The cell to which the former president was transferred on Thursday (15), in the 19th Military Police Battalion, is larger than 83% of the apartments opened in 2024 in the city of São Paulo.
The facilities at the unit in the Federal District accommodate up to four people, but will be used exclusively by Bolsonaro. The space has 65 m², with 10 m² of external area, and has .
Data from Secovi-SP (Housing Union of the State of São Paulo) shows that 22% of units launched in 2024 in São Paulo were up to 30 m². Units with dimensions between 30 m² and 45 m² represent 61% of the total. This means that the cell to which the former president was transferred is larger than more than 83% of new properties in the capital of São Paulo.
In the central region, according to an analysis by Embraesp (Brazilian Heritage Studies Company), properties launched from December 2022 to November 2025 have an average useful area of 42 m². The average size of one-bedroom apartments, such as , is 29 m², less than half of Papudinha’s facilities.
The average price of new apartments in the area that covers the Centro, Consolação, Santa Cecília and Luz neighborhoods is R$14,200 per square meter, that is, a property equivalent to the location of Bolsonaro’s prison would cost R$926,000.
According to a study released by Abrainc (Brazilian Association of Real Estate Developers), the average price per square meter of new properties throughout the capital of São Paulo in 2025 was R$15,800. This means that, to buy a newly built property with the same size as the facilities that house the former president in Papudinha, it would be necessary to pay, on average, R$1.03 million.
The Fipezap index published last December by Fipe (Economic Research Foundation) estimates the average price per square meter of properties in São Paulo —new and old— as R$11,900, that is, a 65 m² property would cost around R$773,000. But it all depends on the chosen neighborhood: the value could be R$542,000 in Vila Andrade, in the south zone, or R$1.26 million in Itaim Bibi, in the west zone, according to the foundation’s estimates.
In practice, values can be even higher, especially when it comes to new apartments. The property sales and rental platform Viva Real, for example, lists a 69m², two-bedroom property available for purchase off-plan in Itaim Bibi for R$2.84 million. A one-bedroom, 55m² apartment, the same size as the covered area of Bolsonaro’s cell, costs R$2 million.
In the center, the platform displays three properties under construction, measuring between 28 and 38 m², approximately half the size of Papudinha’s cell, and with purchase prices between R$249,000 and R$366,000. In Consolação, a 52m², two-bedroom apartment, still under construction, is offered for R$1.25 million.
Regarding rent, the Quinto Andar and Imovelweb index estimates that the average value for one-bedroom apartments in São Paulo is R$86.86 per square meter. Therefore, to rent a property equivalent to Jair Bolsonaro’s cell, it would be necessary to pay R$5,645.90 per month, in addition to the condominium fee.
