Manya Rathore
Research expert covering India
Residential real estate in Latin America - statistics & facts
Cities concentrate a large share of a country’s population, and South America is no exception. As a result, cities are often densely populated and access to affordable housing is difficult. In 2022, buying a home in Lima, Peru took about 19 years for an average-income household, whereas in Buenos Aires, Bogota, or Rio de Janeiro it took up to 30 years. About one in four Peruvians rent their home, but it is safe to assume that in large cities, including the capital, Lima, this percentage is much higher. Renting is especially common in Colombia, where the share of rental homes in many of the country’s departments exceeds 40 percent. Colombia’s capital, Bogota was the city in South America where investing in rental housing had the highest return on investment, alongside Santiago de Chile.
