Apartment buildings in Belén
I have now been living in Medellín for over six years and I have lived in six different barrios in the city. I have often been asked by many foreigners about the unfurnished apartment rental costs in Medellín.
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 covered my experience renting my latest apartment here. Also, I have seen several Internet blog posts and press articles that have inaccurately depicted the costs of apartment rentals in Medellín.
I recently surveyed with the help of my Colombian wife the rental costs of 1,000 available unfurnished apartments in several neighborhoods in Medellín.
This was to accurately answer the question: “What are the current unfurnished apartment rental costs in Medellín?”
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.
This is an update of a very popular post last year that looked at apartment rental costs in these same neighborhoods in Medellín.
During this survey, we only looked in nicer neighborhoods where foreigners are more likely to live. We only included apartments in estrato 3, 4, 5 and 6 neighborhoods. Only a few estrato 3 neighborhoods were included.
This update with the latest apartment rental costs in neighborhoods in Medellín also permits seeing if rental costs have increased in these neighborhoods from our survey at the end of last year.
We also looked at furnished apartment rental costs late last year.
(Note: using 2,918 Colombian pesos to the USD exchange rate in this post. The exchange rate fluctuates daily and has ranged from 2,851 to 3,118 over the past month.)
El Poblado is the most popular neighborhood for foreigners living in or visiting Medellín. It is the most upscale neighborhood in the city. It’s also where the most hotels and furnished apartments catering to foreigners are located.
El Poblado is primarily an Estrato 6 neighborhood with about 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.
I lived for over a month over six years ago in a furnished apartment in El Poblado during an early trial of living in Medellín.
I quickly determined that El Poblado wasn’t for me. I prefer to live in a neighborhood that has a lower cost of living and isn’t as westernized.
El Poblado survey of 200 apartment rentals results:
Envigado is a popular neighborhood for foreigners living in Medellín. It is less commercial than El Poblado and is located directly south from El Poblado.
Envigado 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 estrato 2 to 5 and only 4 percent in estrato 1 or 6.
Envigado survey of 200 apartment rentals results:
Laureles-Estadio is another popular neighborhood for foreigners living in Medellín. Laureles is primarily a residential neighborhood. It has 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 200 apartment rentals results:
Belén is a neighborhood that has been increasing in popularity for foreigners living in Medellín. Belén is the comuna where I lived for over three 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 the housing in estrato 2 to 5 and only 2 percent in estrato 1.
Belén survey of 200 apartment rentals results:
Sabaneta is a municipality located directly south of Envigado. It is an area that has been booming with developers building many apartment buildings over the past few years.
Sabaneta is becoming increasingly popular with foreigners looking for an alternative that can be cheaper than El Poblado and Envigado.
My current apartment in Medellín is located in Sabaneta. Since I have lived in Sabaneta for over a year I hear English more and more around town as more foreigners discover the area.
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 200 apartment rentals results:
It is very important to understand the market rental prices when looking for an apartment in Medellín. This is to make sure you aren’t taken advantage of by real estate agents and owners.
While I was living in Belén I met one expat living nearby that was paying about 70 percent higher rent. This was for a much smaller place without the view I had. I suspect this was the result of a real estate agent taking advantage of an expat not knowing the market prices.
When you lease from a real estate agency in Colombia you sign a contract with the agency. The agency has a separate contract with the apartment owner. The difference between the contracts is the “commission”.
If an agent sees someone that is not knowledgeable about the market it’s easy to jack up the price to the tenant and pocket the difference. So this article should help give a general idea of the current unfurnished rental prices in several areas in Medellín.
I also recommend looking at the Espacio Urbano website. This Spanish-language website is where most real estate firms in Medellín post apartment rental and sales listings. It is an invaluable website to help understand market prices.
Recently on International Living’s website a post about Medellín discussed an expat’s experience in renting an apartment in the Conquistadores barrio, which is located in Laureles.
The post says that the expat was paying $1,000 per month to rent a three-bedroom apartment. But if you look above at three-bedroom apartment prices in Laureles, you’ll find they should rent for less.
During our survey we didn’t find any apartments in Conquistadores renting for a price as high as $1,000. That is above the market price in the area.
I also read a recent report by Live & Invest Overseas, which claimed that an “unfurnished, two-bedroom, comfortable apartment in El Poblado or other expat-popular neighborhood” costs 3 million pesos per month to rent.
However, if you look at the survey results above, the average two-bedroom apartment in El Poblado actually rents for only 2,148,500 pesos per month or 2,050,00 pesos per month as a median. In fact, in our survey we only found one two-bedroom apartment renting for 3 million pesos in El Poblado.
The other 49 two-bedroom apartments in El Poblado we surveyed were all lower priced than 3 million pesos. So the actual average and median market price in El Poblado is much lower.
Other neighborhoods in Medellín popular with expats like Laureles-Estadio, Envigado, Belén and Sabaneta have even cheaper rental apartments as seen above.
If you are planning to move to Medellín from another country, I recommend not jumping right into buying or renting an unfurnished apartment.
First rent a furnished apartment for at least a month or more as I originally did to make sure Medellín is right for you. This will also give you the time and opportunity to explore the city to find which neighborhood(s) you would like to live in. However, even after deciding that you want to live longer-term in Medellín, buying may not be the best option for everyone.
In our study of the rental prices in Medellín, we saw many unfurnished apartments that rent for a year for only 5-8 percent of the purchase price to buy the apartment.
When determining if renting or buying is the better option, I suggest using a rent-versus-buy calculator like this one from New York Times.
Renting may ultimately be lower cost than buying if you factor in all the variables and costs including opportunity cost. Also if you buy you will be responsible for ongoing property taxes, maintenance and administration fees. The owner normally pays these costs for a rental property.
For my situation, with rents being so cheap in Medellín, renting for me is lower cost than buying over a 5-year, 10-year, or even a 20-year period.
Also with renting I have much more flexibility and can easily move to another neighborhood by choice, which I have already done three times. But to “each his own”, some prefer buying regardless.
If you want to save on unfurnished apartment rental costs in Medellín, our 2016 survey of unfurnished apartments demonstrates that you can save an average of 24-28 percent by living in Laureles-Estadio, Belén or Sabaneta instead of living in a similar sized apartment in El Poblado. If you select Envigado, you will only save an average of 14.7 percent compared to the apartment rental costs in El Poblado.
Our survey results also show that compared to last year the average rental price per square meter in terms of Colombian pesos has increased in all five neighborhoods in 2016.
In Colombia landlords are legally able to raise rent at renewal by no more than the inflation rate for the prior year. Inflation last year in Colombia was 6.77 percent, which was a seven-year high. Landlords can increase rent by no more than that percentage at renewal time this year.
However based on our survey, in some areas the average market rental price per square meter appears to have increased by much more than 6.77 percent as owners respond to demand.
A recent article in El Colombiano newspaper indicated that Laureles was the most popular apartment rental area in Medellín with the most space leased in the first half of the year.
It only takes on average three months for an owner to rent an unfurnished apartment in Laureles. In comparison, in pricey El Poblado it takes on average 11 months for an owner to rent an unfurnished apartment.
In popular areas like Laureles and Belén that traditionally have had lower rental prices, the market price looks to have increased faster than inflation. This is due to demand.
According to Lonja de Propiedad Raíz in the first half of the year, 32.3% of unfurnished apartment square meters leased in Medellín were in Laureles/Estadio and 19.7% were in Belén.
Even with owners being able to raise rents by the inflation rate in Colombia this is still negotiable in my experience. In my five apartment lease renewals in Medellín over the past six years I haven’t experienced a rent increase.
In fact, for two renewals I was able to negotiate a lower price. One year I was able to negotiate a lower monthly price by agreeing to a longer term and paying in advance.
My latest lease renewal this year was also at a lower price as I now rent directly from the owner instead of through an agent so I saved money even after factoring in inflation. The typical real estate agent commission for rentals typically runs between 7-10 percent.
The rental market is still competitive in Medellín. So you could threaten to move, particularly in El Poblado where it takes a long time on average for an owner to lease an unfurnished apartment. Plus the cost of moving can be quite low.
The owner may not want to lose a tenant as it may take a long time to find a replacement. I met an expat in El Poblado who did this recently. He threatened to move and essentially negotiated a lower rent increase for his renewal as a result.
It is also important to note that over the last two years, the exchange rate has been volatile and beneficial if you have U.S. dollars (USD), which has dropped the cost of renting an apartment in Medellín substantially over the past two years in terms of USD.
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Nice article. I have been living here in Medellin for two months. As a tourist there is so much hassle to rent an apt. So i looked around on spanish websites for renting a room. found a nice private room in a house with two laid back guys from Venezuela. no utilities, use of kitchen. nice roof and living área with hammock. For only 5ook pesos. no utilities and wi fi and tv included. Near Floresta park. Near metro great shopping nearby. so one can live cheaply here. Note a friend said to look for websites in Spanish. thus avoid all the poblado expensive places. I speak Spanish and that was a great tip
Thanks for you input too. I speak mediocre amount of spanish. Living in Wisconsin at present. Really want to go live there. Am 67 and time is running out. So, no internet where you live? And many thanks to Jeff for such excellent coverage.
Hello, Frank! How come you think, that your time is running out? I am 74 and very active in sports and gym, enjoying long walks to mountains and also running. I came here to test living with my 52 yrs Colombian girlfriend and we have good times together, singing karaoke and walking in the town. In fact, I am in the process of searching a new wife for me, as my wife passed away 2015 and definitely I want a Latin woman. I lived previously in Ecuador over a year with another lovely woman, also aged 50, but our temperaments did not fit well enough, both boiling over easily. Still friends in Facebook.
Living in Copacabana bit north from the city is for me better, as air pollution levels here are much lower than in the low areas of the city (I have an app in my mobile showing sensor readings on all measuring points at any moment. I really recommend this app! ).
Life is what you make of it! Take the flight to Colombia!
I find it amazing that Jeff and his wife would give so freely of their time and energy to help those wanting to get an unbiased feel for the apartment market here.
Many thanks.
Thanks so much for all of this! My question- right now we rent from an agency, we have easy access to the owner (portero). Is it bad business to try and rent from the owner rather than agency? I saw you got a lower price by doing that, or was I misreading?
Thanks!
Yes I was able to get a lower price this year when I renewed by renting directly from the owner.
I had rented from an agency for over five years but I started having problems early this year with the agency so I didn't want to use the agency anymore. My apartment owner also had problems with the same agency. The owner contacted me early this year and told me he wanted to deal directly with me and no longer work with the agency. I informed the agency in writing three months before my lease term was up that I didn't want to renew with the agency, per the terms of the lease. So this was a win-win situation that worked out since the owner and I both didn't want to use the agency anymore.
I negotiated directly with the owner and for the renewal this year he increased rent to be what the agency was paying him for rent with an inflation rate increase of 6.77% as permitted by law. But this was still somewhat less than I was paying last year by cutting out the agency middleman commission. I also negotiated with the owner to pay in advance for an entire year for an even lower price.
Going forward I only plan to rent from owners since I have a long history of renting and the rental price I negotiate can be lower since no agency commission is involved.
Is it true that the owner pays taxes on the entire amount of rent he receives thru an agency; therefore, when you pay the owner directly at a lower rate, he pays taxes on the lower amount only? This way, everyone is happy except the agency and they are not happy no matter what.
The owner can essentially receive the same rent regardless if he rents through a real estate agency or directly to a tenant. The way it works with a real estate agency in Colombia is that the agency has a rental contract with the owner and separate rental contract with the tenant. The agency pockets the difference between the two contracts that in my experience is 7-10 percent. The tenant wins by renting directly with an owner, the agency loses and the owner experiences no real difference.
Contact a local tax accountant to find out the details about tax-ability of rental income for Colombia. The owner likely can deduct expenses like administration fees (HOA-like fees in Colombia that the owner normally pays), property taxes, maintenance expenses as well as interest on mortgage payments if the owner has a mortgage.
You are correct about foreigners in Envigado. I purchased pre construction last year and have seen a big jump in Americans,
something I have been trying to avoid( if I want to hang with Americans I would stay here).
Colombian women have told me they avoid bars in Envigado because too many gringos.
My experience traveling to many places and living in Europe is more Americans= higher prices and dealing with drunk Americans singing "Born in the USA " Or yelling "We are the best."
This is an impressive presentation of data, and timely, as I presently am pounding the pavement around the Primer y Segundo Parque areas looking for a 1-bedroom or studio in a newer high rise with 24/7 security. I just try to contact owners any way I can. This area, man it's like 99.9% occupied! I guess everybody wants to live here.
This article fails to mention that any foreigner who wants to achieve these prices will need a Colombian co-signer. It is extremely difficult to impossible for a foreigner to walk into an apartment for rent and just start paying rent without a citizen who owns property or has a large monthly cash flow into a Colombian bank account to co-sign for them.
Not true that you need a Colombian co-signer (known as fiador). I have been renting without a fiador for over six years. Read this post about overcoming the fiador requirement - http://medellinliving.com/apartment-rental-guide-fiador/.
If you rent directly from an owner you can overcome the fiador requirement. I have met many foreigners renting from owners that didn't need a fiador. I currently rent from an owner and I didn't need a fiador. There are also some real estate agents that will rent without a fiador if you pay in advance. I rented from real estate agents for five years without a fiador but it can be challenging to find a real estate agent that won't require a fiador.
Jeff, as usual good effort, but I agree with Jose. It is extremely difficult for foreigners to rent an apartment in Medellin without a fiador. I know it is possible, but in my experience the agent often requires an up front security deposit of between 6 - 10 months rent!!!! This is 'supposedly' refundable at the end of the term and is in addition to paying your monthly rent. Personally, I think that agents are unreliable and untrustworthy - they are best avoided at all costs. I agree, it's always best to rent directly with an owner, however it's really, really tough to find an owner directly. Something like 98% of all rental properties on the market are with an agent!.
I was very lucky because I managed to find an owner directly for my brand new 3 bed apartment in Poblado about a year ago. I didn't need to mess about with a fiador, rip-off security deposit, advance rent payments or inflated gringo prices...but like I said I was very lucky!!!!
IMHO run from any agent that requires a security deposit as you may not get your money back. I met two expats that paid rental deposits that never saw the money again when they moved. I understand that legally deposits are not supposed to be included in rental contracts but they can be something separate. I never had to pay deposits when renting from real estate agents but I had to pay in advance since I didn't have a fiador.
True that almost all rentals are with real estate agencies but you can bypass the agents if you can find out the owner's name and phone number but this requires decent Spanish as most owners don't speak much English. I happened to luck out as my apartment owner speaks fluent English but I also speak Spanish at the intermediate level.
It is relatively easy to find apartment owners in my experience, sweet talk the porterias (doormen) or you may have to give them a few thousand pesos. My Colombian wife has no problem getting apartment owner names and numbers from porterias for any apartments with rental signs in the windows. For buildings without porterias talk to the next door neighbors.
The bottom line is the fiador (cosigner) requirement is a challenge to renting unfurnished apartments in Colombia but it can be overcome. I have met many expats that have successfully rented unfurnished apartments without fiadors.
Hey Jeff,
I understand that the multiple months security deposit is a requirement demanded by the insurance companies that many agents use... The process goes something like this...you submit your application to the agent along with supporting documents and they send it off to an insurance company. Once the insurance company conducts a 'risk assessment' they advise whether it is OK to proceed as is, or several months security is required... Supposedly, the money is held securely by the insurance company not the agent... In any case, this is total foolishness to me and I would never proceed on that basis. However, I know many others who have had no choice but to pay huge upfront deposits.
Clearly, we've both been successful renting in Medellin without a fiador, so we know it is possible. However, the simple reality is that for the vast majority of foreigners, it will be excruciatingly difficult to find owners to rent from directly. I believe this point should be clear in your articles. I know It can be both futile and soul destroying to pound the streets, walking from building to building asking porterias for owners details for any vacant apartment. In my experience you're going to burn a lot of shoe leather that way and uncover a lot of false positives. Surely, there must be a better way in 2016…! Perhaps, you could issue an update to your rental guide with some viable alternatives. What do you think?
Hi Robz,
Yes it's probably worthwhile for me to do an update of my rental guide and also look at the insurance options. I think it would be worthwhile for me to also interview several expats renting to find out their experiences and how they overcame the fiador requirement.
For my first and second apartment rentals I burned a lot of shoe leather and it was a completely frustrating experience. After those experiences it became pretty easy.
Unfortunately renting unfurnished apartments can be a lot more difficult than it should be. If you speak pretty fluent Spanish or use someone bilingual to help it can be much easier. Clearly there is a business opportunity here for someone to help expats. But the commissions are pretty low for rentals so a difficult business.
My experience with Americans abroad has been different than what Mike, above, describes. Having travelled or lived in 17 countries I have seen many delightful conversations between strangers on the road ruined by Americans loudly proclaiming their distaste for and dislike of their own country. On those occasions I felt that it was such a shame to see a promising gathering break up because of politics.
Anyway, I had read and profited greatly from Jeff's previous series of articles on apartment hunting. I am set up in nice digs at a reasonable price.
geoffrey, can you fill us in a little on how you were able to find your "nice digs" and what you pay in rent, and in which barrio
?
Great article.
I find it interesting that in El Poblado it takes on average 11 months for an owner to rent an unfurnished apartment.
Why is that?
Are the locals more interested in buying vs renting?
Why does it take 11 months to rent an unfurnished apartment in El Poblado? It's likely due to the high rental prices there compared to other areas in the city plus the higher cost of living in El Poblado. Most Colombians in the city can't afford to live in El Poblado. The wealthy live in El Poblado.
Most of El Poblado is rated as estrato 6, which is a wealthy area in Colombia. Along with higher costs of renting or buying property, costs for everything else are also higher. For example, estrato 6 households pay more for utilities to subsidize the lower estratos. Estrato 6 in El Poblado only represents about 3% of the households in Medellín. The majority of households (79%) in Medellín are rated as estrato 1-3 neighborhoods.
Laureles and Belén are popular with Colombians because they are more upper middle class/middle class neighborhoods with lower costs of living than found in El Poblado.
In February, I intend to stay with a friend in La Frontera while I research possible areas to live, Sabaneta, Aves Maria is a possibility. My monthly Social Security meets the requirement for a Retirement Visa---will I still need a fiador. For my Visa, I will need an apostille, What is that for, AND, what do I need to present to the Columbian Embassy (I plan to be in MD the end of October so may be able to go to the Embassy located in Washington, D.C.). However, since I do not plan to actually be in Medellin until next year, will the apostille still be valid? You see, your first apostille is free in D.C. Thanks for sharing your experiences.
Hi Anna,
You could get a visa at the Colombian embassy. Colombia likes to see documents for visas that are dated no more than 3 months old. The apostille is used to authenticate documents for use in another country.
It is possible to rent an apartment without a fiador. But you'll have to find an owner or real estate agent willing to do this. I have had success in renting without a fiador for over six years and I have met many expats that have had success as well. If you don't speak much Spanish I recommend finding someone bilingual to help you.
While I commend the amount of effort that went into this - and it's usefulness I do think that some balance is needed on your findings.
On the need for a Fiador I think other comments that avoiding this as a foreigner isn't easy are correct. You managed it, but then you've a Colombian wife. That I think might have been an important element for landlords.
Firstly let's talk about Poblado. 'Westernized' - what does that mean? The lowest crime rates, the best restaurants in town, better fitted out apartments with better amenities and security? If you were to ask most locals which district they'd like to live in (money allowing); most I think would plump for Poblado. Do they think it's 'westernized or do they just think it's the best neighborhood in town?
Poblado is the most prosperous neighborhood in the city - but how 'wealthy' are your neighbors there? Well, there's a fair smattering of well to do retired people with family money, but the majority are your regular couples, both working with kids - the Upper Middle Class that you suggest focus on Laureles and Belen. How rich are those couples? Well if they're professionals they're probably earning no more than $30,000 between them. So, let's understand what the financial situation of the residents are; they're not Russian Oil barons. Wealthy in Colombia is a relative term.
On 'everything' being more expensive, that's not exactly true either. That utilities subsidy you mention isn't a big deal and going to the supermarket isn't more expensive - there's just generally more choice.
One of the key take aways from your survey could be that the rent for a place in the best zone in the city isn't that dramatically different to others. 15% over the second placed district (and a district where it's arguable to say that growth is creating huge issues in things like traffic) and 30% over that rated 5th. How many other cities would that be true of? It's actually less of a margin that one might expect.
Your data, while nicely collected might also be flawed with some of the El Poblado data. There are a significant number of high end apartments in the zone which in your text you hint at. The upper end of your El Poblado data was over COP 6 million a month.Those 'ultra' expensive properties are going to skew your data or at least your averages. Perhaps next time it might make more sense to use the Median rather than the Average? It still won't stop Poblado being more expensive but it might lessen the differential.
Now let's turn to renting against buying. Again personal preference but there are so many wild cards here that trying to assess this with any certainty is difficult. As you say at the end of the article the exchange rate is one of the biggest problems and one that the NY Times model isn't really going to capture. Most people who come here have offshore income which they need to change into Pesos. At the moment the Peso is historically weak, although it's recently strengthened quite a lot. So in planning you don't know what your rent is going to be in Peso terms (because of the inflation effect) and you don't know the dollar cost of those Pesos because you don't know the exchange rate. There's also the basic truism. If I buy an apartment for 100 and you rent the same apartment for 5 a year for 10 years you haven't 'saved' 50. I've still got the asset and you've just spent cash.
You also stated that the inflation level you show is a high. That was true - last year - but this year short of some economic miracle inflation is going to be over eight percent - and that again is going to leach back into rental prices in 2017.
There's actually a good case for buyers to purchase now. Interest rates here are really high (say 13-15% on a Mortgage) which combined with inflation is making it difficult for local people to enter the housing market, or for more expensive properties to be sold. So there's a fair amount of inventory (selling a property can take 12 months or so) so combined with what isn't a bad exchange rate this might be a reasonable time to buy. If you think about the length of time that it takes to sell a property - and the level of inflation most properties - if they're sold at their original price actually trade at a discount.
Lastly with interest rates at their current level and the inability for people to buy houses (remembering that this is a young population with lots of couples at child rearing ages) there's going to be continued pressure on rentals going forward.
Regarding the need for a fiador, I rented without a fiador while I was single for several years before I got married in Colombia. I know several single expats that have successfully rented without fiadors.
I agree that with the improved exchange rate it can be a good time to buy. But buying is not for everyone. I have met some expats that bought property several years ago in Medellín that ended up leaving but I know a few were stuck with properties they had difficulty selling and at least one had to turn into a rental. And some sold with a USD loss due the more recent exchange rates. I would estimate that as many as a third of expats that move here to Medellín leave in 3-4 years or less based on well over 80 expats I have met over the past several years. Over a third of the expats living in Medellín I have met over the past six years are no longer living in Medellín. Most that left returned home and some moved to other cities in Colombia.
Regarding renting vs. buying -- While there is inflation to be factored in for renting, this can be offset by the high CDT interest rates paid by banks in Colombia. I transferred money to Colombia when the exchange rate was over 3,400 pesos to the USD that is sufficient to pay over five years of rent that I put in CDTs earning over 8%. I doubt inflation is going to continue to be as high as this year or last year in Colombia. So I have essentially locked in my rental price in terms of USD for a long time.
With buying there is opportunity cost. What else could you do with the money? If you buy an apartment for 100, and I rent for 5 -- I can invest the 95 I didn't spend to buy a property. I invested in some CDTs in Colombia earning an average of over 8% early this year to hedge the inflation risk for my future rent payments and lock in my exchange rate. I Invested some USD wisely 5 years that has more than doubled since I invested. If I had invested that money 5 years ago in property in Colombia I probably would have lost money in terms of USD considering the exchange was about 1,800 COP to the USD 5 years ago. To me a property that I live in is not a liquid investment - I would rather invest my money in something liquid. Also not everyone has sufficient cash to buy a property and it's very difficult for an expat to get a mortgage in Colombia. Plus there is clearly exchange rate risk when buying property in Colombia as anyone that bought a few years ago in Colombia has experienced.
By renting we can easily pick up and move if someone builds a monstrosity apartment blocking our view; if the crime rate skyrocketed in the building or barrio; if we decided to move to another neighborhood, another city in Colombia or another country; or if Colombia elects a new president that turns the economy into more like Argentina's or Venezuela's. With renting you have much more flexibility.
The bottom line is that with the improved exchange rate it may be a good time to buy property in Colombia but buying isn't for everyone. I have met many expats that rent.