Perequê Beach in Porto Belo: the beach and the neighborhood where the new buildings are

Early in the morning, the sea at Perequê is often almost still. In the background, cranes and new towers are a reminder that Porto Belo's calmest beach is also its busiest construction zone.

Where Perequê is and what the beach is like

Balneário Perequê is the Porto Belo neighborhood that faces the town's cove, between Centro and the Itapema border, on the northern coast of Santa Catarina in southern Brazil. The beach has a long strip of sand, bay water and a beachfront avenue.

Most of the town's buildings under construction are here, which makes the neighborhood the entry point for anyone researching off-plan apartments in Porto Belo.

Porto Belo had 27,688 residents in the 2022 Census, and IBGE, Brazil's statistics office, estimates 32,615 for 2026 in table 6579. It is a small town, with a density of 295.58 people per square kilometer, well below neighboring Itapema.

Distances from Perequê

Routes calculated on OpenStreetMap on October 4, 2026, without traffic:

Being next to Itapema matters day to day. Perequê residents use shops and services in both towns, and reach Meia Praia in a few minutes outside high season.

The sea

The cove shelters the beach from open-ocean waves, which pleases families with children and people who like walking along the water's edge.

A river, the Perequezinho, flows into the beach, and that makes a difference to water quality, as the tests below show.

The water: what IMA-SC tests show

IMA-SC, the Santa Catarina environmental agency, monitors three points on Perequê: point 03, on Avenida Senador Atílio Fontana, by the mouth of the Perequezinho River; point 04, at the end of Rua Rubens Alves, next to the lifeguard post; and point 05, opposite Avenida Almirante Fonseca Neves.

In IMA-SC report no. 47, of October 2, 2026, all three points were suitable for bathing in the September 29 sample. The same report states that weekly sampling for the season has begun and that the first report of the 2026/2027 season comes out on October 30.

The history says more than a single week. From data exported from the IMA-SC water quality system on October 4, 2026:

The reading is straightforward: water quality is worse near the river mouth and improves farther from it. Point 05 was suitable in every 2025 sample. Rain matters too: in the 2025 and 2026 samples at point 03 where IMA-SC recorded rain, 42% were unsuitable; in samples without rain, 27%.

How results vary through the year

At the river mouth, unsuitable results appear all year. In 2025 there was at least one unsuitable sample in ten of the twelve months, including in winter (June to August here), when IMA-SC samples once a month.

In summer, with weekly sampling, runs appear.

In December 2025, the river mouth was unsuitable in four consecutive samples, from December 8 to 29. In January 2026, points 03 and 04 were unsuitable on the 5th, 12th and 19th and returned to suitable from the 26th. Point 05 had a single unsuitable result all season, on January 5.

If you will live here, this helps you choose a stretch of the beach. If you are spending the day, the practical rule is to check the week's report on the IMA-SC website before going into the water.

The beachfront, the shops and the swap of houses for towers

Avenida Senador Atílio Fontana runs along the beachfront and concentrates beachfront buildings, as the addresses in the catalog show. On the blocks behind, low houses sit next to lots under construction.

This portal's catalog shows the scale of the change. On October 4, 2026, 24 of Porto Belo's 36 developments in launch or under construction were in Perequê. Among them are projects of 29 to 31 floors, with expected delivery dates from 2026 to 2032, according to the developers' public information.

That change brings effects residents feel before buyers do:

• Years of construction. With deliveries spread into the next decade, there will always be a building site on some block.
• Shade and wind. Tall buildings on the first block cast shade over the sand and neighbors for part of the day.
• Traffic. More apartments mean more cars on the avenue and on the narrow streets linking the beachfront to the highway.
• Services catching up. Perequê has two family health clinics and Alto Perequê one more, according to CNES, Brazil's national registry of health facilities, and Porto Belo's 24-hour urgent care unit (UPA) is in Jardim Dourado, 3 km away by car. Porto Belo has no hospital registered in CNES; the nearest is in Itapema.

The 2022 Census explains the rhythm of the year: 24.50% of Porto Belo's dwellings were for occasional use, according to IBGE table 4711. In high season (December to February), Perequê fills up; outside it, the beachfront is quieter. In Itapema, the share of occasional-use homes was much higher, at 39.27%.

Living or investing in Perequê: what to weigh

For living, Perequê offers a calm beach, nearby shops and quick access to Itapema. Against it: years of living with construction and relying on neighboring towns for hospital care.

For investing, the neighborhood concentrates the town's supply. That gives you choices of floor plan, price and timeline, and also brings competition at resale and in vacation rentals when several buildings are delivered close to one another.

The risks of any off-plan purchase apply here: construction delays, design changes, a developer in financial trouble, the balance adjusted by the INCC (Brazil's construction cost index), financing denied at handover and lower liquidity if you resell before delivery.

Past appreciation does not guarantee future appreciation, and no neighborhood is free of these risks. A registered development filing (registro de incorporação), the segregated-assets regime (patrimônio de afetação) and a carefully read contract reduce your exposure, without eliminating it.

If you want to get to know the town's other beaches before choosing, our article on Porto Belo beaches compares each one. The other neighborhoods in town are covered in Porto Belo neighborhoods.

Perequê suits people who want calm water with the town close by

People researching Perequê usually arrive through the beach photo and only later find the building site next door. Both are part of the same neighborhood, and it is better to know both before buying.

In practice, the choice comes down to three precautions:

1. Choose the stretch of beach by looking at the IMA-SC history, not only the view.
2. Ask what is approved for the lots next to the building you want.
3. Compare the expected delivery date with that of the buildings around it, to know how many new neighbors will arrive at the same time.

On your next trip to the coast, walk the Perequê beachfront end to end, from the river mouth to the Itapema border, and note the blocks you like.

The buildings under construction on each stretch are on the page of off-plan apartments in Perequê. In the online consultation, our specialist presents the price tables by video call; if you are in town, you can book a visit to the show unit and the site.

In Perequê, the best apartment starts with choosing the right stretch of beach.