After 25 years of living in a sandcastle on the beach, a guy leaves behind a clue about his lifestyle: “I have no bills.” Marcio, also referred to as “King Macio,” voluntarily adopted this unusual lifestyle in protest of the unstable circumstances that many Brazilians were facing. One of the biggest social issues facing the world today is housing access. The number of young people who can become self-sufficient in the conventional manner is steadily declining, and those who have been able to secure an apartment are seeing their rent skyrocket. The BBC has claimed that he has a specific architectural style in mind when building sandcastles.
He is influenced by Oscar Niemeyer and Antoni Gaudi. Spanish architect Gaudi, who is considered one of the masters, used trades like carpentry, stained glass, wrought ironwork forging, and ceramics in his designs. Matolias’ castle is located on Rio’s Barra da Tijuca beach, where rents are exorbitant. The average salary of the locals is about half of the average monthly rent, according to Quartz. Matolias lived in an apartment years ago before moving to the sandcastle. He never actually planned to live on the beach at first, but as time passed, he concluded that it made more sense for him to do so than to struggle to earn enough money to maintain a place to live.
This man has lived in a sandcastle for 25 years without paying rent and bills
Brazilian Marcio Mizael Matolias is one example of this. After 24 years of residing in a massive sandcastle on the Barra da Tijuca beach in Rio de Janeiro, the 46-year-old man has established himself as a genuine celebrity. Marcio, sometimes referred to as “King Marcio,” deliberately adopted this unconventional lifestyle, which has since evolved into a protest against the unstable housing conditions that many Cariocas face in Rio de Janeiro. Because of the city’s tropical environment, Marcio claims he has to continuously water the sandcastle’s walls and towers to keep the fine sand from crumbling.
He has to reconstruct the entire sandcastle from scratch and lose a few hours of his primary source of revenue because the “king” lives in a room that is only three square meters in size, and the entire building may collapse in a few minutes due to a single tropical storm. Marcio has been rebuilding and maintaining his home for over 20 years, and he has developed a special method that has drawn the interest of a nearby shopping center, which occasionally employs him to create decorations. Additionally, the man has a table laden with books next to his sandcastle since he loves to read. To keep this project going, Marcio encourages everyone who passes by to go through the innumerable novels and copies he has and purchase them at whatever price they choose. The sign reads, “Pick up a book and donate in the box.”
Housing prices might continue to rise this year
According to Fitch’s assessment, the majority of countries’ housing supply is not keeping up with demand, which is driving up prices. Reduced inflation, real wage growth, and low unemployment have increased demand by giving consumers more disposable income. In 2025, the Netherlands, Canada, Brazil, and Mexico are predicted to see the fastest increases in housing prices. In Canada and the Netherlands, government initiatives to assist first-time homebuyers will fuel this expansion, while rising earnings and building costs will propel growth in Brazil and Mexico.
Due to high labor, land, and material costs, as well as high borrowing rates for smaller homebuilders and regulatory restrictions, supply is predicted to continue to lag behind demand in all of the countries included in the analysis. Meanwhile, falling rates, constant and low unemployment, rising household discretionary income, and the creation of new households all support demand. Over the following two years, Fitch anticipates that mortgage rates in the majority of countries will be lower or comparable to those at the end of 2024, which will aid affordability.
