New Apartments, COST per Square Ft

sngldyvr says on Sep 1, 2007, 14:37:

Glad you asked. I have enrolled to this site primarilly to get an idea of prices in Bogota now. 2 1/2 years ago I spent three weeks in Bogota looking at high end appartments in a few of the top areas. Did not pull the trigger. Have they appreciated much since ? Or what has happened in the time since. Would it be a good idea to have another look ? Thanks. You guys are great. I check in often.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

john_stark says on Sep 2, 2007, 09:21:

I have a question for you guys. Why would you buy in Colombia instead of Chile, Uruguay or Argentina? I wouldn't buy a dog house in Colombia.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

ColombianoGringo says on Sep 2, 2007, 10:50:

The prices can vary greatly. On the upper end, I know someone who purchased a place in Rosales for about 900.000.000 COP a little less than a year ago. However, you could get better deals in other locations.

If you haven't already, then you might look at www.metrocuadrado.com.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

jmbone says on Sep 2, 2007, 12:56:

BAQ...This is a re-post that first appeared in the Renting and Selling section of PBH. Though it's not specific relating to New Apartments, the information maybe useful?

What follows is a Spanish to English translation of a Feb.3,07 article, which appeared in Spanish, in the popular Colombia national newspaper: eltiempo.com / economia
-----------------------------------------------------

Colombia´s most expensive realty is Cartagena´s Historic Centro, which sells for up to: 6 million Pesos per square meter.

Castillogrande, in Cartagena, a peninsula surrounded by the Caribbean, is the second most expensive area in Colombia, where the per square meter cost reaches 5 million Pesos!

This information is reported by Flavio Romero, President of the Architects' Society of Colombia (Bolivar State), who performed a recent study of houses/apartments for sale, and sold in Cartagena.

Only The Cabrera, north of Bogota, where per square meter costs can reach up to 4.500.000 Pesos, are sales prices similar to Cartagena and Castillogrande.

The historic Old Walled City of Cartagena has changed from the days when two buildings in ruins, The Santa Clara, and The Santa Teresa were completely renovated in the mid 90´s, into what are now, popular five star hotels.

In the recent past, properties in Historic Centro, were recognized and purchased by many foreigners, as world treasures of the Spanish conquests in America. They bought cheap houses, in ruins, restored them, and spent their vacations living in Cartagena. The foreigners added their money into the economy, and joined with powerful Colombian families and personalities, to begin the restoration of the Historical Center.

Obviously, the major popularity of Cartagena must be attributed to the Historic Old City. Outside the cities ancient walls, there´s a construction boom that locals say is without precedent. Currently, 67 projects, totaling 6,000 housing units, are in some phase of design or construction.

Many residents and recent buyers in Castillogrande are foreigners, mostly from Spain and Italy. They are enchanted with the ambiance and lifestyle. They are buying apartments for vacations, or to give to their Colombian wives or fiancees.

There are those who also attribute the continuation of Cartagena´s housing boom with the supposed imminent arrival of the multimillionaire Donald Trump. Many believed Trump would invest in Barú, but Luis Hoyos García, president of the local Real Estate Association, says that construction is slowly shifting, over the last seven years, away from the high strata areas.

THE ATTRACTIONS OF OTHER CITIES

If the history of Cartagena, and love of the Caribbean Sea are major attractions, the closeness with nature or with commercial zones are equal attractions, for many, who buy and live in the other major cities in Colombia.

As an example of living close to nature, is the area known as the: Cabecera del Llano, in Bucaramanga, which is a forest reservation. In Ibagué, prices for the most expensive housing, reache 1.400.000 Pesos per square meter. In The Vergel, is a popular neighborhood with a sector of commercial development.

As the correspondents of this newspaper reported about the 10 cities of Colombia, they note that the construction boom is the result of greater availability of credit.

Price increases are fueled by the increase in money movement within each of Colombia´s major 10 cities.


BARRANQUILLA-THE MOST ECONOMICAL CITY PER SQUARE METER

Of Colombia´s four principal cities (Bogota, Medellin, Cali and Barranquilla) the largest city along the Atlantic Ocean, Barranquilla, is the one city which offers the lowest quoted costs per square meter at: 1.650.000 Pesos.

Rossana Pezzano, the manager of Camacol Caribe, a developers association attributes this to: "scarce personal purchasing power. 80% of the population earns less than four times Colombia´s minimal salary", he says. In fact, rising housing prices are extending to popular locations of even the smaller cities, like Manizales and Pereira, where the highest square meter costs are 1.800.000 Pesos. In Risaralda, builders attribute the rise in prices to the influx of remittances from Colombians living and working in foreign countries.

MEDELLIN AND CALI ARE ALSO EXPERIENCING SIMILAR PRICES.

Another point of interest is Bucaramanga, where per square meter costs follow those in Cartagena and Bogota. Observers suggest some of this activity is funded from illegal sources.

"In our market there is no housing available in the 800.000 to 1.000.000 Peso range. It´s no secret that there are unusual sources of money entering the housing market", affirms Liborio Plata, President of the Market of Santander.

Even the costly and rising housing prices in Colombia, do not reach the higher prices of many other Latin-American cities.

IN THE HEROIC CITY OF CARTAGENA, FOREIGNERS REPRESENT AN INCREASING NUMBER OF BUYERS.

The plan of Fedelonjas is to turn the northern strip of Cartagena, along the sea, and leading to Barranquilla, into a large, high-end development center, catering to investors that today are discovering Central America. In a few years, more than 70,000,000 (seventy million) U.S. baby boomers will retire. Many will discover, along with the Europeans, many of whom who are already here, the beauty and low cost lifestyle of the Caribbean Sea, all along Colombia´s northern coast.

Bolivar State, with the capital in Cartagena, annually attracts tens of thousands of ocean cruise line vacationers from countries in Europe, and mostly the United States. According to the calculations of the Architect's Society of Colombia (Bolivar State), 25% of Cartagena house and apartment buyers are foreign.
----
For one Cartagena realty company. which promotes exclusively on the Internet, the figure is greater than 90%!(see DISCLAIMER, below)
----
Juliano Stefanini, an Italian, says that he bought in Cartagena´s Old City because: "it´s like Venice surrounded by water". He thinks that in South America, there is no other city that can compair".

THE ADVANTAGES OF MOBILITY, ADDS TO THE HOUSING COSTS OF BOGOTA.

The oft given reason as to why Bogota realty goes for 4.500.000 Pesos per square meter in the high strata (Strata 6) northern area known as The Cabrera, is the ease of commuting to other places of the Capital City.

"The people are mobility conscious and aware of the time savings provided by good transportation services. If they live in The Cabrera, and are employed at the International Center, they are home in 20 minutes for lunch with the family. When living in areas known as Chicó or Rosales the time is only 10 minutes. Less time on the road means a higher degree of personal safety and more time with family, all of which promotes an over-all higher standard of living for the entire family", affirms appraiser Óscar Borrero.

Traditionally these sectors have been costly, and now values increase because the high rise apartments are permitted up to 12 floors, and in Chicó 8 floors.

The most recent study of the Bogota indicates that the existing re-sale market is going for 2.200.000 Pesos per square meter.

Like in other capital cities, the closeness to commercial centers is increasing the demand, and thus the per square foot costs. The disadvantage, says Borrero, is the fact that the above mentioned areas lack large area parks. The green space trade-off is the savings of time and stress, which for many, tips the balance toward increasing demand met by increasing prices.

Another housing option in the Capital City is to live in popular rural places such as Guaymaral, Altos de Yerbabuena or Aposentos, accessed at the exit to Tunja. In municipalities such as Chía and Sopó, the cost of living further out is higher because of toll roads, increased gas costs, and the ever more precious element of: time to get back and forth to Bogota.

According to real estate professionals in the Capital, the tendencies are: families with small children choose to live outside the city, families with college age children perfer to live in the city, and when the children leave the house, the parents want to return to the country side.

BUCARAMANGA, THE CAPITAL CITY OF SANTANDER, IN DISTRICT NORORIENTE

In Santander the boom in construction activity, east of the city, fetches 2.800.000 Pesos per square meter. Currently more than twelve apartment towers are under construction.

Taking the character as: The Capital City of The Northeast, Bucaramanga attracts landowners, stockbreeders and businessmen in the agro industries located to the South of Cesar, and Bolivar, to the the Northeast of Antioquia, and to the North, Santander and Arauca, who turn into buyer clients of the luxurious projects in the city.

Real estate experts think that once those luxury complexes are finished, the city will not see anymore costly building developments.

MEANWHILE, IN PEREIRA (RISARALDA STATE)

the areas known as Pinares, Alamos , and Los Alpes, in the Northeast, are leading the market with the most expensive per square meter costs of 1.800.000 Pesos, as well as increasing costs in the Center. Native Risaraladans, who live abroad, are boosting the housing market with their purchases. They represent 15.6%, or about 260,000 persons, of the total population of the State.

In Manizales the west area boasts the highest cost of housing in areas like Palermo and Sancancio.

TRADITIONAL AREAS, EXPENSIVE LOCATIONS IN MEDELLIN AND CALI.

Medellin continues as one of the costliest cities to live. In El Poblado, a square meter costs up to 2.400.000 Pesos. This area, located in the southwest of the city, has evolved into alternate city center, with a strong concentration of: commercial, educational, financial, and tourist related activities and services.

La Loma de los Bernal, in the Southeast, has had a construction boom in recent years, and is another expensive housing area with apartments selling for as much as 2.200.000 a square meter.

Traditional Laureles Estadio ,in the east, continues to be a preferred and growing place to live.

ALSO IN CALI

Ciudad Jardin, in the South, maintains its popularity as one of the most desired locations. In fact, the capital city, Valle, is spreading towards this sector, because there is still available land for development. Currently they are selling 66 housing projects. Normandia, in the west, is another exclusive sector, but, in contrast to the south, suitable land for development is scarce. Currently there are only 13 projects underway. The president of the Realtors Association, Federico O'Byrne, affirms that in Cali, prices have not risen because good building locations remain readily available.
-----------------------------------------------------
DISCLAIMER: The following single line quote is factual and appears in this independent translated version of the El Tiempo article as: "For one Cartagena realty company that promotes exclusively on the Internet (www.cartagenarealty.com), the figure is greater than 95%!"

This supporting information has been added to, and is NOT a part of the original El Tiempo article.

By jmbone originally posted on 2007-02-07 08:21:01 in Renting, selling & meetups.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

john_stark says on Sep 2, 2007, 15:48:

It's all theoretical until you sell them. Sell them for cold hard cash at that kind of profit and then come back and tell me about it.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

sngldyvr says on Sep 2, 2007, 16:17:

Ken,
Your places have done well. Are you in Bogota? If not,do you or anyone else know if high end apartments in the better areas of Bogota have appreciated much in the last 2 1/2 years?

0 funny, 0 helpful.

sngldyvr says on Sep 2, 2007, 16:42:

Thanks Ken. Anyone know if high end apartments in the better areas of Bogota have appreciated much in the last 2 1/2 years?

0 funny, 0 helpful.

rmykita says on Sep 2, 2007, 17:26:

stark, its not all theoretical until you see the cash. Merely talking price reveals alot, expectation and ability to pay. The markets you mentioned are well-known, and are not diverse, Chile is steady, Uruguay is beach tourism mostly, and Buenos Aires has had plenty of time to recover. I'm convinced that Bogota has the urban living potential of BA. I have bought in Macarena and Bosque Izquierdo. I am willing to share my experience in private, and assist others in buying for themselves. towards the end of this year will be a good time to buy...looking at OK peso/dollar rates now, but I expect significant peso appreciation in coming years, not to mention huge invesstments surroung macarena/bosque izquierdo...email me to discuss

Ryan Mykita
ryan_mykita at hotmail.com

0 funny, 0 helpful.

john_stark says on Sep 2, 2007, 19:20:

I've been shopping for large ranches and for the same money or less than Colombia I can get a place in Chile or Argentina. Why the hell would I want to buy in Colombia for the same money or more? IMHO you get a lot more for the money further south and you have less worry about political stability. In a few years you could be looking at another Chavez in Colombia and then what will your apartments be worth? You'll be lucky to get 10 cents on the dollar then.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Robert Jorge says on Sep 2, 2007, 20:18:

Ya, Chile and Argentina have no history of political problems.

--"I believe in making the world safe for our children. But not for our children's children, because I don't think that children should be having sex." - Jack Handy

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Gator says on Sep 2, 2007, 20:29:

True, John, but only if one choses to want to live there. At had a large property once in an area called San Antonio south of Cali, but never again.
Second, why would some individuals want to sell and leave-not me.
Third I hesitate to use political stability and Argentina in the same sentence.

"Brevior Sltare Cum Deformibus Mulieribus Est Vita!" .

0 funny, 0 helpful.

john_stark says on Sep 2, 2007, 20:29:

You're right. No Third World country is going to have a spotless history. Everybody is investing in Panama but how long was it since Noriega was in power? Looking to the immediate future I see fewer problems on the horizon for Chile than I do for Colombia. I can see a Chavez in power or a military coup in Colombia quite easily. The FARC is never going to be defeated because there is no political will in Colombia to do so you're always going to have this half-assed civil war going on. No, I'll take my chances with a big ranch on a world class trout stream in southern Chile, thank you.

When the time is right, we'll unload my wife's Medellin apartment on some gringo sucker who gets all his info from PBsH. Maybe he can join all the other people in the building who have been kidnapped at one time or another.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Gator says on Sep 2, 2007, 20:33:

Ah Ha-drop the word "Argentina" and I tend to agree with you-have a brother-in-law in Chile

"Brevior Sltare Cum Deformibus Mulieribus Est Vita!" .

0 funny, 0 helpful.

RussianFred says on Sep 2, 2007, 20:40:

How much are you selling your condo for?, where? when?

Annual Drug Deaths: Tobacco: 395,000, Alcohol: 125,000, 'Legal' Drugs: 38,000, Illegal Drug Overdoses: 5,200, Marijuana: 0. Considering government subsidies of tobacco, just what is our government protecting us from in the drug war?--Ralph Nader

0 funny, 0 helpful.

RussianFred says on Sep 2, 2007, 20:45:

I will be looking for a 3 bedroom penthouse next month. Duplex and about 200m.

Annual Drug Deaths: Tobacco: 395,000, Alcohol: 125,000, 'Legal' Drugs: 38,000, Illegal Drug Overdoses: 5,200, Marijuana: 0. Considering government subsidies of tobacco, just what is our government protecting us from in the drug war?--Ralph Nader

0 funny, 0 helpful.

robi666 says on Sep 2, 2007, 21:52:

John, the time to unload your apartment is NOW! Do not wait: price are falling and so the peso.

"I am a citizen of the most beautiful nation on earth. A nation whose laws are harsh yet simple, a nation that never cheats, which is immense and without borders, where life is lived in the present."

0 funny, 0 helpful.

sngldyvr says on Sep 5, 2007, 08:48:

Anyone know if high end apartments in the better areas of Bogota have appreciated much in the last 2 1/2 years?

0 funny, 0 helpful.

sngldyvr says on Sep 28, 2007, 06:27:

Anyone know if high end apartments in the better areas of Bogota have appreciated much in the last 2 1/2 years?

0 funny, 0 helpful.

lpdiver says on Oct 1, 2007, 22:26:

I have a very good lady friend that was offered $100,000.00 on a consistent basis for her apartment in a "better area" of BOgota two years ago. A year later she sold it for $180,000.00 dollars. So I would say that they have appreciated.

t

"cook some rice!"

0 funny, 0 helpful.

christobeldawg says on Oct 1, 2007, 22:29:

be very careful on this matter. that I am certain of.

admittedly, arriving can feel great too

0 funny, 0 helpful.

lpdiver says on Oct 1, 2007, 22:34:

John_Stark...burn down the Exito and I might be willing to buy the place if the gringo iva is not too much. My wife and I rented an apartment in Lareles on our last visit and enjoyed the area...although not one cab driver could find our street.

t

"cook some rice!"

0 funny, 0 helpful.

john_stark says on Oct 2, 2007, 06:06:

You have to pretty much give them directions how to get there. The streets run for a block or two and then end. It's like a maze.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

lpdiver says on Oct 2, 2007, 16:38:

John_Stark...I agree. My frustration with my wife was why the heck do you need to call a cab anyway. Walk outside and to the corner and there will be a cab within minutes if not seconds.

t

"cook some rice!"

0 funny, 0 helpful.

lpdiver says on Oct 2, 2007, 16:40:

John_Stark...I agree. My frustration with my wife was why the heck do you need to call a cab anyway. Walk outside and to the corner and there will be a cab within minutes if not seconds.

t

"cook some rice!"

0 funny, 0 helpful.

john_stark says on Oct 2, 2007, 16:47:

Yes. We usually walk a block or two to a thoroughfare and there are bunches of cabs.

0 funny, 0 helpful.