A typical furnished apartment living room in Medellín
Editors note: this article was updated in January 2019 with new prices.
Last month we covered the costs of renting unfurnished apartments in Medellín and this is a follow-up report that looks at Medellín furnished apartment rental costs.
To more accurately answer the question about what are the actual costs for furnished apartment rentals in Medellín, with the help of my Colombian girlfriend, we surveyed rental costs of 300 available furnished apartments in several neighborhoods in Medellín.
We only included apartments that have hot water and Wi-Fi available. Several hundred apartments in Medellín are listed on the Airbnb site. We did not include apartments from the Airbnb site in our survey if they did not have ratings as they are more risky to rent.
Without a surprise most of the furnished apartments we found in Medellín are located in El Poblado – almost 85 percent.
There are three main websites to find furnished apartments in Medellín:
- Airbnb – has several hundred furnished apartments in Medellín listed, but many of these have no ratings.
- Casacol – has over 100 furnished/unfurnished apartments listed, as well as properties for investment and living purposes. They have 10+ years of experience in helping foreigners find the right property for their needs.
- The Apartment Medellin – has several apartments listed.
Some apartments are listed on one of the company websites as well as the Airbnb site. If an apartment is listed on more than one website we tried to only include it once in our survey.
We also looked for furnished apartments on some Spanish language websites that cater to Colombians for our survey. However, be careful of apartments on Spanish language sites, some do not have much furniture, some do not have hot water and some do not have Wi-Fi.
Most furnished apartment rentals in Medellín are priced in dollars. For apartment rentals priced in pesos we used the exchange rate of 2,155 pesos to the dollar.
Some Initial Survey Findings
Pricing for some furnished apartments in Medellín increases during the popular times of the year such as Christmas, New Years and Feria de las Flores (the Medellín flower festival). We used the low season rental prices in our survey.
Most furnished apartment rentals in Medellín have a minimum rental period of at least two to three days. But many furnished apartments we looked at in Medellín have a minimum rental period of 30 days (35 percent of the apartments surveyed).
For apartments with both daily and monthly rates, the longer-term monthly rate usually reflects a discount to the daily rate.
Most furnished apartment rentals in Medellín require a security deposit – 87 percent of the apartments we surveyed required a security deposit. The security deposit charges ranged from $46 to $1,163 and averages $296.
Many furnished apartment rentals also require a cleaning fee – 50 percent of the apartments we surveyed had a cleaning fee listed. The cleaning fee ranged from $10 to $50 and averaged $30.
We didn’t include security deposits or cleaning fees in our below rental cost survey results.
El Poblado Furnished Apartment Costs
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.
In my first few visits to Medellín, I rented furnished apartments in El Poblado.
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 253 furnished apartment rentals results:
- 100 of the 253 apartments surveyed in El Poblado had a 30-day minimum rental.
- 90 apartments were 1-bedroom or studios with rents ranging from $40 to $130 per day. The monthly rates ranged from $925 to $3,720 per month.
- 81 apartments were 2-bedroom apartments with rents ranging from $43 to $250 per day. The monthly rates ranged from $1,050 to $7,440 per month.
- 70 apartments were 3-bedroom apartments with rents ranging from $45 to $290 per day. The monthly rates ranged from $1,187 to $8,700 per month.
- 12 apartments were 4-bedroom to 6-bedroom apartments with rents ranging from $250 to $788 per day. The monthly rates ranged from $1,346 to $23,640 per month.
Laureles-Estadio Furnished Apartment Costs
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.
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 23 furnished apartment rentals results:
- None of the 23 apartments surveyed in Laureles-Estadio had a 30-day minimum rental.
- 10 apartments were 1-bedroom or studios with rents ranging from $21 to $84 for day. The monthly rates ranged from $616 to $1,680 per month..
- Nine apartments were 2-bedroom apartments with rents ranging from $43 to $89 per day. The monthly rates ranged from $1,000 to $2,640 per month.
- Four apartments were 3-bedroom apartments with rents ranging from $78 to $120 per day. The monthly rates ranged from $1,200 to $3,000 per month.
Furnished Apartment Costs in Other Neighborhoods
Our survey also found several furnished apartments in Envigado, Belén and La Candelaria (El Centro) with a summary of these results as follows:
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 survey of 10 furnished apartment rentals results:
- Four of the 10 apartments surveyed in Envigado had a 30-day minimum rental.
- Two apartments were 1-bedroom or studios with the monthly rates ranging from $1,100 to $1,127 per month. Only one of the apartments had a daily rate, which was $51 per day.
- Four apartments were 2-bedroom apartments with rents ranging from $55 to $109 per day. The monthly rates ranged from $1,384 to $1,700 per month.
- Three apartments were 3-bedroom apartments with rents ranging from $71 to $180 per day. The monthly rates ranged from $1,600 to $4,200 per month.
- One apartment was a 4-bedroom with a monthly rate of $1,600 per month.
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. I rented an apartment in the Fatima barrio of Belén for three months several years ago as a trial of living in Medellín.
Belén survey of five furnished apartment rentals results:
- None of the five apartments surveyed in Belén had a 30-day minimum rental.
- None of the apartments were 1-bedroom or studios.
- Four apartments were 2-bedroom apartments with rents ranging from $46 to $55 per day. The monthly rates ranged from $850 to $1,400 per month.
- One apartment was a 3-bedroom apartment with rent of $48 per day or $1,344 per month.
The center of Medellin, known formally as La Candelaria, or informally as El Centro, has a rough reputation but also some hidden gems that make this neighborhood one that should not be overlooked when visiting the city.
La Candelaria survey of nine furnished apartment rentals results:
- One of the nine apartments surveyed in La Candelaria had a 30-day minimum rental.
- Three apartments were 1-bedroom or studios with rents ranging from $18 to $49 per day. The monthly rates ranged from $520 to $1,047 per month.
- Four apartments were 2-bedroom apartments with rents ranging from $55 to $96 per day. The monthly rates ranged from $1,100 to $2,000 per month.
- Two apartments were 3-bedroom apartments with rents ranging from $50 to $136 per day. The monthly rates ranged from $1,200 to $2,000 per month.
The Bottom Line
There is a wide range of furnished apartments available for rent in Medellín ranging from economical to luxury. El Poblado is where most of the furnished apartments in Medellín are available but El Poblado is also where the most expensive real estate in the city is found.
Medellín furnished apartment rental costs are more expensive in El Poblado than in the other areas of Medellín. You can save substantially by renting a furnished apartment in an area outside of El Poblado, such as Laureles-Estadio, Envigado or Belén.
Unfortunately there aren’t that many furnished apartments to be found outside of El Poblado as El Poblado remains the most popular area for foreign visitors to Medellín.
To compare the costs of furnished apartment rentals with unfurnished apartments, see our report last month looking at unfurnished apartment rental costs in Medellín.
