smaller peaks — Carnival, Holy Week, long weekends, and July. And then there are the slow months: May, June, August, September.

This means the profitability calculation can't be done by multiplying January's daily rate by 365. Anyone doing that math gets disappointed in the first winter.

The right calculation is: total annual revenue divided by twelve.

What the industry research shows

Regional surveys from 2026 place seasonal rental returns on the north coast of SC at around 0.5% to 0.8% of the property value per month, considering the full year — which comes to about 6% to 10% per year in gross revenue.

Gross is the key word. Out of that still comes:

• Cleaning between stays

• Platform commission (Airbnb and Booking charge between 3% and 17%, depending on the model)

• Management, if you're not going to handle it from another country

• Condo fees and property tax, which run all year

• Replacing linens and maintenance, which wears fast on a vacation rental

In practice, the net usually comes to around 60% to 70% of the gross. If you project 10% and receive 6%, you weren't fooled by the market — you were fooled by your own spreadsheet.

Vacation rental or annual lease: the real choice

Seasonal rentals bring in more gross income, require work, need someone on-site, and have irregular revenue.

Annual rentals bring in less, but it's predictable, you have a long-term tenant, almost zero operating costs, and minimal management needed.

For those living abroad, that difference is decisive. Managing vacation rentals from another time zone, with check-ins at 22 and a broken shower on Sunday, only works with a local property manager — and they charge for it.

Many people living abroad end up taking the middle road: they rent seasonally during high season and lock in annual contracts for the rest of the year, or simply keep the unit on annual lease and use their own property two weeks a year.

The factor that matters more than rental income

Here's the point most listings don't mention: on the Santa Catarina coast, in recent years, property appreciation has far outpaced rental income — and by a wide margin.

Porto Belo accumulated something around 127% appreciation in six years. Itapema, its neighbor, just became Brazil's most expensive per square meter, at R$ 15,226 per m² on the FipeZAP index for May 2026, surpassing Balneário Camboriú.

Those who bought thinking only about rental income made money on rentals. Those who bought thinking about the asset made money both ways.

The advantage of buying off-plan for this purpose

Buying off-plan in a neighborhood being built changes the math for one simple reason: you lock in today's price and receive the property in a market several years ahead.

At Vivapark, in Porto Belo, the terms are 2% down and the balance paid out over up to 120 months, with no interest during construction. During construction there's no condo fee or full property tax, just your monthly installment.

When the keys arrive, the property enters the vacation rental market already appreciated, and rental income starts on an asset that cost what it did years ago.

Today there are 755 units available across 13 developments, with deliveries staggered between 2027 and 2033. Studios and 1-bedroom suites — which are the ones that move the most during peak season — are among the most sought after and the least available.

Do the math with real numbers, not averages

Profitability depends on the unit: floor, view, size, building, and delivery date completely change the result.

Send a message to our team on WhatsApp (47) 99953-6922 telling us what you're looking for — rental income, appreciation, or personal use — and we'll send back the units that make sense for that goal, with this month's price list and payment terms for each one.

This content is informational and does not constitute a promise of returns. Rental income varies with occupancy, management, and market conditions.

Sources: FipeZAP Index, May 2026 · northern Santa Catarina coastal real estate market surveys, 2026 · Vivapark sales price list, September 2026.