• About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms
  • Unsubscribe
Live and Invest Overseas
  • HOME
  • COUNTRIES
    • Top Destinations
      • Panama
      • Portugal
      • Belize
      • Dominican Republic
      • Mexico
      • Colombia
      • Italy
      • Montenegro
      • Northern Cyprus
      • France
      • Spain
    • Browse All Countries
    • Best For
      • Retire Overseas Index
      • Health Care
      • Cost of Living
      • Investing in Real Estate
      • Gun Laws In The World
      • Establishing Residency
      • Starting an Online Business
      • Safest Places For Retirement
      • Best Places In Latin America
  • BUDGETS
    • Super Cheap ($)
      • Cuenca, Ecuador
      • Chiang Mai, Thailand
      • The Philippines
      • Las Tablas, Panama
      • Granada, Nicaragua
    • Cheap ($$)
      • Algarve, Portugal
      • Medellin, Colombia
      • Boquete, Panama
      • Carcassone, France
      • Buenos Aires, Argentina
    • Affordable ($$$)
      • Abruzzo, Italy
      • Barcelona, Spain
      • Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic
      • Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
      • Costa de Oro, Uruguay
    • Luxury On A Budget ($$$$)
      • Ambergris Caye, Belize
      • Paris, France
      • Panama City Beach Area
  • Real Estate
  • ARCHIVES
    • Living & Retiring Overseas
    • Raising A Family Abroad
    • Foreign Residency & Citizenship
    • Offshore Diversification
    • Our Latest On Coronavirus ⚠️
  • Making Money
    • International Real Estate
    • Banking
    • Employment
    • Investing
  • CONFERENCES
  • BOOKSTORE
Live and Invest Overseas
  • HOME
  • COUNTRIES
    • Top Destinations
      • Panama
      • Portugal
      • Belize
      • Dominican Republic
      • Mexico
      • Colombia
      • Italy
      • Montenegro
      • Northern Cyprus
      • France
      • Spain
    • Browse All Countries
    • Best For
      • Retire Overseas Index
      • Health Care
      • Cost of Living
      • Investing in Real Estate
      • Gun Laws In The World
      • Establishing Residency
      • Starting an Online Business
      • Safest Places For Retirement
      • Best Places In Latin America
  • BUDGETS
    • Super Cheap ($)
      • Cuenca, Ecuador
      • Chiang Mai, Thailand
      • The Philippines
      • Las Tablas, Panama
      • Granada, Nicaragua
    • Cheap ($$)
      • Algarve, Portugal
      • Medellin, Colombia
      • Boquete, Panama
      • Carcassone, France
      • Buenos Aires, Argentina
    • Affordable ($$$)
      • Abruzzo, Italy
      • Barcelona, Spain
      • Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic
      • Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
      • Costa de Oro, Uruguay
    • Luxury On A Budget ($$$$)
      • Ambergris Caye, Belize
      • Paris, France
      • Panama City Beach Area
  • Real Estate
  • ARCHIVES
    • Living & Retiring Overseas
    • Raising A Family Abroad
    • Foreign Residency & Citizenship
    • Offshore Diversification
    • Our Latest On Coronavirus ⚠️
  • Making Money
    • International Real Estate
    • Banking
    • Employment
    • Investing
  • CONFERENCES
  • BOOKSTORE
No Result
View All Result
Live and Invest Overseas
No Result
View All Result
Home Countries Colombia

Real Estate In Bogotá Is A Bargain: But For How Much Longer?

This Expanding Middle Class Is A Golden Opportunity For Investors

Lief Simon by Lief Simon
Jul 23, 2019
in Colombia, Real Estate
0 0
0
Aerial view across Bogota, Colombia

Image Source: iStock/Pablo Yendes

270
SHARES
3.8k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

One of the best indicators of a healthy economy is the rate of growth of its middle class.

Over the past dozen years that I’ve been paying close attention to Colombia, I’ve witnessed the steady expansion of that country’s middle class.

My focus has been on Medellín primarily… where, I can tell you from firsthand experience, there are more cars on the roads… more shoppers in the malls… more locals in line for movie theater showings… and more diners in the restaurants all the time.

At last week’s Live and Invest in Colombia Conference, a colleague from Bogotá provided data to support my anecdotal observations.

In 2011, this local businessman and investor with a 40-year track record explained, 26.5% of Colombia’s population qualified as “middle class.”

By 2015, that figured had grown to 30.5%… a significant milestone as, that year, the country’s middle class became bigger than the percentage of people living in Colombia in poverty.

Assuming the current average annual GDP growth rate of a little better than 4% a year continues (as it is expected to do), by 2020 (that is, next year), the percentage of this country’s population qualifying as middle class will reach 37%.

Colombia’s GDP growth, it’s worth mentioning, has been about 33% greater, on average, than the average GDP growth rate of Latin America as a whole over the past decade.

And, important, over the last several years, this continuing GDP growth has been fueled not only by exports of oil and other commodities, as had been the case historically, but also by internal consumption… thanks to that expanding middle-class buying pool.

I witnessed the same phenomenon in Ireland when we were living in that country about 20 years ago. Specifically, in Ireland, the middle-class ranks were being bolstered by big numbers of kids being able to move out of their parents’ houses sooner than they would have traditionally.

The positive effect on real estate values was big.

This next-generation effect is an important force behind Colombia’s current rates of middle-class growth, as well… especially in capital city Bogotá.

Bogotá’s 114 universities have a current total student population of about a half-million and are launching into the world (and, specifically, the Bogotá economy) 100,000 graduates annually.

And that rate of matriculation is expected to continue for years to come.

Do these new grads want to move back in with mom and dad? Nah… like those youngsters I observed in Ireland two decades ago, they’ve tasted independence.

Fortunately, Colombia’s economy is growing right alongside them, providing job opportunities… making it possible for this generation of Colombians to transition from university to the work force… and afford digs of their own.

Translating into a new sweet spot for local developers.

Bogotá is both a university town and the economic engine of the country. More than 1,800 international companies are based in this city whose metro area holds a population of more than 10 million, which is more than 20% of the country’s total population.

This is a big, bustling metropolis that may not make sense for the expat retiree but that certainly holds opportunity for the foreign real estate investor.

Property values in Bogotá have appreciated 7% to as much as 18% per year over the last decade… which might suggest that you’ve missed the chance to get into this market early.

That could have been the case… if not for the current currency exchange rate between the Colombian peso and both the U.S. and the Canadian dollars.

Thanks to a super undervalued peso, you can get in on this market on still bona-fide bargain terms.

And the rate of property value appreciation isn’t expected to slow anytime soon, thanks to continually improving economic factors.

Where and in what, specifically, should you invest?

Bogotá is divided into 20 districts running north to south along a mountain valley. The poorer areas are in the south, the wealthier areas in the north. The middle-class neighborhoods are, well, in the middle.

One neighborhood in the middle that has my interest is Chapinero. You could buy an older apartment to renovate or something new pre-construction. Either way, you could then furnish and rent short term (if the building association allows short-term rentals) or skip the furniture and rent long term.

Lief Simon

Tags: rentals bogota
Share111Tweet66
Lief Simon

Lief Simon

Lief Simon has lived and worked on five continents and traveled to more than 60 countries. In his long career as a global property investor, Lief has also managed multimillion-dollar portfolios of rental properties, for others and for himself. He offers advice on international diversification in his twice-weekly Offshore Living Letter and monthly Simon Letter dispatches.

Related Posts

Tropical Beach In Dominican Republic, Las Terrenas. property in paradise
Investing

Your Own Patch Of Paradise Property From US$39k

by Sophia Titley
September 22, 2023
0

Jimmy Buffett found his island escape when he relocated to sunny, sand-fringed Key West, FL, from Nashville, TN, in the...

Read more
wealth panama

One Key Step To Preserve Your Wealth

September 20, 2023
living in Belize

2 Options For Key West Living In Belize

September 20, 2023
Surfers Paradise Venao Beach In Panama

Why We Chose Panama: Life In Los Islotes

September 14, 2023
Sun bathing in Portugal. life in comporta

Enjoy Life In Comporta, The Hamptons Of Europe

September 12, 2023
Aphrodites Rock in Cyprus. retirement plan cyprus

Big Opportunity For Your Retirement Plan In Cyprus

September 6, 2023
Sunny day in Herceg Novi

My #1 Choice For Growing My Wealth

September 6, 2023

Start Your New Life Today, Overseas ...

A world full of fun, adventure, and profit awaits! Sign up for our free daily e-letter, Overseas Opportunity Letter, and we'll send you a FREE report on the 10 Best Places To Retire In Style Overseas Today.

LIOS Resources


  • New To LIOS
  • Ask An Expert
  • Media Center
  • Contact Us
  • FAQs

Quick Links


  • Best Places To Live
  • Best Places To Retire
  • Finding A Job Overseas
  • Real Estate

Sign up for our free daily e-letter, Overseas Opportunity Letter, and get your FREE report: The 10 Best Places To Retire Overseas In 2023

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms
  • Unsubscribe

© 2008-2023 - Live and Invest Overseas - All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Countries
  • Budgets
  • Archives
  • News
  • Events
  • Bookstore
  • Newsletters
  • About Us
  • Members Area
  • Contact Us

© 2008-2023 - Live and Invest Overseas - All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Download your FREE report on

The Best Places To Retire In 2023

FREE: 

Find Your Paradise Overseas

Sign up for FREE and learn how to live the good life on a modest budget, find bargain property, and more. Plus, check out our free report on the 10 BEST PLACES TO RETIRE.

RETIRE OVERSEAS AND LIVE LIKE ROYALTY