Moura Dubex stands out in real estate sector and soars on the stock market

One of the companies that appreciated the astir successful the Brazilian banal marketplace this twelvemonth is from Northeast– and makes a constituent of not leaving there. The stocks of the Moura Dubeux existent property developer person skyrocketed since the IPO made successful February 2020.

This twelvemonth alone, they jumped 194%, becoming the 3rd astir appreciated institution successful the B3 scale wallets. It is besides the lone existent property developer successful the apical 5.

While their shares sprout up successful the banal market, Moura Dubeux seeks to unrecorded up to the prestige it earned from investors. This year, they reached a caller standard, says the company’s enforcement board, aided by the results gathered passim 2025.

“In 9 months alone, the institution has profited much than successful immoderate different twelvemonth successful our history”, says Diego Villar, CEO of Moura Dubeux. It was a generalized betterment successful sales, caller launches, profits, revenue, margins, and amended instrumentality connected assets. The institution fundamentally doubled the size of its operations successful 2 years, becoming a institution worthy 4 cardinal reais.

The institution has nary ceremonial guidance, but, based connected the year’s show truthful far, the CEO takes a overmuch greater nett than successful 2024 for granted. In the archetypal 3 quarters of this twelvemonth alone, the fig has already surpassed 300 cardinal reais. The existent property assemblage is strengthening successful the Northeast, with rising request not lone for caller houses but besides for utilized properties, arsenic shown by FipeZAP data, arsenic elaborate successful this edition.

In the lodging market, immoderate spot Moura Dubeux with imaginable to research the large capitals successful the Southeast region. But the institution ensures that its ambitions differ: to marque Northeaset an alternate economical hub to large municipality centers.

Boa Viagem Avenue: With the instauration of Moura Dubeux, the partners decided to research Recife's astir prestigious area. The developer has built much than 40 projects connected the avenue (Dircinha S Welter/Getty Images) (Dircinha S Welter/Getty Images)

To bash that, the institution volition person to flooded an aged challenge: the persistent deficiency of talent, astir of whom migrate south, particularly to São Paulo, successful hunt of references and amended opportunities.

“This is evidenced by the information that galore ITA [Technology and Aviation Institute] admissions travel from Ceará, but enactment successful São Paulo owed to the deficiency of large companies that prosecute these talents”, argues the CEO. MD is focused connected reversing this logic, perchance promoting a northeastern drive.

One of the factors that makes this program apt is the beardown beingness of Moura Dubeux successful 7 of the 9 states that comprise the region. To enactment relevant, the institution turned to the mediate and precocious classes, launched caller brands successful the economical sector, and developed estates that acceptable into the nationalist lodging programme Minha Casa, Minha Vida (MCMV).

A much caller addition, Un1ca was calved focused specifically connected faixa 3, a designation for the programme that serves families with a monthly income betwixt 4.700,01 and 8.00 reais. Mood volition work families with an income betwixt 12.000 and 15.000 reais, which, truthful far, were not eligible for the programme – but aft caller changes, specifically successful faixa 4, they tin present beryllium a portion of it.

In September, MD further accrued vulnerability to the economical assemblage by establishing a associated task with Direcional, an progressive subordinate successful the lodging programme since the beginning.

Specialists saw the concern betwixt the 2 developers arsenic a win-win: MD opens the mode for Direcional successful the northeastern market, portion Direcional adds its immense acquisition with MCMV, particularly successful faixas 3 and 4.

Nordeste frankincense gains a applicable relation successful the strategy of the Minas Gerais operation company. The portion is simply a absorption of 15% of Direcional’s launches this year, and the extremity is to scope 25% of the company’s operations eventually.

“We person a precise large accidental close now. It is simply a portion with a sizeable lodging shortage and precocious demand, with MCMV capable to service adjacent much of the region’s population. And the power that MD has implicit determination drastically accelerates this benignant of growth”, says Ricardo Gontijo, Direcional’s CEO.

Demand grows successful the Northeast

The concern was made astatine an opportune moment: Northeast has been playing a starring relation successful the lodging programme since the portion began to utilize the designated investments fully.

This is reverting to the humanities signifier of assets under-utilization antecedently observed. This besides happens due to the fact that of changes successful the lodging programme itself, which accrued entree to financing: an summation successful the worth ceiling for estates, much generous subsidizing (up to 55.000 reais), and an summation successful the financing word to 35 years.

Lower-income families person gained entree to financing that they antecedently couldn’t access. Nordeste, contempt being the portion with the lowest mean income successful Brazil, besides has the lowest taxation rates for the program, which tin driblet to conscionable 4%.

“Until 2022, a portion of the resources that weren’t utilized successful the North and Northeastern regions of Brazil utilized to beryllium sent backmost to the South and Southeast. Now, if 5 cardinal reais arrive, 5 cardinal are spent, and the wealth is nary longer sent back, due to the fact that radical started having conditions to beryllium eligible for financing”, explains José Carlos Martins, president of the Consulting Council of the Brazilian Chamber of the Construction Industry (CBIC).

Martins was 1 of the creators of the Real Estate Demand Index (IDI) successful Brazil, successful a concern betwixt CBIC, Sienge Ecosystem, CV CRM, and Grupo Prospecta.

It is simply a strategical instrumentality that measures and evaluates the attractiveness of 79 Brazilian cities successful narration to existent property demands successful varying terms ranges. In the economical sector, 5 northeastern capitals are among the 10 cities with the highest existent property demand: Fortaleza (CE), Recife (PE), Salvador (BA), Aracaju (SE), and Maceió (AL).

“The marketplace apt started to announcement that the region’s colonisation got MCMV financing and began launching concern ventures. With the launch, income increase, arsenic bash visits to income stands, questions considered successful the elaboration of the index.”

In medium- and high-tier residences, Nordeste besides performed well. According to the specialist, the economical assemblage catalyzed different sectors. In the precocious tiers, Recife finished third; Fortaleza, fourth; and Salvador, seventh. On average, Salvador finished successful 4th place, and Fortaleza successful seventh.

Ricardo Gontijo, CEO of Direcional: the Northeast concentrates 15% of the company's launches this year, and the extremity is to scope 25% of the cognition successful the aboriginal (Leandro Fonseca /Exame) (Leandro Fonseca /Exame)

Gated Communities successful the DNA

Regardless of the sector, Moura Dubeux is acceptable to spell afloat circle.

Founded successful 1983 successful Recife, the institution grew to precocious standards done the entrepreneurial tact of 3 technologist brothers, Gustavo, Marcos, and Aluísio, who utilized to tally a state station. “They decided to bargain onshore with immoderate friends to physique an property successful which to live. They charged their friends an medication taxation for conducting the construction. In the end, what they truly wanted was a bully and inexpensive apartment”, tells Diego Villar.

The archetypal task was Morada de Apipucos, successful a vicinity of the aforesaid name, successful Pernambuco’s capital. Gustavo and Aluísio really went connected to unrecorded there, but Marcos sold his flat and much than tripled the wealth helium invested successful constructing it. The decision was obvious: this concern was much profitable than the aged state station.

With Moura Dubeux frankincense founded, the associates decided to research the noble portion of Recife, Boa Viagem Avenue. It was a disruption. MD was capable to negociate importantly amended prices for the vicinity mean by moving successful a exemplary antithetic from accepted existent property development: gated communities, successful which residents straight wage for operation costs.

“This revolutionized the marketplace astatine the time. After that, we built implicit 40 buildings there.”

Besides operation expenses, gated communities stock responsibilities, with their ain CNPJ and tracking of unpaid expenses. MD assumes the hazard of defaults, guaranteeing the transportation of the works and eliminating the hazard of declaration cancellations.

The exemplary became the company's superior concern strategy. Over the years, the sanction Moura Dubeux began to beryllium associated with prime estates.

Considering the brand’s strength, MD realized that it made nary consciousness to stay confined to Recife. In the aforesaid period, developers from São Paulo were ranking among the banal market's apical performers, seeking superior to grow passim Brazil. They would easy scope the Northeast, and MD didn’t privation to lag behind.

Until 2008, the institution was funded by slope loans and managed to expand, but it had to woody with an detonation successful labour costs.

When developers from different regions yet reached Nordeste, they brought São Paulo wages with them, and ostentation peaked. At the time, MD made a concern with MRV, focused connected the economical sector. The collaboration lasted 10 years and ended lone due to the fact that MD chose to absorption connected medium- and high-tier segments.

Even alone, MRV stayed successful Nordeste. But different accepted players decided to exit erstwhile turbulence successful the nationalist system triggered a situation of declaration cancellations.

“We utilized to person a much resilient concern exemplary [in notation to gated communities], truthful we managed to survive. We weren’t each right, but we pulled through. In 2018, the system started to turn again, taxation rates were lower, and we had nary different competitors successful our region”, helium recalls.

When the concern got better, request became mode larger than what Moura Dubeux could proviso and, from then, the institution could take betwixt 2 paths.

Through 1 of them, things would stay the same: The institution wouldn’t screen marketplace demands, but they besides wouldn’t beryllium capable to grow. At the aforesaid time, they would support paying elevated taxes connected the loans they’d taken. The effect would beryllium astir zero profits. The 2nd enactment seemed to marque much sense: selling a portion of the institution and raising wealth with nary strings attached. Something that a listing connected the banal marketplace would allow.

A newcomer successful the banal market

MD opened its superior astatine B3 successful February 2020. The institution raised astir 1,25 cardinal reais. 90% of these resources were designated to paying disconnected debts, which is usually not precise good seen successful the market, and the remaining 10% to reenforce assets and get caller land.

The developer was portion of an IPO harvest during the pandemic, erstwhile taxation rates were low—the last earlier a draught of nationalist offers which turned 4 years aged successful 2025.

The speedy emergence of MD’s shares since their debut is supported by a robust thesis, according to analysts.

What stands retired to the marketplace is their starring relation successful the Northeast, arsenic the lone institution successful the banal marketplace that is afloat exposed to the region.

Not for nothing, BTG Pactual, (from the aforesaid holding that owns EXAME), started to screen the company’s roles successful September 2025, providing purchasing recommendations and a people terms of 40 reais. For the bank’s analysts, determination acquisition gives the developer a competitory advantage, serving arsenic a obstruction to introduction for caller competitors.

The gated assemblage exemplary inactive offers resilience to the developer, generates affirmative currency travel since operation expenses are borne by clients themselves, and mitigates outgo variations crossed communities.

This protects the institution from unexpected losses and helps support its leverage low, 1 of its strategical pillars. Diego Villar says that the institution volition not question maturation that compromises the attraction of this leverage astatine debased levels.

“We went from 800 cardinal reais successful income successful 2020 to implicit 3.5 cardinal by the extremity of 2025. We went from 1.000 employees to 8.000 employees. We expanded, but without leaving Nordeste and compromising our leverage, successful an assertive strategy to inhabit the region. When extracurricular developers noticed that the marketplace present was making a comeback, we were already acting. When they were not yet here, we expanded the gated assemblage exemplary successful each authorities we acted in”, affirms the CEO.