By Casacol Medellin | Real Estate Sales Team
Medellin Real Estate: 7-Step Foreign Buyer’s Guide for 2025.
Table of Contents
Click to jump to section
- Introduction to the Medellin Real Estate industry
- Who we are, what we do?
- The Medellin Real Estate Guide
Introduction
It’s with pleasure that we take the opportunity to update our 7-step Medellin real estate guide for 2025. While the Medellin/Colombia real estate purchase process has not fundamentally changed, this year we have made a number of important edits and updates to special topics at the end of this article including:
Click the links above to jump directly to the special topics
- After effects of COVID (everything changed!)
- Remote work trends in Medellin
- Colombian politics
- 2025 Tax update
- Real estate “developers” in Medellin
- Currency volatility ($USD/$COP)
- Medellin Real Estate Bubble Talk
Who Are We, What Do We Do?
The year marks Casacol’s 15th year in business 🥳 acquiring, managing, developing, and selling real estate and hospitality projects. During all these years we’ve seen Medellín (and Colombia) grow up from a backpacker hangout to a world-class place to live and invest. At Casacol we now manage more than $100M USD in Medellin real estate assets in 2025 across almost 1000 beds in hotels, condo-hotels, short and long-term furnished rentals. The remote work and retirement trend commentators consistently rank Medellin in the global “Top 10” no matter who you follow. Tourism and foreign investment is probably now the hottest topic for the residents of Medellin and we have been a participant from near the beginning.
Casacol works with foreign, local, junior and professional investors, 2nd and 3rd home buyers, and hotel investors to realize their investment and real estate diversification goals in Medellín. We are highly, highly focused on expertise in the Medellin real estate market (not Bogota, not Cartagena, not Cali), where our deep experience leads to significantly higher returns than we’ve been able to find anywhere else in Colombia.
We work with everything from studio apartments and high ROI investment properties, to luxury $1M homes and penthouse properties, and hotels (both condo and boutique).
Plus, we don’t sell anything that we wouldn’t manage for you, which means we offer highly efficient property management and solid returns on your asset long after you’ve made your purchase. We work with you during the entire cycle of investment in Medellin real estate from acquisition to disposition (sooner or later, everybody sells!).
That is the theme of this guide: A comprehensive 7-step guide for investors and prospective clients large and small, starting out, winding down, or just diversifying some assets, whatever your goals are, how to invest safely and securely in Medellín real estate during the entire purchase, management and sales process.
Step 1: So, You Want to Invest in Medellín Real Estate?
The first question you need to ask yourself is “why?”
Here are the most common profiles of a Casacol client:
- I want an investment that produces consistent monthly income
- I want a live/rent 2nd home to use myself but also produce income
- I’m relocating and need a new home and legal residency (visa, etc.)
There is a big difference between making a home buying decision and an investment buying decision. In our experience, the places that make great homes to live in (large, luxurious) are not usually the best ROI -producing rental/hospitality investments.
Likewise, the best investment properties (generally hotels, studios and one or two-bedroom short-term rentals) are not usually where you want to live . It’s important to decide early on where on the spectrum you wish to be as a buyer/investor and realize you can’t have it all.
We also have a lot of buyers wanting to buy real estate in Medellin because they want a visa/c edula/residency/second passport. Our message to everyone in this category: Buy Medellin Real Estate because you think it would be a good investment for you, but don’t make a potentially bad investment because all you need is a visa.
If all you need is a Colombian visa then find a decent immigration lawyer you like and see if there is a non-real estate solution to your case. Real estate investment is still the most sure path to a Colombian visa/residence but you should focus on the quality of the investment vs. getting the visa itself.
Step 2: Location… x3
Heard this before? It’s true everywhere on the planet, and obviously it’s true here in the Medellín real estate market as well. Once you’ve contemplated either living or investing here, you need to turn your head to where . But as a newcomer you are at a disadvantage to the micro-neighborhood dynamics that can have a big impact on your returns and liquidity.
Looking for an Investment?
If what you want is a high-income producing investment, then you should be looking at a very short list of high-quality, very well-located buildings and hotels with modern amenities that ideally allow for (legal) short-term rentals, probably in Poblado and potentially Laureles, where you’ll find 90% of the demand from foreign business and leisure travelers. Most hotel properties are owned by investment groups large and small (just like ours).
Note : Just being inside the popular Poblado or Laureles barrios is not enough. These are huge neighborhoods with large parts that are not ideal for rentals/investment class real estate. Investors (like their rental clients/guests) should consider proximity to very specific arterial routes, with good amenities, and close to commercial centers, restaurants, groceries, parks. Probably 99% of visitors/tourists are walking/UBERing so don’t make the location difficult for them.
Looking for a Place to Live Full or Part Time?
Medellin real estate can go anywhere from studio apartments to farmland, a wide range of 6 social “estratos” from Laureles, Bello, Sabaneta, and everything in between across a population of almost 4 million people and 10s of thousands of buildings. Choosing a place to live is like choosing your clothing. No one in our office will talk you out of a specific location unless you’re truly making a mistake.
Our business is mostly tourism which is partial to Poblado (the Golden Mile, Alejandria, Provenza, Astorga, Lalinde, Manila) and some parts of Laureles for places to live and invest.
Step 3: New vs. Old Construction
There are two philosophies on this topic on condominium real estate:
- Buy something old and “cheap,” fix it up nice, rent it out, flip it, etc.
- Buy something new, modern, no need for modifications/improvements, furnish and collect rent.
Let’s debate them both from a Medellin real estate perspective.
Older Buildings
There are some beautiful, high-quality, and superbly well-located older buildings in the Medellin real estate market.
Properly renovated (or not), they could be the kind of places you want to live in with large spacious bedrooms, lots of parking, and an abundance of storage space, maid and nanny quarters.
If you’ve done renovations before, understand the language, or can project manage the work yourself, you may also be up for the challenge in Colombia. Most of these are horror stories like anywhere else in the world renovating older buildings, so be forewarned. Yet there is something so emotional and romantic about renovating a custom home and people will do it again and again.
Older buildings are often amenity-poor and have fewer residents with high administration fees, which can affect the demand as a rental/resale and, therefore, your return as an investor. Having said that, Colombians are totally allergic to high HOA/administration fees and will sometimes be willing to dump older buildings at prices below replacement costs.
But renting older apartments in buildings with elderly/wealthy neighbors can also be a problem. Who do you think rents large 3-5 bedroom apartments? Groups of younger, single males, large noisy families. Not always consistent with being a good neighbor and can make for property management headaches and ultimately lower returns.
Many of these older buildings are trying to instate minimum 6-12 month rental periods to avoid the influx of short-term and often illegal furnished rentals.
New/Modern Buildings
Newer buildings usually have a long list of amenities that your renters often want to enjoy (pool, gym, sauna/Turkish bath, jacuzzi, floor-to-ceiling windows/views, open kitchens, modern layouts, finishings, etc.).
Combined with a lack of buildable land, post-COVID inflation and an ever-strict city planning department, this is why new construction in Poblado is approaching $14,000,000+ pesos/square meter in 2025 (~$3500 USD/sq meter or approx $330 sq/ft).
However, higher prices in newer buildings come with higher rental prices as well, so the math can often be in your favor. That’s not to mention liquidity as selling in newer, professionally managed buildings is almost always easier.
There is no right or wrong answer here. There are pros and cons to new and older construction, and Medellín real estate buyers just need to apply their personal or financial preferences to every option.
At the end of this article, we’ve included some special notes that apply to buying in pre-construction projects and go over opportunities, risks, and important questions to ask the promoters and developers as well.
Step 4: Money and Banking: To SAS or Not to SAS
You want to set up your Colombian bank accounts as soon as possible if you’re sure you’re going to make a purchase. It can take 2-4 weeks to open an account, and the sellers will take your offer a lot more seriously if they know you’ve already gone through this phase, cash ready.
Too many foreigners start negotiating without even having the ability to execute financially, and we’ve seen good deals fall through as a result of anxious sellers who just move on if they don’t sign and get paid quickly.
Alianza Valores is a great Colombian banking resource (our preference) and one of the only ones who really know how to handle foreign investment in Medellin real estate. Many foreign investors know Felipe Chavez (bi-lingual private banker) personally. Local banks like Bancolombia, while they have a strong retail brand and presence, are very difficult/impossible banks to work with as a foreigner and are generally avoided.
Buying Within an SAS
At this same point in time, you may also want to make the decision of whether to place the property in your name or in the name of your company, which has an additional two to three-week setup time.
An “SAS” in Colombia is somewhat analogous to an American LLC with the same kinds of rights, flexibility, and legal separation of your assets.
But if you’re a non-resident buying just a couple of properties it probably doesn’t make a lot of sense given the huge amount of legal and accounting bureaucracy in Colombia, not to mention the 35% corporate tax rate. Maintaining a SAS in Colombia is a lot more time-consuming and much more expensive than in other countries. Some lawyers and accountants recommend an SAS blindly to foreigners because they can charge more fees. Also winding down a SAS after you’ve disposed of its assets is even more expensive and time-consuming than the start-up. Some Americans own their Medellin Real Estate directly with their US LLCs FYI.
See near the end of this article for a more comprehensive update on Colombian taxes in 2025 including some advice on when you may actually want to consider a SAS for your Medellin real estate holdings.
Step 5: The Negotiation and Offer
It can be useful to know where the Medellin real estate investment process ends before you begin. This is often the most critical part of any real estate transaction, especially in Colombia.
This is also where you want your lawyer and real estate agent heavily involved; a full title study if you have any doubts about who the seller is, a purchase contract that works for you, negotiation advice, and all the paperwork at the end of the transaction.
Colombians (Paisas at least) rarely use lawyers for Medellin real estate conveyance, instead placing the administrative burden on the usually inexperienced agent to do the running around in the notary. But as a foreigner you’re probably paying a lawyer to make this error and stress free. Do your homework and pick the lawyer that you think will accomplish that for you. Beware of lawyers who don’t specialize in real estate transactions. Medellin lawyers especially are famous for not disclosing what they know how to do (well) and don’t. This is not the time for a legal novice or generalist.
Also, remember when doing transactions with locals that Colombians are, on average, pretty sophisticated buyers and sellers of property. Most Colombians don’t trust the stock market or even government or corporate bonds, so buying and selling investment property is much more common than you would think.
They can also be shrewd negotiators. We once saw an 86-year-old woman refuse to negotiate in any way on her terms or price on a very expensive yet attractive condo she was selling directly with her phone number in a window without any agency representation. She repeatedly told us, “I’m in no rush, I have lots of time left.” It got sold.
The seller should let you know if the price is negotiable. Or, you may need to ask upfront. If the price is clearly inflated, then that’s another invitation to negotiate (low-ball) or just walk away. A good Medellin real estate agent who is interested in a long-term relationship with you will help you navigate this – it’s their job. If you have doubts, then ask for a professional, 3rd party appraisal (at your choosing and cost) to have an extra data point for your negotiations. Overpaying is unfortunately common for foreigners who place too much trust in junior real estate brokers and lawyers who are all too keen to get a deal done and move on.
Step 6: The Purchase Agreement
A verbal negotiation on price and terms ends with a signed and (usually, but not legally) notarized purchase agreement in Spanish known as the promesa de compraventa , a legally binding document.
While the Paisas are known for their foreign hospitality, you may see that stop when it comes to money matters.
It’s not uncommon for your Colombian negotiating partner to make demands or renegotiate verbal offers right up until the actual promesa is signed in the notary. Words and handshakes mean a lot less in Colombia than they might in your home country. But a signed and notarized document is where the buck stops and you have a deal.
Don’t take it personally, it’s just a part of the culture to negotiate hard and up until the 11th hour here. Feel free to make demands you deem necessary, no one will be offended, it’s just business.
We’ve seen this process take from days to months end to end. It all depends on the buyer and seller, strong legal/notary support, the existence of a mortgage will delay closing, etc. Every transaction is somewhat unique. Hotel (shares) investments can often be simplified due to the standardized nature of the private contracts which can be executed same day without lawyers involved.
The most important 7 clauses to be negotiated in a promesa de compraventa are the following:
1. What’s Included in the Price?
Parking, storage, appliances, ceiling lamps, furniture?
Generally speaking, anything that isn’t fastened to the apartment the owner may want to remove, including light bulbs, curtains, appliances, etc. We’ve seen some weird stuff, so just get it in writing (again, in writing!) if there’s something you want to keep.
2. Deposit/Down Payment or the Anticipo
This is to secure the deal and is usually 10%-20%, but if the owner has a mortgage, they may ask for more so the mortgage can be cleared.
We’ve seen up to 50%, and for the right price, it may be a good deal for the buyer to make a larger anticipo . Sometimes you can negotiate lower prices for higher down payments as well.
This can cause heartburn to some foreigners because you are technically giving the seller some money without getting anything (like a title) in return—there’s no escrow.
However, you are, in fact, protected by the penalty clause, which is a serious legal matter if not satisfied (see the next point).
3. Penalty Clause or the Cláusula Penal
This states that the buyer and seller do what they are contracting to do in the promesa on the timelines and in the amounts of money that they promise.
After signing this legal document, if you don’t proceed as a buyer, you could lose your anticipo , and if you don’t proceed as a seller, you could be sued and have your property “embargoed” with a lien for the amount of the agreed upon penalty, usually 10-20 percent in addition to giving the deposit back.
4. Commercial and Declared Values (AKA the Valor Comercial or Valor Catastral )
In Colombia, like much of Latin America, there usually exists a gap between commercial values (what you pay) and declared values (what goes on the title) but this is changing.
You absolutely need your agent or lawyer to advise you on what is right for you here, especially if you are talking about visa/residency matters, as every case is unique. Since the 2019/2020 tax reform, and additional updates in 2022/2023, the Colombian government is closing this loophole of under-declaring property values. The best practice is to require the full value of the deed unless you want to assume the seller’s capital gains tax obligations when you eventually go to sell. There are some interesting flexibility options here for negotiating out the value of furniture in a furnished apartment. There is also a law in the tax code that discusses 85% as a minimum value of deed to purchase price. Seek professional advice here.
5. Settling of Any Mortgages/Liens
In Colombia, it is impossible to transfer titles (notary conveyance) unless the property is free of mortgages/liens/building administration/property taxes. It’s good protection for the buyer, but it can delay the process by up to a month due to lack of escrow and bank processing of the mortgage, etc. A good lawyer is on top of this every day to ensure this is done in weeks and not months.
6. Proration of Taxes/Rent/HOA Fees
This is just a math exercise. The property taxes need to be paid for the entire calendar year and then prorated to the date of title transfer or if the seller is giving you keys early, date of delivery, or entrega .
Same for monthly HOA fees, and in the case of buying a property that is currently generating rental income, that rental income should be split and prorated appropriately as well between buyer/seller.
7. The Signing of Escrituras or the Titles
The promesa will state a date, time, and location of a notary visit/signing for all parties to exchange final payment via cheque or bank transfer, hand over keys, and sign the title over from the previous owner to the new owner with or without POA from any attorneys involved. It is important to note that ALL of this can be done without the parties physically present in Colombia via POA.
Step 7: Final Paperwork and Deed Registration
If all has gone smoothly, then you’ve signed titles in the notary, exchanged cheques/money transfers, paid your share of notary fees/taxes (budget 1.25-1.50 percent of the purchase price as a buyer plus lawyer fees for closing costs), and have keys to your new place. Complete closing costs shouldn’t exceed 2% of the value of the property you buy. Sales commissions are paid by the sellers.
There are a series of steps, however, that your lawyer should now do to make sure everything flows properly in the department of Registro , which oversees land titles/registries. Again inexperienced real estate lawyers will often disappear here once their fees are paid.
This process ends with a refresh of the certificado de tradición y libertad, which can be pulled online as a public document and will show that you are the official owner and that all electronic records have been updated. Don’t forget about this part; we see mistakes all too often.
You’re also now free to instruct your lawyer to start the central bank registration of your invested funds if you intended to use your property purchase for visa/residency purposes.
Obtaining a Colombian ID card (the cedula) will follow as well. But, you are essentially done. Congratulations.
2025 Update #1: Post COVID Colombia
As we pen this update in 2025, we are starting what seems to be yet another strong year for the Medellin real estate market despite confusing indicators. Ever since the massive injection of COVID funds into the Colombian economy, inflation has been running high, construction costs have spiraled up, interest rates are relatively high, but the real estate market in Medellin is strong for both local and foreign buyers/investors.
Given the meteoric price of new/pre-construction, we think that used condos (always trading at a discount to new) represent the best value for both income investors and 2nd home buyers. You can see some local news commentary summarizing the post-COVID real estate effects here and here .
Colombians generally love real estate because it is such a great inflation hedge over the long term beating most if not all other asset classes long-term and protects against the risks of a decline in $COP currency.
2025 Update #2: Remote Work
Ten or fifteen years ago, remote work was usually associated with hiding from your boss making excuses to your staff or co-workers. During and post COVID many online/remote entrepreneurs were starting to discover the attractiveness of remote working in Medellin. Time zones, climate, quality and cost of living all ranked high on lists of remote work commentators like Nomad List . Post-COVID, the acceptance of flexible, hybrid, remote work, working-vacations globally have led to a massive influx of foreigners to Medellin more than any other city in Colombia.
However in 2024 and 2025 we are seeing a rebalancing of remote work policies at many companies who want to see their staff in the office more often. While the trend has been clear over the long term, we are seeing some long-term monthly rental softness we believe is related to remote work policies. This can affect some investment advice we give to some clients.
2025 Update #3: Colombian Politics
Colombia elected a new congress in March 2022, and a new president on August 7, 2022. Colombia has recently become much more politically divided (it seems just like everywhere else in the World) than we have seen in the past. The 2022-2024 media coverage in both Colombia and globally has been a story of “Left” vs. “Right” with lots of fear-mongering on all sides.
The reality of Colombian politics is that the country has been the most stable democracy in the history of Latin America and is the closest ally of the United States (regardless of Democrat or Republican leadership) in the region. I don’t think this will change. The Colombian congress is today “center-right,” and keeping the President mostly in check from making large reforms that could hurt the economy despite some poor policy changes and questionable executive orders.
Colombian President Petro and American President Trump have started to position themselves around immigration, crime, drugs in 2025. But given that Petro can serve only one term that expires in 2026 it is more likely that the United States will be negotiating soon with someone else in Colombia.
2025 Update #4: Taxes
While this is not an article about Colombian taxes it would be remiss without some commentary/update as there is a new tax reform/regime in place as of 2023. If you’re thinking about becoming a tax resident (= 183 of the last 365 days) in Colombia you should read this for a good summary from PWC. Colombia has global income and wealth taxes that could affect you but generally you won’t be double taxed (when using tax credits). Keep in mind that having a resident visa doesn’t necessarily mean that you are a tax resident; tax residency is strictly as I defined above.
Almost all companies in Colombia pay 35% corporate tax rates unless abated by special programs such as those that were (in the past) available for hotels (like ours!) where the rate could be as low as 9% for up to 35 years. Dividends paid to non-residents have a 20% WHT automatically applied whether paid to local or foreign accounts it doesn’t matter.
Income in Colombia is taxed at progressive rates for residents at up to 39% and flat rates for non-residents at 35%. Assets can be depreciated for residents (including SAS) at a rate of 45 years = 2.22%/year. If your tax rates at home are >35% then you’ll use a tax credit for what you pay in Colombia to avoid double taxation. If your tax rate is <35% then income earned in Colombia will unlikely result in additional taxes paid at home.
Our advice is unfortunately not to trust most accountants in Colombia and you should seek true professionals affiliated with international networks, here is a decent list . A bad accountant (most are just simply bad, sorry) will mean you will pay more in fines than you will ever pay in accounting fees. When the totality of your income in Colombia is subject to source retention taxes (like we offer at Casacol) you have no obligation to file in Colombia.
Special Topic: Buying in Pre-Construction Projects
When buying Medellin real estate from pre-construction “developers” it is important to note that a slightly different process is involved. I put developers in quotes because everyone with a graphic designer and a friend who owns a piece of land seems to be an Airbnb developer now. Always be careful about who you are doing business with and do some diligence about who is really behind all the fancy logos on the “Team.”
Fiduciaries in Colombia are regulated financial entities that offer an escrow-like service to builders/developers to handle all the money/contracts associated with a new development. They guarantee nothing , however. If the project aborts, they have little obligation to help you out, it’s mostly symbolic confidence. You need to know who you are doing business with, their experience, track record, and property management strategy. Conflicts with developers and fiduciary companies in Colombia take years to be resolved when you need to go to court. Many of these issues can be avoided by doing your homework ahead of time.
Fly-by-night developers are going to have the fanciest marketing materials, renders, videos, and social media you’ve ever seen. Let’s be honest, real estate needs to be marketed to be sold, but the most successful developers sell projects privately, not with large marketing budgets or social media. Younger or small investors can often fall prey to the sizzle vs. the steak. Facebook and Instagram social media have become completely polluted with Medellin real estate projects in recent years that mostly never see the light of day.
2025 Thoughts on $USD/$COP
The USD/COP started 2025 with a range of 4100-4200, historically weak for the COP during 2-3 years of high volatility. The trend in the last 15 years is simply that politicians in Colombia can’t help themselves but print money and inflate the COP to pay for short-term spending. I don’t expect that to change. It means that you need to think of price and appreciation, rents, etc., in both USD and COP terms to build a proper perspective. Medellin real estate (and real estate in general) historically absorbs inflation very well. But over the long term one should be reasonable about appreciation potential in USD terms. This is a market to extract high ROI and rents, but not always USD appreciation. High quality assets that can be priced for rent/sale in USD vs. COP will serve the Medellin real estate investor well. This is generally our focus as a company for ourselves and investors.
Medellin Real Estate Bubble?
Here’s another question we get asked a lot. Just because prices are way up (in COP terms) in the last 5, 10, 15 years, is Medellin in a real estate bubble? It seems like ever since 2008, everyone is a bubble watcher.
Given that foreign investment in Colombia is still low as a % of the market, credit is relatively hard to get for locals, mortgages are not possible for foreigners, mortgage interest rates are high (16%+ in 2025), and mortgage down payment requirements are 30% (by law) and that Colombia already learned dearly from their 1998-1999 real estate bubble and subsequent financial crisis, I don’t see conditions for a bubble in Medellin real estate.
I wouldn’t even say we are in a “boom.” I think the market here, on average, is well balanced between supply and demand. And today in 2025, the costs of construction have increased so much due to an ever decreasing COP vs USD, I don’t see how prices fall (in COP terms). Having said that the sale and development of “Airbnb friendly” projects in Medellin could in fact be unsustainable, that if completed might just end up back in the residential rental market. Regardless, we always enjoy these debates with our new and existing clients.
Summary
Buying property in a foreign country like Colombia can be exciting and very rewarding both personally and financially. We believe the key is to seek advice from professionals who are experienced, licensed, affiliated with local and national organizations, specialized, and have deep knowledge of the local market. At Casacol, you’ll find a team and ecosystem of highly trained sales agents, expert property managers, legal experts, bankers, and accountants to help foreigners looking to invest in Medellín.
Let us know how we can help by dropping a line to sales@casacol.co where you’ll reach our sales team and Founder.
Thank you for reading.
