Real estate

Real estate in Colombia is comprised of residential sectors with social interest housing (VIS, as per its Spanish acronym) and non-VIS, student housing, and senior living segments; the commercial sector is comprised of the office, retail, and hotel and tourism segments; and the industrial sector includes business, industrial, and logistics parks.

Why invest in the real estate sector?

Importance of Colombia’s real estate sector:

• Colombia is the third top destination for real estate investment projects. Between 2010 and 2019, the country reported 61 investment projects in the sector, which accounts for 21% of the investment projects in Latin America and the Caribbean. (Source: FDI.)
• Additionally, Colombia is an attractive destination for big investors in the region coming from markets such as the United States, Chile, and Switzerland. (Source: FDI Markets.)

Attractive local market with potential for the developing the real estate sector:

• Colombia is Latin America’s third most populous country and fourth largest economy in terms of GDP, and its economic performance has resulted in a middle class with growing purchasing power. This makes Colombia an attractive destination for the development of residential and commercial projects. (Source: IMF.)
• The country has the third largest construction industry in Latin America, which supports the development of real estate assets. (Source: Fitch Connect.)
• On average, 17.8 million m2 of new areas are built every year in Colombia, which could be developed as real estate assets. In 2019, construction licenses for 23.1 million m2 were issued, 80.8% of which were for housing, 9.7% for retail, 3.6% for offices, and 27.2% for other types of construction. (Source: National Administrative Department of Statistics, DANE, as per its Spanish acronym.)
• Colombia is showing a downward trend in its interest rates for home construction and acquisition, which promotes the development of residential projects. (Source: Central Bank of Colombia.)
• Currently, there is a high demand for premium office space (class A+, A) in big cities, which encourages project development.(Source: Colliers.)

Important strategic location for project development:

• Colombia has become an important tourist destination in Latin America, which helped the development of the hospitality, retail, and entertainment sectors.
• Besides being a tourist destination, Colombia is also promoted as a retirement destination. According to the International Living 2020 Retirement Index, Colombia is the fifth best place to retire. (Source: International Living 2020 Retirement Index.)

Investment opportunities in Colombia’s real estate sector:

• Shopping malls
  • Shopping mall development is an area with great potential. Colombia is Latin America’s most attractive country for investment in the retail sector and tenth in the world, according to the Global Retail Development Index 2019. 
  • Additionally, growing private consumption, the middle class, and urban population make Colombia an attractive location for investment projects.(Source: DANE.)
• Senior living
  • Colombia presents opportunities for development projects focused on second homes, senior residences and multi-family housing due to an aging population and a low cost of living. (Source: United Nations Population Division.)
• Student housing
  • 76.3% of the country’s graduates come from the six main cities in Colombia, which means that students are migrating to large cities, increasing the demand to build this type of housing. (Source: Labor Observatory.)
• Multi-family
  • There is an opportunity to develop social interest housing (VIS, as per its Spanish acronym) in Colombia, promoted by the government’s housing programs and by potential price adjustments.
• Mixed-use
  • There is an increase in mixed-use projects in Colombia, where offices, retail, and residential areas are developed in the same space, bringing all the benefits of these sectors to one place.