We surveyed over 130 apartment buildings in the 5 most popular Medellín neighborhoods for expats to find out current costs to buy new apartments in Medellín.
We previously looked at the prices to rent apartments in the 5 most popular Medellín neighborhoods for expats.
Several Medellin Guru readers have also asked about the costs to buy new apartments. So, we first look at the cost to buy new apartments in Medellín in this article.
The following table summarizes the findings of our survey of costs to buy new apartments in Medellín:
Average costs to buy new apartments in Medellín survey results, October 2019
New apartment prices average 12.2 to 36.9 percent lower per square meter or per square foot in Laureles-Estadio, Envigado, Belén or Sabaneta compared to in El Poblado.
Note we used the exchange rate of 3,434 pesos to the U.S. dollar in this article.
Our Methodology
We surveyed new apartment projects listed in the October 2019 Informe Inmobiliario magazine that is distributed for free in Exito, Euro and other grocery stores. This magazine lists new apartment projects in the Medellín metro area.
We used this magazine to identify new apartment projects in the five neighborhoods in Medellín and the Aburrá Valley included in this article. For each apartment project we surveyed, we included only the smallest model apartment, which will tend to have the highest price per square meter.
The free Informe Inmobiliario magazine
Understanding Estratos in Colombia
It is very important to understand estratos when looking at neighborhoods in Colombia. Residential properties in Colombia are ranked in a socioeconomic scale, which are known as “estratos”. Estratos in Colombia run from 1 to 6, as follows:
- Low-low class (bajo-bajo)
- Low class (bajo)
- Low-middle class (medio-bajo)
- Middle class (medio)
- Middle-high class (medio-alto)
- High class (alto) – the wealthiest
In addition, it is important to understand that middle class in Colombia is not the same as middle class in a wealthy country like the U.S. Also, the wealthy estrato 6 in Colombia represents only about 3 to 4 percent of housing in Colombia.
The majority of Colombians live in estrato 1, 2 or 3 neighborhoods, which represents about 80 percent of the housing in Colombia. And most foreigners tend to live in estratos 3 to 6.
Apartment buildings near Santafé mall in El Poblado, Medellín
1. El Poblado
El Poblado is the most popular neighborhood for foreigners living in or visiting Medellín. In addition, El Poblado is considered the most upscale neighborhood in the city of Medellín.
El Poblado is where the most hotels, hostels and furnished apartments catering to foreigners are located. So, El Pobaldo is where most foreign visitors to Medellín stay. El Poblado is known as Comuna 14 and it has 22 barrios.
El Poblado is the wealthiest neighborhood in Medellín. El Poblado is primarily an Estrato 6 neighborhood with about 74 percent of the households rated at estrato 6. Also, it’s where the most expensive real estate and most expensive apartment rentals in the city tend to be located.
Most of the housing in El Poblado is located in high-rise apartments. And some of the high-rises in El Poblado have spectacular views of the city.
Population: 132,688
Number of New Apartment Projects: 36
Average Price to Buy New: 6.9 million pesos ($2,009) per square meter or $186.7 per square foot.
Price Range for New Apartments: 4.5 million to 10.2 million pesos ($1,324 to $2,975) per square meter or $123 to $276 per square foot.
Apartment buildings in Laureles, Medellín
2. Laureles-Estadio
Laureles-Estadio is another popular neighborhood for foreigners living in Medellín. It has many areas with tree-lined streets and much fewer high-rise apartments than are found in El Poblado.
Also, Laureles is primarily a residential neighborhood. Laureles-Estadio is known as Comuna 11 and it has 15 barrios (neighborhoods).
Laureles-Estadio is home of Estadio Atanasio Giradot, which is the stadium where Atlético Nacional and Independiente Medellin play fútbol matches. Also, near the stadium is a huge sports complex that has an Olympic size pool; basketball, volleyball and tennis courts; velodrome and many other sports arenas.
The first unfurnished apartment I rented in Medellín was located in Estadio near the stadium. Laureles-Estadio is primarily an estrato 4 and 5 neighborhood with about 99 percent of the homes rated as estrato 4 or 5.
There aren’t many new apartment projects in Laureles-Estadio, as this neighborhood is built-out and new projects tend to be replacements of older buildings.
Population: 122,972
Number of New Apartment Projects: 9
Average Price to Buy New: 6.1 million pesos ($1,764) per square meter or $163.9 per square foot.
Price Range for New Apartments: 5.0 million to 7.0 million pesos ($1,324 to $2,975) per square meter or $136 to $189 per square foot.
A view from the hills of Envigado
3. Envigado
Envigado is another popular neighborhood for foreigners living in Medellín.
Most notably, Envigado is less commercial than El Poblado and it is located directly south of El Poblado. Envigado is a separate municipality from Medellín. The Envigado municipality has over 40 barrios (neighborhoods).
In addition, Envigado is primarily a residential community. So, you won’t find many hotels or hostels in Envigado like are found in El Poblado.
Envigado has many areas with tree-lined streets and it has fewer high-rise apartments than are found in El Poblado. In addition, Envigado is considered to be more of a working-class community. In Envigado, 96 percent of housing is in estrato 2 to 5 and only 4 percent is in estrato 1 or 6.
Population: 232,900
Number of New Apartment Projects: 41
Average Price to Buy New: 5.3 million pesos ($1,548) per square meter or $143.8 per square foot.
Price Range for New Apartments: 3.5 million to 6.7 million pesos ($1,019 to $1,962) per square meter or $95 to $182 per square foot.
Apartment buildings in Belén
4. Belén
Belén is a neighborhood that is slowing becoming more popular for foreigners living in Medellín. Belén is located west of El Poblado on the other side of the Medellín river. Also, Belén is located south of Laureles-Estadio.
Belén is considered a middle-class area except that it has more of a blue-collar feel. Belén is known as Comuna 16 and it has 22 barrios (neighborhoods). In Belén, 98 percent of the housing in estrato 2 to 5 and only 2 percent in estrato 1.
Similar to Laureles/Estadio, in Belén you will find many tree-lined streets lined with one-story, two-story and three-story attached homes that are more difficult to find in El Poblado. In addition, Belén has some areas with high-rise apartment buildings, especially in the Loma de los Bernal barrio.
Furthermore, Belén is the comuna where I lived for over four years in three different barrios (Fatima, Loma de Los Bernal and Los Alpes).
Belén like Laureles-Estadio is nearly built out and has few new apartment projects.
Population: 197,493
Number of New Apartment Projects: 6
Average Price to Buy New: 4.5 million pesos ($1,300) per square meter or $120.9 per square foot.
Price Range for New Apartments: 3.4 million to 6.4 million pesos ($988 to $1,870) per square meter or $92 to $173 per square foot.
Apartment buildings in Sabaneta near Aves Maria mall
5. Sabaneta
Sabaneta is located directly south of Envigado. Sabaneta is a separate municipality from Medellín, like Envigado. Sabaneta has been booming with developers building many apartment buildings over the past several years. With all the new apartment buildings in the area there are many unfurnished rentals available.
Sabaneta has a total area of about 5.8 square miles, which makes it the smallest municipality in all of Colombia. The Sabaneta municipality has 31 barrios (neighborhoods).
Much of the daily life in Sabaneta is centered around Parque Sabaneta, which is a one square block plaza that is filled with trees for shade. Also, this park is surrounded by several small restaurants, bars and shops.
In addition, Sabaneta has become increasingly popular with foreigners looking for an alternative. Rentals in Sabaneta can be much cheaper than in El Poblado, Envigado or Laureles-Estadio.
Sabaneta is more of a working-class community. 98 percent of the housing in Sabaneta is estrato 2 to 4. And only 2 percent is estrato 1, 5 or 6.
I currently live in Sabaneta. I have lived in Sabaneta for over three years and I hear English more and more around town as more foreigners discover this area.
Population: 103,217
Number of New Apartment Projects: 43
Average Price to Buy New: 4.3 million pesos ($1,267) per square meter or $117.7 per square foot.
Price Range for New Apartments: 2.4 million to 5.4 million pesos ($697 to $1,559) per square meter or $123 to $145 per square foot.
Medellin Guru partners with RE/MAX for real estate services
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Medellin Guru’s Guide to Buying, Selling and Renting Apartments and Choosing a Neighborhood
On the Medellin Guru website, we have a comprehensive and up-to-date guide to buying, selling and renting apartments and choosing a neighborhood in Medellín found in several articles, including:
Buying and Selling Apartments
- Medellín Real Estate: 2020 Property Buyer’s Guide for Foreigners
- Selling Real Estate in Colombia: A Guide to Selling for Foreigners
- Top 17 Mistakes Foreigners Make When Buying Real Estate in Colombia
- Current Costs to Buy New Apartments in Medellín – 2019 Update
- Rent vs Buy: Downsides of Renting and Buying Property in Medellín
- 11 Things Real Estate Agents in Colombia May Not Tell You
- How to Obtain an Investment Visa for Investments in Real Estate
Renting Unfurnished Apartments:
- Apartment Rental Guide: Renting Unfurnished Apartments in Medellín
- Guide to Finding Unfurnished Apartments in Medellín and Casas
- Guide to Overcoming the Fiador (Cosigner) Requirement in Colombia
- 2019 Unfurnished Apartment Rental Costs in Medellín
- 6 Inexpensive Neighborhoods for Unfurnished Rentals in Medellín
- Furnishing Apartments: A Guide to Furnishing Apartments in Medellín
- Apartment vs Casa (House) Rentals in Medellín: Pros and Cons
Renting Furnished Apartments:
- Furnished Apartment Rental Costs in Medellín – 2019 Survey Results
- Guide to Finding a Furnished Room for Rent in Medellín
Choosing a Neighborhood in Medellín:
Also, we have several articles that can be used to help foreigners choose a neighborhood in Medellín:
- What are the Safest Neighborhoods in Medellín and the Aburrá Valley?
- 5 Best Neighborhoods in Medellín: A Guide to Choosing a Neighborhood
- 8 Downsides of El Poblado: Living in Medellín’s Expensive Neighborhood
- Estratos: A Guide to Understanding Estratos in Colombia
- El Poblado vs Laureles: Which is the Better Neighborhood to Live in?
- El Poblado vs Envigado: Which is the Better Neighborhood to Live in?
- El Poblado vs Sabaneta: Which is the Better Neighborhood to Live in?
- El Poblado vs Belén: Which is the Better Neighborhood to Live in?
- 2018 Unfurnished Apartment Rental Costs in Medellín in 5 Neighborhoods Popular with Expats
- 6 Inexpensive Neighborhoods for Unfurnished Rentals in Medellín
A new apartment project in Sabaneta
The Bottom Line: Current Costs to Buy New Apartments in Medellín
The different neighborhoods in Medellín offer a wide range of costs to buy new apartments. El Poblado remains the most popular neighborhood for foreigners out of all of the Medellín neighborhoods.
But El Poblado has the highest average costs to buy new apartments in Medellín, as seen in our above survey results. Also, El Poblado has the highest average costs for buying used apartments and renting unfurnished or furnished apartments.
Furthermore, new home prices in Medellín have been increasing at a faster pace then inflation. According to DANE, new home prices increased 8.5 percent in the past year in Medellín.
The bottom line is you have many neighborhood choices in Medellín and the Aburrá Valley and to each his own, everyone’s priorities are different. Also, there are a wide range of amenities and a wide range of cost-of-living.
Used apartments in Medellín can be purchased for significantly lower prices than new apartments. And the prices can vary dramatically depending on the age, location and amenities of apartments. We plan to look at the prices for used apartments in Medellín in a future article.
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Jeff I’m still struggling with your costs to buy per square meter. I don’t understand what is a average appartment in Poblado for example. If a typical appartment had say 500 square meters. Then that would suggest cost to buy 500 times $2,009 that is over $1 million. Is that true? Some example of different sized apartments, according to bedrooms etc would really clarify for me. Thanks for your work.
500 square meters is huge – multiply square meters by 10.7639 and that is 5,381 square feet. A normal size apartment in El Poblado may be 100 square meters or smaller and typically is no more than 200 square meters. For example, one of the new apartments we surveyed in El Poblado was a 3-bedroom 131 square meters (1,410 square feet) apartment for 991,573,000 pesos or $288,752 USD, which is $205 per square foot.
When my wife and I moved to Sabaneta years back, there were only 44,000 residents…and now there are over 100,000! That’s the reason we sold and moved out. I did not know Sabaneta now is zoned for 6 estratos. When we lived there, the highest estrato was only a 5 (primarily, the townhouses on Loma Linda were estrato 5). The smaller municipalities in Colombia only go as high as 5.
Thanks for the helpful post. El Poblado looks to have higher cost for new homes than in some cities in the U.S. $186.7 per square foot is expensive.
Nice report Jeff. It would be interesting to see how long these places are on the market? Sure are a lot of Vende sales here in Laureles.
Wow! That’s more than I thought. We bought a “used” 3/2 apartment in 2015 at just under 2,400,000 COP/sq meter in Alejandria barrio Poblado. That was just slightly under what we found the going rate to be while shopping.
A new 15-20 story building across the street opened about a year ago. I’m not sure if it’s fully sold, but there is no sales office on-site. It can’t be more than about 25-35% occupied based on lit apartments at night. Originally about 5,000,000 per sq meter 2-3 years ago while under construction. Who is buying these?
I look forward to your survey of established buildings. The purchase prices probably almost 50% less than new. But even that would be more than I expected before reading this survey.
Jeff,
Do you have any insights on closing costs with Lawyers and necessary fees they normally charge?
See our property buyers guide that includes estimated closing costs for real estate deals – https://medellinguru.com/medellin-real-estate/
Will you update this for Coronavirus year? I’m looking to buy now.
It is in our plans to update before the end of the year.
Jeff,
An excellent article, thank you.
Any idea of per square meter prices for resale apartments located in El Poblado?