Editors note: this post was updated in November 2015 with updated apartment rental prices.
Since I have been living in Medellín for over three years and I have lived in five different barrios in the city, I have been asked frequently about the apartment rental costs in Medellín for unfurnished apartments.
I also have helped several foreigners find unfurnished apartments in Medellín. My experience in renting three unfurnished apartments was previously documented on this site in a four-part series: Read the first part here, the second part here, the third part here and the fourth part here.
I also have seen several internet blog posts and press articles that have inaccurately depicted the costs of apartment rentals in Medellín.
To more accurately answer the question about what the actual apartment rental costs are in Medellín, with the help of my Colombian girlfriend, we surveyed rental costs of 600 available unfurnished apartments in several neighborhoods in Medellín that are popular with foreigners.
We specifically looked in El Poblado, Laureles-Estadio, Envigado, Belén and Sabaneta. We only looked at 1-bedroom, 2-bedroom and 3-bedroom apartments. We did not look at casas (houses) or larger apartments.
We only looked in nicer neighborhoods where foreigners are more likely to live so we only included apartments in Estrato 3, 4, 5 and 6 neighborhoods. Only a few Estrato 3 neighborhoods were included like the Los Alpes barrio, which is close to the Los Molinos mall in Belén.
(Note: using 2,077 Colombian pesos to the USD exchange rate in this post. The exchange rate fluctuates daily and has been above 2,000 pesos to the USD only five periods in the past five years.)
El Poblado Apartments
El Poblado is the most popular neighborhood for foreigners living in or visiting Medellín. It is the most upscale neighborhood in the city and is where the most hotels and furnished apartments catering to foreigners are located.
El Poblado is primarily an Estrato 6 neighborhood with 74 percent of the households rated at Estrato 6. It is also where the most expensive real estate and most expensive apartment rentals in the city are located.
El Poblado survey of 120 apartment rentals results:
- 26 apartments were 1-bedroom or studios ranging in size from 30 to 93 square meters with rents ranging from 900,000 to 1.9 million pesos per month.
- 39 apartments were 2-bedroom apartments ranging in size from 52 to 148 square meters with rents ranging from 1.05 million to 2.9 million pesos per month.
- 55 apartments were 3-bedroom apartments ranging in size from 60 to 150 square meters with rents ranging from 1.2 million to 2.5 million pesos per month.
- The average rental cost per square meter of the apartments in El Poblado was 18,833 pesos per month per square meter.
- Surprisingly 25 percent of the 120 apartments surveyed in the most ritzy neighborhood of El Poblado did not have hot water and two with hot water only had electric hot water in the shower(s).
- Only four of the 120 apartments surveyed in El Poblado didn’t have a 24/7 porteria.
Laureles-Estadio Apartments
Laureles-Estadio is perhaps the second-most popular neighborhood for foreigners living in Medellín. It is primarily a residential neighborhood with many areas with tree-lined streets and fewer high-rise apartments than are found in El Poblado.
The first unfurnished apartment I rented in Medellín was located in Estadio.
Laureles-Estadio is primarily an Estrato 4/5 neighborhood with 99 percent of the households rated at Estrato 4 or 5.
Laureles-Estadio survey of 120 apartment rentals results:
- 38 apartments were 1-bedroom or studios ranging in size from 30 to 100 square meters with rents ranging from 400,000 to 1.1 million pesos per month.
- 35 apartments were 2-bedroom apartments ranging in size from 50 to 130 square meters with rents ranging from 700,000 to 1.5 million pesos per month.
- 47 apartments were 3-bedroom apartment ranging in size from 68 to 148 square meters with rents ranging from 850,000 to 1.9 million pesos per month.
- The average rental cost per square meter of the 120 apartments in Laureles-Estadio was 14,095 pesos per month per square meter, which means Laureles-Estadio apartment rentals are 25 percent cheaper on average than in El Poblado for similar-sized apartments.
- 46 percent of the 120 apartments surveyed in Laureles-Estadio did not have hot water and six with hot water only had electric hot water in the shower(s).
- 70 percent of the 120 apartments surveyed in Laureles-Estadio didn’t have a 24/7 porteria.
Envigado Apartments
Envigado is another popular neighborhood for foreigners living in Medellín. It is less commercial than El Poblado and like Laureles-Estadio has many areas with tree-lined streets and fewer high-rise apartments than are found in El Poblado.
Envigado is more of a working-class community with 96 percent of housing in Estrado 2 to 5 and only 4 percent in Estrato 1 or 6.
Envigado survey of 120 apartment rentals results:
- Only four of the apartments surveyed were 1-bedroom or studios ranging in size from 60 to 80 square meters with rents ranging from 950,000 to 2.2 million pesos per month.
- 50 apartments were 2-bedroom apartments ranging in size from 55 to 110 square meters with rents ranging from 800,000 to 2.4 million pesos per month.
- 66 apartments were 3-bedroom apartment ranging in size from 66 to 140 square meters with rents ranging from 700,000 to 3.1 million pesos per month.
- The average rental cost per square meter of the 120 apartments surveyed in Envigado was 16,728 pesos per month per square meter, which means Envigado apartment rentals are 11 percent cheaper on average than in El Poblado for similar sizes apartments.
- Only eight of the 120 apartments in Envigado did not have hot water and two with hot water only had electric hot water in the shower(s).
- Only 14 of the 120 apartments surveyed in Envigado didn’t have a 24/7 porteria.
Belén Apartments
Belén is a neighborhood that is increasing in popularity for foreigners living in Medellín. Belén is where I have lived for over two years in three different barrios (Fatima, Loma de Los Bernal and Los Alpes)
Belén is more of a working-class community with 98 percent of housing in Estrado 2 to 5 and only 2 percent in Estrato 1.
Belén survey of 120 apartment rentals results:
- 12 of the apartments surveyed were 1-bedroom or studios ranging in size from 30 to 62 square meters with rents ranging from 620,000 to 850,000 pesos per month.
- 21 apartments were 2-bedroom apartments ranging in size from 44 to 90 square meters with rents ranging from 670,000 to 1.25 million pesos per month.
- 87 apartments were 3-bedroom apartment ranging in size from 52 to 140 square meters with rents ranging from 750,000 to 1.5 million pesos per month.
- The average rental cost per square meter of the 120 apartments in Belén was 13,661 pesos per month per square meter, which means Belén apartment rentals are 27 percent cheaper on average than in El Poblado for similar sizes apartments.
- Only 16 of the 120 apartments in Belén did not have hot water and none had electric hot water in the shower(s).
- Only 17 of the 120 apartments surveyed in Belén didn’t have a 24/7 porteria.
Sabaneta Apartments
Sabaneta is a municipality that is located directly south of Envigado. It is an area that has been booming with developers building many apartment buildings over the past couple of years.
I expect that Sabaneta will become increasingly popular with foreigners looking for an alternative that can be cheaper than El Poblado and Envigado. I also suspect that my next apartment in Medellín will be located in Sabaneta.
Sabaneta is more of a working-class community with 98 percent of housing in Estrato 2 to 4 and only 2 percent in Estrato 1, 5 or 6.
Sabaneta survey of 120 apartment rentals results:
- Only five of the apartments surveyed were 1-bedroom or studios ranging in size from 40 to 60 square meters with rents ranging from 750,000 to 850,000 pesos per month.
- 27 apartments were 2-bedroom apartments ranging in size from 50 to 114 square meters with rents ranging from 580,000 to 1.4 million pesos per month.
- 88 apartments were 3-bedroom apartment range in size from 56 to 146 square meters with rents ranging from 850,000 to 2.3 million pesos per month.
- The average rental cost per square meter of the 120 apartments in Sabaneta was 14,237 pesos per month per square meter, which means Sabaneta apartment rentals are 24 percent cheaper on average than in El Poblado for similar sizes apartments.
- Only 11 of the 120 apartments in Sabaneta did not have hot water and none had electric hot water in the shower(s).
- Only two of the 120 apartments surveyed in Sabaneta didn’t have a 24/7 porteria.
The Bottom-Line
If you want to save on unfurnished apartment rental costs in Medellín, our survey of apartments demonstrates that you can save an average of 24-27 percent by living in Belen, Laureles-Estadio or Sabaneta instead of living in a similar sized apartment in ritzy El Poblado.
If you select Envigado, you will only save on average 11 percent compared to the apartment rental costs in El Poblado.
Not all apartments in Medellín have hot water and I was surprised that El Poblado and Laureles-Estadio out of the five areas surveyed have a lower percentage of apartments with hot water than the other neighborhoods.
Most apartments in Medellín that have hot water use gas water heaters – either tank-less or with a water tank. I personally would avoid any apartments that have the electric hot water in showers.
If you are looking to rent an unfurnished apartment in Medellín, I recommend reading my post that includes my lessons learned over the past three plus years found here.
