Investing in Maceió: Airbnb income or a bet on growth?

The question European investors ask most often when they discover Maceió is this: the beaches are real, the prices are real, but is the promised return real too? We wanted to answer that question with verifiable figures rather than promises, including two points that few articles mention: a recent legal development that directly affects condominium owners, and the fact that the real opportunity in Maceió today may not be where you would expect it.

Maceió, one of Brazil’s most active Airbnb markets

According to 2026 data from AirROI, a platform specialising in short-term rental analysis, Maceió has the highest occupancy rate in Brazil at 42.6%, with more than 3,500 active listings in the city. A more detailed report on the local market, based on data from June 2024 to May 2025, puts the average daily rate (ADR) at around $65 to $70 (approximately R$350 to 420), with an average occupancy rate of 43%.

These two figures alone help explain why Maceió is attracting investors: an occupancy rate above the Brazilian national average of 31.8%, according to AirROI, in a market that is still far from the level of saturation seen in Rio or in some destinations in Brazil’s Southeast.

A real-world example

Rather than relying on abstract averages, let’s take a concrete example: a 45 m² apartment in Jatiúca, one of Maceió’s most sought-after neighbourhoods for tourist rentals, close to the beach.

Purchase price: according to the FipeZAP Index (June 2026), the average price per m² in Jatiúca is R$10,994. For a 45 m² one-bedroom apartment, that works out at approximately R$495,000, or around €82,500 at a fixed exchange rate of €1 = R$6.

Short-term rental income: using the average ADR (≈ R$380 per night) and average occupancy rate (≈ 43%), or around 13 nights rented per month.

• Estimated gross monthly income: ≈ R$4,500-5,000
• Estimated gross annual income: ≈ R$54,000-60,000
• Gross rental yield: ≈ 10-11% per year

This is a gross figure, before management, cleaning, furnishing and vacancy costs (see below). Once these costs are taken into account, a realistic net yield for a well-managed property generally falls between 5 and 7% per year.

Short-term vs. long-term rental: the comparison that is often overlooked

An owner can also rent the property on a long-term basis (a standard furnished lease) rather than for short-term tourist stays. By cross-referencing several listing platforms (ZAP Imóveis, Viva Real, Trovit) for furnished apartments of a comparable size (42–45 m²) in Jatiúca, the observed rents are mostly between R$ 2,800 and R$ 3,300 per month, or approximately R$ 65–70/m² per month.

Applied to our 45 m² apartment, this represents approximately R$ 3,000 per month, or R$ 36,000 per year, corresponding to a gross yield of around 7.3%, and a net yield of approximately 6–6.5% after management fees are deducted (generally lower for long-term rentals: 8–10% of the rent, compared with 15–30% for short-term rentals).

The difference between short- and long-term rentals is therefore real, but significantly more modest than is often assumed: the gross yield from Airbnb is in the order of 50% higher, rather than twice as high. Once the heavier management burden of short-term rentals is taken into account (tourist-standard furnishing, cleaning between each stay, and less predictable vacancy), the net yields of the two options become fairly similar. This provides further support for the argument developed below: in Maceió today, the real difference lies less in the choice between short- and long-term rental and more in the capital appreciation of the property itself.

The real driver of returns in Maceió: capital appreciation, not rental yield, at least for now

There is one point we need to be honest about that the figures above do not show: Maceió is not yet an internationally established destination in the same way as Rio de Janeiro. So today, the strongest investment opportunity does not necessarily come from rental income alone. It comes from the trajectory of the city itself.

Three ongoing projects are concretely improving the region’s accessibility and attractiveness:

• Costa dos Corais Airport in Maragogi (around 1.5 hours from Maceió), a R$371 million investment, is scheduled for completion by the end of 2026. It will connect Alagoas’ northern coastline, currently accessible only via Maceió airport followed by more than 130 km of road travel, directly to national air traffic and, eventually, international routes.
• The expansion of Parque Shopping Maceió, a R$67 million investment (+5,500 m² of retail space and 38 new stores), opened at the end of 2025. Visitor numbers, already at 8 million per year, are projected to increase by 20% in 2026.
• The modernisation of Maceió’s seafront: new cycle paths, promenades and renovated public spaces along several stretches of the coastline, as part of a R$360 million urban mobility plan.

These are concrete signs of a market maturing, rather than marketing promises. And that maturation is already reflected in property prices: according to the FipeZAP Index (June 2026), Maceió recorded 8.24% growth over 12 months, compared with 4.39% for Rio de Janeiro over the same period, while the average price per m² remains lower in Maceió (R$9,966 versus R$11,049 in Rio).

In other words, with the same budget, you can currently buy a new property in a sought-after neighbourhood in Maceió, in a market growing roughly twice as fast as Rio at the moment, rather than an older property in an already mature market. The investment logic is therefore different from buying purely for immediate rental income: you are buying early in a city that is not yet internationally well known, with the expectation that capital appreciation on resale and, over time, higher rental income as the destination becomes better known, will account for the largest part of the investment return. Current Airbnb income is a welcome bonus, but not yet the main driver of profitability.

The point you cannot ignore: the condominium now has a say

This is where many articles about investing in Maceió stop too soon. Since May 2026, the Superior Tribunal de Justiça (STJ), Brazil’s highest court for civil disputes, has issued a decision that has concrete implications for condominium owners.

The STJ ruled that recurring and professional short-term rentals, such as the typical Airbnb model, may require explicit approval from two-thirds of the condominium owners when the condominium rules provide for strictly residential use, even if short-term rentals are not explicitly prohibited. In June 2026, the STJ also suspended all ongoing proceedings on this issue nationwide while it works towards a definitive binding legal position (Tema 1.443).

For an investor, this has one very practical consequence: before buying, you need to check the condominium rules (convenção de condomínio) of the building you are considering. Some developments, particularly those designed and marketed from the outset for tourist investment, already explicitly allow short-term rentals in their bylaws, providing greater certainty for buyers. Others, originally designed as conventional residential buildings, may create problems if the condominium owners later decide to restrict the practice.

This is a due diligence point that we systematically include in our analysis of a project before recommending it to a client. It is also one of the reasons why choosing the right development matters at least as much as choosing the right neighbourhood.

The costs people often forget to include

To be transparent about the real return, these are the main costs that reduce the gross yield:

• Property management: 15 to 30% of rental income, depending on the type of rental
• Full furnishing: an initial investment to equip the property to a suitable standard for tourist rentals (fully equipped kitchen, bedding, decoration). Budget approximately €150/m²
• Condominium fees and IPTU (Brazilian property tax), which are payable whether or not the property is rented. In Brazil, the usual range is around 1% of the property’s taxable value per year.
• Vacancy: quieter months outside the high season mechanically reduce the average annual occupancy rate

In summary

Yes, Maceió is one of Brazil’s most active Airbnb markets, with an occupancy rate above the national average. For a well-located and well-managed property, a net annual yield of 5–7% is a realistic range. This is higher than traditional long-term rental (around 6–6.5% net), but less spectacular than what is sometimes suggested. But this figure depends heavily on three factors that need to be checked before buying, not afterwards: the condominium’s legal position on short-term rentals, the quality of the property management chosen, and the exact location of the property within the city.

That said, rental income is probably not the main reason to invest in Maceió today. The city is still relatively unknown internationally compared with Rio or Fortaleza, which naturally limits current rental yields, but also explains why prices remain below those of more mature markets, while property values are currently increasing at almost twice the rate seen in Rio. The strongest investment thesis for Maceió today looks more like this: buy a new property in a good neighbourhood, in a city where infrastructure, from airports and mobility to retail, is being upgraded year after year, and let time do most of the work. Airbnb income is then a welcome source of additional income in the meantime.

Every property is different. If you want to simulate the actual return of a specific project, taking into account its purchase price, location and payment plan, our personalised rental yield calculator gives you a detailed estimate in just a few minutes. 

Simulate your invest​​​​ment