Brazil's real estate market is currently struggling with a significant shortage of construction labor, Diego Villar, CEO of Moura Dubeux, said.

This deficit threatens the pace of urban development and infrastructure growth across the country. As the industry faces a gap in skilled workers, the ability to complete projects on schedule is compromised, potentially driving up housing costs for consumers.

Villar said the sector is being limited by a combination of internal and external pressures. These include high interest rates, inflation, and fiscal uncertainty, factors that create a volatile environment for long-term investment.

The scarcity of workers is not an isolated issue. In 2025, more than 60% of surveyed companies reported challenges resulting from a lack of available labor [1]. This trend affects not only large-scale real estate developers but also the broader commercial and service sectors.

Industry leaders said that external variables continue to influence the domestic market. The intersection of economic instability and a shrinking workforce creates a bottleneck that prevents the sector from reaching its full capacity.

While the government has considered changes to labor scales, the underlying issue remains a general scarcity of qualified construction personnel. The shortage persists despite the demand for new residential and commercial builds across Brazil's major cities.

“Brazil's real estate market is currently struggling with a significant shortage of construction labor”

The convergence of a labor deficit and macroeconomic instability suggests that Brazil's construction industry may face a prolonged period of stagnation. When a shortage of skilled labor meets high borrowing costs, developers are less likely to initiate new projects, which could stifle economic growth and exacerbate housing shortages in urban centers.