We provide a guide to finding unfurnished apartments in Medellín as well as casas (houses) for rent. Also, we look at how to find a 3-bedroom place that rents for less than $350 USD per month.
There are multiple ways to find unfurnished apartments and houses in Medellín including:
- Websites
- Real estate agencies
- Newspaper ads
- Bulletin boards in grocery stores and other places
- Walking around neighborhoods
In this article we will look at each of these in more detail and also look at my experience renting unfurnished apartments and a house in Medellín for over eight years. We have received many questions from readers recently about this topic.

The Espacio Urbano website
Finding Unfurnished Apartments and Houses – Websites
There are several websites that list unfurnished apartments and houses in Medellín. The best of these in my opinion is the popular website Espacio Urbano, which is used by many real estate agencies to list properties for sale or rent.
Also, there are several other websites with unfurnished rentals including Fincaraíz, Icasas, Metro Cuadrado and OLX.
In addition, there are many local real estate agency websites with unfurnished apartments and houses listed.

Apartment buildings in the Medellín metro area
Finding Unfurnished Apartments and Houses – Real Estate Agencies
There are literally hundreds of real estate agencies in Medellín. You can find many of these agencies listing properties on websites like Espacio Urbano. And you can find real estate agency offices in many parts of the city. But some real estate agencies won’t have much experience working with foreigners.
The benefit of using a real estate agent is that there are few exclusive listings with real estate agents in Colombia. So, real estate agents can represent most properties.
I rented several apartments and a house from real estate agents. And a big benefit is that real estate agents can show you many properties. But a downside is the fiador (cosigner) requirement. However, we provided a guide to overcoming the fiador requirement.
Also, if you use real estate agents, make sure to read our article about 11 things that real estate agents in Colombia may not tell you.
Finding Unfurnished Apartments and Houses – Newspaper Ads
You can also find apartment and house rental listings from real estate agencies and from owners in local newspapers like El Colombiano.
Also, I have seen apartment rental ads posted in bulletin boards in some grocery stores and other places in the city.

Multiple Real Estate Agents tying to rent the same apartment
Finding Unfurnished Apartments and Houses – Walking Around
Finally, one of the best ways to find unfurnished apartment rentals is to walk around neighborhoods you are interested in.
Available unfurnished rental apartments will normally have signs on the windows saying “Arrienda” with numbers to call. Most of these signs have real estate agent phone numbers but a few will have owner phone numbers. Also, don’t be surprised to see signs from multiple agents on the same apartment.
By walking around, it is possible to find owner contact information from porterias (doorman) in high-rise apartment buildings so you can bypass the real estate agencies.
The first unfurnished apartment I rented in Medellín I found by walking around and calling numbers posted on windows.
In addition, keep in mind that Spanish is needed when looking for apartments. Most owners and real estate agents won’t speak much English. I have a Colombian wife and I speak sufficient Spanish to look for apartments.
So, if you don’t speak much Spanish it’s recommend to find someone bilingual to help when looking for unfurnished apartments.
My Experience Renting Apartments in Medellín (and a Casa)
I previously provided my story – discovering Colombia and moving to Medellín where I looked at my rental history. I have rented four different unfurnished apartments and recently rented an unfurnished casa (house).

Inside my first unfurnished apartment in Estadio that I furnished
My first rental apartment I rented over eight years ago was in Estadio with the following specifications:
- 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, about 70 square meters (753 square feet)
- Kitchen with gas cook-top and granite counters, plus a gas water heater (tankless)
- 4th floor with vaulted ceilings
- No elevator and no porteria (doorman)
- Estrato 5 neighborhood
- Rent: 1,200,000 peso per month
This unfurnished apartment I found by walking around and rented from a real estate agency by paying rent in advance. And I avoided the fiador requirement by paying rent in advance.
I lived in this apartment for one year and liked living in Estadio. But after one year, I decided I was tired of walking up stairs so started looking for a new place to live.

View from my second unfurnished apartment in Belén
My Second Apartment
My second apartment was in the Loma de los Bernal barrio in Belén. This apartment was an upgrade compared to the one in Estadio. Apartment specifications were:
- 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, about 75 square meters (807 square feet)
- Kitchen with gas cook-top and granite counters, plus a gas water heater (tankless)
- 15th floor with balcony in a high-rise
- 24×7 porteria
- Pool and small gym in building
- Estrato 5 neighborhood
- Rent: 1,200,000 peso per month
This apartment I found using the services of a real estate agent. And I avoided the fiador requirement by paying rent in advance.
I lived in this apartment for two years. But the owner contacted my agent before renewing for a third year and said he was moving back from Bogotá to live in the apartment. So, I needed to find another place quickly.

View from my third unfurnished apartment in Belén
My Third Apartment
My real estate agent knew my requirements by then and quickly found an apartment he said I would like. And he was right. What really sold me was the apartment had two balconies with an incredible view of the city. The two balconies offered a 225-degree unobstructed view of Medellín.
- 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, about 72 square meters (775 square feet)
- Kitchen with oven and gas cook-top, plus a gas water heater (tankless)
- 14th floor in a high-rise building, with two balconies
- Pool and small gym in building
- 24×7 porteria
- Estrato 4 neighborhood
- Rent: 1,150,000 pesos per month
Also, this apartment was in a good location, only a few blocks from the Los Molinos mall and the Los Alpes Metroplús station. Soon after living in this apartment I starting dating a Colombian that a couple years later became my wife.
We lived in this apartment for two years but decided it was too small and decided to move. Also, the owner of this apartment was planning to move back into it. So, we couldn’t have renewed the lease if we wanted to.

Kitchen in our current unfurnished apartment in Sabaneta, we added the microwave and refrigerator
My Fourth Apartment
- Three bedrooms, two bathrooms, 100 square meters (1,076 square feet)
- Kitchen with granite countertops, oven, gas cook-top, plus a gas water heater (tankless)
- 10th floor in a high-rise building, with two large balconies
- Pool, sauna and small gym in building
- 24×7 porteria
- Estrato 4 neighborhood
- Rent: 1,280,000 pesos per month (three years ago and net after renting the parking space for 70,000 pesos per month). If we renewed, rent would be about 1,420,000 pesos per month net after renting the parking space.
We have lived in this apartment, which is located up a hill in Sabaneta for the past three years. And we avoided the fiador requirement by paying rent in advance with a real estate agent for the first year and renting from the owner the last two years.
We have really enjoyed living here. But instead of renewing our lease we decided we wanted to move down the hill in Sabaneta to be closer to Parque Sabaneta and within easier walking distance to a metro station.
Looking for Apartments in Sabaneta
We started looking for apartments in Sabaneta about three weeks ago. We started by walking around and calling numbers we saw on rental signs in windows. Also, we looked on the Espacio Urbano website.
In addition, we were able to get the contact information of a few owners by talking to porterias. But we found this was challenging and had more success talking with real estate agents. We found agents from numbers on windows or on the Espacio Urbano website.
Using real estate agents was efficient. For example, in one day, one real estate agent showed us six apartments and another agent showed us two houses (casas). So, we saw eight properties in one day with two agents.
We looked at about 20 different properties in Sabaneta – all were 3-bedroom with rents ranging from 1,050,000 to 1,500,000 pesos per month.
We decided location was most important for us and we wanted to be within a 10-minute walk from Parque Sabaneta and within a 10-minute walk from a metro station.
Finding a Casa for Under $340 Per Month
While looking, one real estate agent showed us a casa (house) that was in great location, near Parque Sabaneta and near the Sabaneta metro station.

The house is only a 5-minute walk to Parque Sabaneta
This house is well-located, a five-minute walk to Parque Sabaneta, a 10-minute walk to the Sabaneta metro station and an 18-minute walk to the large Mayorca mall. Also, there are over 50 restaurants within about a 10-minute walk from this house. And here are the house specifications:
- Two story house with a small balcony and vaulted ceilings
- Three bedrooms, 1.5 bathrooms, 85 square meters (915 square feet)
- Kitchen with gas cook-top, plus a gas water heater (tankless)
- Estrato 3 neighborhood
- Rent: 1,050,000 pesos per month (this is only $336 per month)

Inside the casa we rented with vaulted ceilings
We decided to rent this house that had just been placed on the market. And we had to move quickly because our real estate agent said there were up to five others who were interested in this house due to the low price and good location.
No fiador was required with the real estate agency. But I needed to get a 5-month CDT to avoid the fiador requirement. The process to get the CDT and rent the apartment took less than a week and we received the keys only two days ago. We plan to move in the next few weeks.
Finding a 3-bedroom Place for Under $350 Per Month
It is possible to find a 3-bedrom unfurnished apartment or house in the Medellín area that rents for under $350 per month (under 1.1 million pesos per month). But it will be very difficult and perhaps impossible to find that price in El Poblado or Envigado.
We surveyed over 250 3-bedroom unfurnished apartments in El Poblado and Envigado and didn’t find any at the 3-bedroom size that rented for cheaper than 1.2 million pesos per month.
We surveyed a total of 1,000 unfurnished apartments in December 2018 and found a wide range of prices. But to find 3-bedroom unfurnished apartments for under $350 per month you should look in neighborhoods like Sabaneta, Belén or Laureles-Estadio.
The average is higher for 3-bedroom apartments in all three neighborhoods (Sabaneta, Belén or Laureles-Estadio) but it’s possible to find for less than $350 per month as we did. In addition, we previously looked at 5 inexpensive neighborhoods in Medellín where it is possible to find 3-bedroom rentals for less than $350 per month.
On the Medellin Guru website, we have a comprehensive and up-to-date guide to renting apartments and choosing a neighborhood in Medellín found in several articles, including:
Medellin Guru’s Guide to Renting Apartments and Choosing a Neighborhood
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
- 2018 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
Buying Apartments
- 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
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
The Bottom Line: Finding Unfurnished Apartments in Medellín (and Casas)
It has become much easier to rent unfurnished apartments and houses in Medellín then when I started renting over eight years ago. Every real estate agency we talked to when looking for apartments recently said we could rent without a fiador if we got a CDT security deposit.
Also, we found that walking around, using real estate agencies and using the Espacio Urbano website were the three best ways to find apartments.
In addition, we found the most efficient way to find and see many apartments that met our needs in a short time was with the help of real estate agents. We worked with four different real estate agencies to see about 20 properties in a week. And we saw several nice 3-bedroom apartments in Sabaneta that rented for under 1,300,000 per month.
Finally, beware of relocation services in Medellín and Colombia that provide services for finding unfurnished apartments in Medellín. These relocation services charge for this service but real estate agencies will show you apartments for free. So, these relocation services are exploiting foreigners in my opinion. It is easy to use real estate agencies for free to find many apartments and homes for rent.
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Thanks for another good article Jeff!
For the uninitiated, perhaps you could explain your acronym CDT? What is it? I assume its some kind of deposit held in trust? with who?
How does one get this? how much do they cost? where does one get it?
Thanks
A CDT in Colombia is like a CD at a bank in the U.S. Third parties like insurance companies offer this as a type of security deposit for rentals. We have a separate article about overcoming the fiador requirement that explains using CDTs in more detail, see: https://medellinguru.com/overcoming-fiador-requirement/
An insurance company used by several real estate agencies is El Libertador, which investigates and analyze the documents for a rental application to determine the economic solvency of the potential tenants looking to lease property. This company essentially evaluates your safety as a tenant by looking at economic activity you have inside Colombia. El Libertador determines how big of a deposit is needed in the form of a CDT at a bank if a renter doesn’t have a fiador. This is typically anywhere from 5 to 9 months but could be longer.
Thanks for the very helpful post. How easy was it to move from apartment to apartment? And can you share the name of the real estate company you rented the inexpensive house from. Thanks in advance!
Hi Dan, thanks. It was relatively painless and inexpensive to move each time. We hired movers. When we move to the house we recently rented, I plan to cover moving in a separate article.
The real estate agency we rented from is Arrendamientos Envigado – https://www.arrendamientosenvigadosa.com/. This is a sizable real estate agency, which specializes in unfurnished rentals and they have over 100 employees. They primarily rent properties in the southern part of the metro area like Envigado, Sabaneta and Itagüí but also rent some properties in El Poblado. Their office is near Parque Engigado. And the agent we worked with only spoke Spanish but they told me they also have someone working there who is bilingual – English and Spanish.
Thanks for providing info about the real estate agency you used.
Thanks for the article. I have been looking in Sabaneta and there are many inexpensive places. Is the house you found on a busy street? I noticed some of the streets are pretty busy. I prefer to live on a street that isn’t very busy.
Hi Mark, the house isn’t on a busy street and is set back from the street unlike many houses that are directly on the street.
Nice article and very true you can get real estate agents to show you many unfurnished rental apartments and homes for free. See my comment in your gringo pricing article https://medellinguru.com/gringo-pricing/.
I repeat that comment here so that others aren’t taken advantage of by the youngsters pushing high priced relocation services including a service to find apartments:
WARNING be careful of expats charging high prices to newbie expats. 2 kids are heavily promoting on youtube their How to Expat services with overpriced sneak peak and relocation services. For example I see a Getting Settled package with a high price of $670 for finding an apartment, neighborhood tour, visa assessment, 2 hours of Spanish classes and 2 hours customized services. IMHO you should be able to do this yourself for less than $100. Visa assessment is free at any visa agency, real estate agencies will show you apartments for free, for a neighborhood tour hire a taxi for less than 40,000 pesos per hour, only 2 hours of Spanish classes – worthless and you can go to a language exchange for free. These kids are taking advantage of newbie expats with high prices for things you can easily find for free or low cost.
Wow, pay $670 for a bunch of services that you can mostly find for free. What a complete rip-off!
Also what value is a quick neighborhood tour for a few hours. If you want to really experience a neighborhood you need to do a trial of living there for several days and walk around. I don’t believe you can really get a feel for how it is to live in a neighborhood in only a few hours.
WARNING. How to Expat’s relocation services are GRINGO PRICED and VERY HIGH by two young expats from Switzerland that are taking advantage of newbies to Medellin.
I spent about 10 minutes Google searching and essentially found everything in How to Expat’s $1,070 Premium relocation package for free or relatively low cost.
– Airport Transfer – $35 – http://www.medellin-airport-transfer.com/
– Finding an Apartment – FREE – http://www.arrendamientosenvigadosa.com/ a big agency specializing in rentals
– Neighborhood Tour – about $70 for a 4 hour private tour for 2 people from a bilingual guide – https://tourguides.viator.com/Listing.aspx?Country=Colombia&Region=Antioquia&City=Medell%C3%ADn
– Transportation Tour – $5 for self-guided tour – https://practicalwanderlust.com/2016/08/city-tour-of-medellin-colombia.html
– Visa Assessment – FREE – Expatgroup.co plus has a low cost $125 visa service – https://medellinguru.com/visa-agencies-colombia/
– 3h Spanish Classes – instead 450,000 pesos ($144) for 10 hours of private classes – http://www.toucanspanish.com/pricing/
– Health Insurance Assessment – FREE – Angela Berrio insurance broker – angela.berrio@asesorsura.com – https://medellinguru.com/health-insurance/
– 5h Customized Service – NOT sure what this is…
My total cost = $254 but with more Spanish class time (10 hours) and this took only about 10 minutes…
I started a thread about this on Colombia Connections – http://colombiaconnection.freeforums.net/thread/5803/expat-overpriced-relocation-services-pricing
Thanks Dan! It is ironic that in the How to Expat videos they talk about Gringo Pricing but then the relocation services they offer are GRINGO PRICED since they charge over 400% higher prices than the prices for local services. Their prices are over 4 times more expensive than using local services and many of the things they include you can find for FREE.
So, this is a complete rip-off taking advantage of newbies that needs to be widely shared.
Dan thank you for your detailed information. I’m planning to visit Medellin and I speak Spanish. I will utilize some of your information if I decide to live in Colombia.
Hi Dan, thanks for the warning. I let my friends who are visiting about this ripoff. They were shocked when I told them How to Expat is reselling free or cheap services for a BIG GRINGO price with 400% higher prices. My friends had seen some of the How to Expat videos and were thinking about using their services until I showed them your post.
We all need to get the word out about these gringos from How to Expat that are taking advantage of newbies.
Thanks for the nice article and wow a 3 bedroom place for only 1,050,000 pesos per month, that is a real bargain. I have been looking for a 3 bedroom places in El Poblado for the past week and found everything is at least 1.6 million pesos per month and I have seen several for over 3 million pesos per month. I plan to look in Sabaneta next week that looks to be much cheaper.
Hi William, thanks. Yes, we found that El Poblado has the highest prices for unfurnished apartments in Medellín in our survey, see: https://medellinguru.com/2018-unfurnished-apartment-rental-costs/. On average, for similar sized apartments we found El Poblado has 24.5 percent higher rental prices compared to Sabaneta.
Nice article.
I founded a new web page to search apartments and houses to rent. Is different to the other web pages because it have 360º photos. I can see the places with more detail with this photos.
I put the URL here. You can exploring de web page and update your article or write a new one.
https://www.ciencuadras.com/arriendo/medellin/apartamento
Retirement visa is there a spectific age requirement and what documents are required to show income i want to get one now im 57 and want to get sura health care this year let me know if its possible. I can go to coral gables colombian consalate
There is not a specific age requirement – see our retirement visa article for information about requirements – https://medellinguru.com/retirement-visa/
And for information about SURA health insurance see our article about signing up for SURA health insurance – https://medellinguru.com/health-insurance/